History Film / Barbie2023

* BigNo: Allen lets out a big "No" when Ken runs into the surf and crashes against a solid wave.

** Later Allen does the same when hiding in the backseat to join Gloria and Sasha on their way back. His plan backfires though.

* SexinessScore: The IAmSong of Ken has lyrics that go like this:
-->"I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a ten"

* ShoutOut:
** The prologue parodies the Dawn of Man sequence of ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', with little girls in the place of the apes, baby dolls in the position of the bones, Barbie herself in the place of the monolith, and, [[StandardSnippet of course]], the "Sunrise" part of ''StandardSnippet/AlsoSprachZarathustra'' as music over it. Natch, the scene ends with a recreation of the ''2001'' sequence's famous MatchCut -- a little girl throws her baby doll into the air, which is tracked by the camera before cutting into the title of the film itself.
** The town's movie theater is showing ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.
** When Weird Barbie gives Stereotypical Barbie the [[ButThouMust "choice"]] to [[RedPillBluePill venture into the real world or stay in Barbieland]], it's presented as her being offered [[Film/TheMatrix the red pill or the blue pill]], with each choice respectively symbolized by a Birkenstock and a high heel.
** A snippet of the "Greased Lightnin'" number from ''Film/{{Grease}}'' is shown when Ken learns about the patriarchal society of America for the first time.
** The visuals of Mattel's CEO and other top brass congregating around a giant heart-shaped table is a direct homage to the War Room from ''Film/DrStrangelove''.
** Music/MatchboxTwenty. [[spoiler:Part of the Barbies' mission to trick the Kens into giving up the Kendom is enduring hours-long guitar jam sessions to their song "Push".]]
** Barbie finds the girl who she thinks is playing with her sitting with her friends at a school cafeteria table. Said friends consist of an African American girl, a blonde Caucasian girl, and an East Asian girl. Add that the girl Barbie is seeking is a Latina teenager named Sasha, and they're clearly a nod to ''another'' [[Toys/{{Bratz}} extremely popular girls' doll line]].
** The voiceover of the Depression Barbie commercial notes that she's watched the BBC's ''Series/PrideAndPrejudice1995'' seven times.
** According to Allan, all of the members of the band Music/{{NSYNC}} were originally Allan dolls who [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQMlWwIXg3M escaped Barbieland and became real men in the real world]].
** The scene where Barbie stumbles upon Ruth Handler's kitchen is reminiscent of when [[https://www.looper.com/1346049/barbie-matrix-nod/ Neo meets the Oracle]] in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded''.
** The Kens pretend to ride imaginary horses in a very similar manner to how King Arthur and his knights in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' do the same.
** During the giant Ken battle, several can be seen wearing singlets and carrying pugil sticks, à la ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' (which also had toys from Mattel).
** Ken's outfit [[spoiler:once he establishes the patriarchy in Barbieland]] features black pants with his name styled in the font of Music/{{Metallica}}'s logo. The name also appears like that as a sticker on the acoustic guitar he acquires.
** Both versions of "Pink" start off with the lyric "When I wake up..." being said in the exact same cadence of [[Music/TheProclaimers "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"]].
** As part of the plan to un-brainwash the Barbies in the Kendom, President Barbie sits down with a Ken who's watching ''Film/TheGodfather'' and puts on a ditzy act that she's never seen it, to which he jumps at the chance to explain its brilliance in an attempt to impress her; he calls it "a rich blend of [[Creator/FrancisFordCoppola Coppola]]'s aesthetic genius and a triumph for Robert Evans and the architecture of the '70s studio system".
** After being un-brainwashed, one Barbie states that for some reason, she was "really invested in the [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague Zack Snyder cut]] of ''[[Film/JusticeLeague2017 Justice League]]''."
** Another Creator/StanleyKubrick shoutout: during an moment of silence between Gloria and Barbie, Sasha asks if her mother and Barbie are "shining", as in the psychic ability from ''Film/TheShining''.
** The RunningGag of "Hi, Barbie!/Hi, Ken!" deliberately mirrors [[Music/{{Aqua}} the intro to a certain Barbie-themed song that absolutely has nothing to do with Barbie]].
** Stereotypical Barbie, Gloria, and Sasha, pass the beach on their return from the real world to see several Kens playing volleyball in an homage to ''Film/TopGun'', complete with Maverick and Goose's high-five, low-five.

* MythologyGag:
** The swimsuit Barbie wears in the opening sequence is based on the outfit paired with the doll when it was first released in the 1950s.
** Many of the dollhouses seen in Barbieland have been sold as actual toys over the years.
** Midge is a character passed over as too weird because she's a pregnant doll. Her costuming, and this narrative haste to ignore her, are a reference to the controversial "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midge_(Barbie)#%22Happy_Family%22_line Happy Family Midge]]" doll, infamous for depicting a pregnant Barbie with a removable belly to let her "give birth" to the baby stored inside.
** As seen on the posters, Dua Lipa's Barbie is a blue-haired mermaid, which could be seen as a reference to either Nori from ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia'' or the blue-haired mermaid doll from the ''Dreamtopia'' line.
** In the opening, Barbie steps out of her heels... but her feet stay in that position, just like the doll.
** Similarly, during [[spoiler:her breakdown at realising she doomed Barbieland to Ken's Patriarchy by accident]], she begins assuming the stiff sitting position the doll does, with varying results.
** The font for the sign leading to the real world is the same font for the logo used in the 70s and 80s.
** The bizarre toys and Barbies in Weird Barbie's sanctuary are all real bizarre points in Mattel's product release history, which is later clarified further with the credits depicting the real toys and their marketing--there's the pooping Tanner dog known for being weird and gross, Growing Up Skipper (controversial for her simulated puberty transformation including growing breasts), [[https://techcrunch.com/2010/11/28/barbie-video-girl/ Video Girl Barbie]] (a weird doll with a camera in her chest and a screen in her back, discontinued after no less than the FBI expressed concerns that the video function put children's privacy at risk), [[https://wwd.com/pop-culture/culture-news/barbie-sugar-daddy-ken-doll-1235717734/ Sugar Daddy Ken]] (a bizarre cultural spotlight with a badly-chosen name), Teen Talk Barbie (infamous for featuring quotes perceived as sexist like "math class is tough!"), and [[https://www.intheknow.com/post/earring-magic-ken-gay/ Earring Magic Ken]] (infamous for heavy gay connotations). Teen Talk Barbie is the only one not spotlighted by the characters, making her reference more subtle and only identifiable by her distinctive costume.
** Allan is noted to be the only Allan there is, referring to him being a one-off character in the doll line, and when punching out the Kens, he says "I can wear your clothes!" as a boast because one of the selling points on Allan's box (later shown in the credits) was that he could wear all of Ken's clothing.
** One of the dolls Gloria and Sasha have around appears to be Clara from ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker''.
** [[spoiler: The heart locket Stereotypical Barbie wears while talking with Ruth's ghost seems to be a reference to the heart locket worn by Clara in ''Nutcracker''; just like how Clara wanted to use her locket to return home, then [[IChooseToStay chose to stay in Parthenia]], Barbie is wearing this heart necklace as she realizes she's outgrown Barbieland and wants to become a full-fledged human being.]]
** Filipino movie-goers may recognise the [[https://www.preview.ph/fashion/filipiniana-barbie-movie-ana-cruz-kayne-a00378-20230713 Filipiniana gown]] Ana Cruz Kayne's Barbie character wore in the film in honor of her family's Filipino heritage. In the mid-1970s, Mattel opened plants in the Philippines in a bid to diversify production lines and cut costs following UsefulNotes/FerdinandMarcos's spearheading of the Export Processing Zone project. While the "Pinoy Barbie" dolls were short-lived due to setbacks, Mattel later produced a [[https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Collector-Dolls-World-Philippines-Doll/dp/B009F7OQ7C series]] [[https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/833728949788483174/ of]] [[https://manikani2d.wordpress.com/2012/06/ dolls]] honoring the Philippines and its culture.

* AnAesop: Your sex is not a doesn't matter for your role in society. Gender discrimination and systematic oppression because of a person's gender are to condemn regardless of the gender that applies it being male or female, and gender equality must always be applied no matter what.

** It's also not the first time we see Will Ferrell as the ([[spoiler:ultimately misguided]]) BigBad of a [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie film based off toys]].

** A minor example: Mattel's worldwide headquarters are in El Segundo, California (next to the LAX airport), and would definitely not have a view of the Hollywood sign nor the Warner Bros. Discovery offices.

* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Barbie and Ken experience this when they enter the real world for the first time. [[spoiler: Subverted for Barbie in the end when she decides to become a real woman.]]

* UnusualEuphemism: The CIA agent tells Aaron Dinkins from Mattel, "I don't give a [[PrecisionFStrike flying squirrel]] who you are" in order to make the film PG.

* VillainHasAPoint: It's acknowledged that the Kens being largely ignored and forced to only work menial jobs while all Barbies had important roles is hosed up. When the [[spoiler:Kenarchy begins, Beach Ken's MotiveRant to Barbie is framed as having an element of truth to it - all the Kens, especially Beach Ken, want respect and autonomy instead of getting passed over and having no real power or opportunity, but are going about it in a completely vile manner by instead oppressing their oppressors.]] This convinces the Barbies, after [[spoiler:the defeat of the Kens, to start treating the Kens more equally, beginning with allowing a Ken to join a lower court and opening the door for more representation down the line.]]