Barbie (film series)

Barbie's popularity on the toy market began to decline in the 1990s,[4] and struggled further when MGA Entertainment introduced a line of Bratz dolls, whose sexualized characters contrasted with Barbie's older, chaste image.[6][7] Mattel therefore attempted to overhaul the Barbie brand to keep the toy relevant to consumers in the modern age by bringing in consultants and conducting research on key market groups. Mattel consultants initially considered reducing the Barbie's breast size, but later claimed that the doll's figure could not be changed because "being consistent is one of her biggest strengths".[8] This move might also have been rejected because of the success of the sexualized Bratz dolls of Mattel's competitors. Mattel's team also considered targeting market audiences of career women and their daughters by introducing lines of Doctor or Lawyer Barbies.[9] However, Mattel's research showed that girls were spending more time online than playing with physical dolls.[6][9][10] Therefore, targeted career Barbies were discarded in favor of looking for more interactive platforms through online or digital media.

This resulted in the creation of the Barbie film series, which initially revolved around Barbie being reimagined as a princess and eventually expanded into various worlds of fashion and fantasy. A primary benefit of this strategy revolved around marketing, as Mattel could sell dolls specific to each film separately from the DVDs and merchandise related to props, costumes, and sets from the films.[7] Tim Kilpin, the senior vice-president for girls marketing at Mattel, stated that "What you see now are several different Barbie worlds anchored by content and storytelling. A girl can understand what role Barbie is playing, what the other characters are doing, and how they interrelate. That's a much richer level of story that leads to a richer level of play."[11] The strategy worked as US Barbie sales, led by the princess line, "increased by two percent in 2006, saving Mattel's bottom line at a time when its worldwide share of the toy market was declining."[9][12] Within the films, Mattel includes performances by well-known companies and orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic and the New York City Ballet.[6][7] These associations could have been included as an enrichment strategy on behalf of Mattel's marketing team, to help the films be seen as educational.

The 36 Barbie animated feature films from 2001 to 2017.

The company produced its first feature-length film, Barbie in the Nutcracker, in 2001 based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's classic tale and featured music from Tchaikovsky's ballet. After its success, it was followed by Barbie as Rapunzel based on the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale in 2002 and another Tchaikovsky ballet-inspired Barbie of Swan Lake in 2003. The first musical film was released in 2004 with Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper based on Mark Twain's famous novel. Due to its popularity among the fans, a remake was released in 2012 with Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar.[13]

In 2005, the first of the Barbie: Fairytopia trilogy was released which was followed by Barbie: Mermaidia in 2006 and Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow in 2007. Two films were released as spin-offs to Fairytopia, Barbie: Mariposa in 2008 and its sequel Barbie: Mariposa & the Fairy Princess in 2013.[14]

The success of the first three films had led to the princess-themed lineup in the series, releasing its first original story Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus in 2005, another Grimm's fairy tale Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses in 2006, and the musicals Barbie as the Island Princess in 2007 and Barbie & the Diamond Castle in 2008. Two more films based on classic novels by Charles Dickens and Alexandre Dumas were released with Barbie in A Christmas Carol in 2008 and Barbie and the Three Musketeers in 2009, respectively.[15]

Starting with the modern adaptation of an Andersen fairy tale, Barbie: Thumbelina in 2009, the series moved away from the classical princess stories and focused on more modern themes like fashion and on stories revolving around Barbie's family and careers.[16] In 2017, the franchise was put on hiatus after Barbie: Dolphin Magic, but in 2020, Mattel announced a return to the film series, beginning with the new musical Barbie: Princess Adventure.[17]

The following is the official list of the animated films in the Barbie film series.

In 1986, a St. Petersburg Times newspaper reported that Cannon Films planned to make a Barbie film, but nothing came to fruition.

Sony Pictures and Mattel attempted to develop a comedic live-action Barbie movie with Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald as producers and Jenny Bicks as a writer.[35] On March 4, 2015 it was announced that Diablo Cody will be doing rewrites on the script.[36] In December 2015 it was announced that Sony would hire three different writers to write scripts and that they would choose the best one. They are working with the draft written by Hilary Winston.[37][38]

On August 5, 2015, Sony Pictures set the release date as June 2, 2017.[39] On December 2, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Amy Schumer had been cast as Barbie. It also reported that minor changes would be made in terms of the character and the story itself, centering on a Barbie, who after she is exiled from a world full of Barbies, enters the real world as a normal woman who is imperfect.[40] On March 23, 2017, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Schumer had dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts; similar reports stated that the film was without a director.[41] In August 2017, it was announced that Anne Hathaway would star as the titular character and that up-and-coming director Alethea Jones would helm it.[42]

Originally scheduled for release on May 12, 2017, it was reported that the live-action film adaptation was pushed back and set for a June 29, 2018 release in the United States;[43] it was later pushed back to August 8, 2018.[44] On April 26, 2018, Diablo Cody announced why she had dropped out as the original chosen writer on the project. Cody said that she spent too much time involved working on the screenplay for Tully to focus on writing the live action Barbie movie and that she doesn't feel she is the right person to write the script.[45] This film's concept was discarded in 2017.[46] Sony in January 2018 would later move its release date to May 8, 2020.[47]

With a revived film division, Mattel Films, a Barbie film was considered one of two of the division's first projects.[46] In October 2018, it was announced that Warner Bros. would distribute and that Margot Robbie was in talks to play the titular character, following Hathaway's departure from the role.[48] In early January 2019, Mattel closed the deal with Robbie to star and Warner and Robbie's production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, to co-produce.[49] In July 2019, it was announced that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach would write the script with Gerwig also in talks to direct.[50]

As of 2020, there is no news on the movie from Margot Robbie or Warner Bros. due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

• Official website
• http://barbie.mattel.com/