Mattel Inc. announced a new Barbie collection inspired by one of the most anticipated films of the summer (maybe ever?), created in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures.
Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, America Ferrera and Simu Liu were introduced to the doll versions of their “Barbie” characters in a new video obtained by The Times, and the stars appeared to be smitten with their mini-me’s.
“It’s my Barbie!” Robbie says. “And she’s wearing her perfect day outfit; actually it’s incredibly accurate to exactly the outfit I wear in the movie, down to the little love heart on the shoes. … Brilliantly replicating the exact look of the movie.”
“Shout out to Greta Gerwig because she was like, ‘What would your president look like?’ and I was like, ‘I just feel like she’d be in a ballgown,’ and she was like, ‘Done,’” Rae says. Rae plays President Barbie in the upcoming film.
Ferrera, who plays Gloria in the upcoming film, beams and says, “I love it, it’s my Barbie doll. I mean it’s Gloria, but it’s me.”
And Ken No. 2 star Liu commented on his doll’s perfectly quaffed hair: “I’m a little jealous to be honest.”
‘Barbie’ stars Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, America Ferrera and Simu Liu react to their new character dolls.
HGTV is also going full Barbiecore.
Hosted by model Ashley Graham, with celebrity judges including Marsai Martin, Jonathan Adler and Christian Siriano, HGTV premieres “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” on July 16 at 8 p.m. The four-part special event series follows eight teams as they compete to transform a Southern California home into a real-life Barbie dream house, complete with a purple pet elevator, a disco dance floor and a pool fit to party.
Different areas of the home will be inspired by different decades and designed by competing teams. A neon 1990s Barbie-style entryway, a nostalgic kitchen that nods to the 1960s with Space Age touches like a midcentury blender that rises from below the counter. Ken gets his own groovy disco-themed 1970s den, and Barbie gets a Siriano-approved hat carousel, while the exterior and frontyard landscaping will be inspired by the 1990s.
Kitty Black Perkins, the chief designer of fashions and doll concepts for Mattel’s Barbie line for more than 25 years — and who designed the first Black Barbie in 1979 — will make a guest appearance. And one “Barbie” fan will have a shot at winning a dream house staycation.
Leading up to the film’s release, there’s been quite the buzz surrounding “Barbie” and what audiences can expect. In December, Robbie teased, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that.”
Around the same time, Will Ferrell, who also stars in the film, described it as 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,” he told Variety last month. “Boy, when I read it, I was like, ‘This is fantastic.’”
According to Mattel, the film follows Barbie as she navigates Barbie Land, where everyone is a perfect being in a perfect place — unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.
“Barbie” is directed by Oscar-winner Greta Gerwig and has a star-studded cast including Robbie, Ferrell, Rae, Ferrera and Liu as well as Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon and Rhea Perlman.