In case you didn’t already know, we’re getting a live action Barbie movie next year starring Margot Robbie in the titular role. Ryan Gosling will be playing Ken, but another star in the film you may have overlooked is Will Ferrell, who will be playing a toy company CEO.
While on the promotional circuit for his latest Christmas musical Spirited, Ferrell had promising words to say about the upcoming film celebrating the ever-popular children’s doll, setting an expectation that it will excel as both high and low-brow artistic entertainment:
“It is, in my humble opinion, the ultimate example of high art and low art. It’s a loving homage to the brand and, at the same time, couldn’t be more satirical—just an amazing comment on male patriarchy and women in society and why Barbie’s criticized and yet why every little girl still wants to play with Barbie.”
From Ferrell’s comments to the Wall Street Journal we can glean that the upcoming celebration of one of the world’s most iconic toy brands will be just that, paired with a modern splash to help empower the next generation of young women to look beyond the patriarchal expectations set in the 20th century when Barbie dolls first became available to the masses.
While one staple of the Barbie franchise, Aqua’s 1997 hit Barbie Girl, will not be getting a rendition in the upcoming film, from the promotional images we’ve seen so far, it will be an otherwise eccentric and true-to-brand take absolutely plastered in the hot pink-based color palette that has become synonymous with the toy we’ve come to know over the past half-century.
Ferrell, meanwhile, continues to build up his holiday-themed film resume with Spirited, adding to the catalogue of his other classics including the beloved Elf. The film is available to stream on Apple TV Plus.
Barbie will be hitting cinema screens next summer, on July 23, 2023.
