Opinion: Margot Robbie Confirms ‘Barbie’ Film Is For Children, Film Includes Male Actor Playing Doctor Barbie
John F. Trent
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Actress Margot Robbie confirmed that the upcoming Barbie film is indeed aimed at children despite it featuring a man playing Doctor Barbie.
Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
In a recent interview with Extra, Robbie and her co-star Ryan Gosling were asked, “Is this a kids movie or is not a kids movie?”
Robbie responded, “This is such a thing people say when they do press for a movie. They’re like, ‘It’s for everyone.’ But it was literally crafted to be for everyone.”
She continued, “Like [director] Greta [Gerwig] said from the beginning, this is a big pie and everyone is invited. So in that way it really is for everyone. And the comedy plays on so many different, the whole movie plays on so many different levels. I mean so much of it is so silly, and absurd, and ridiculous. And I think little kids in particular and people who care about, you know, design, things like that are just going to be blown away by Barbieland.”
“Because the craftsmanship is so incredible,” she explained. “And it’s all tangible and it’s amazing. And then there’s you know some pretty profound conversations happening at the same time.”
Margot Robbie as Barbie in Barbie Trailer (2023), Warner Bros via Twitter
As for what these profound conversations are, Robbie does not provide any details, but did share her reaction to them, “I wasn’t expecting that. I wasn’t expecting to finish reading the Barbie script and be crying. And I was like, ‘Why am I crying? My God, this is about life.’ And the conversations we ended up having I just didn’t expect to talk about the meaning of life so much when doing a Barbie movie.
She then reiterated, “So, yeah, it plays on so many different levels and there’s comedy in there that I think are going to go over the kids heads and adults are going to laugh a lot. And there really is something for everyone. There’s a lot of stuff in there that dudes are going to be like, ‘That was me. I felt that one.’ And there’s things that moms are gonna be — there’s one part in particular that I think moms in particular are gonna stand up out of their and be like, ‘Yes!'”
Margot Robbie as Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
The film features actor Hari Nef, a man pretending to be a woman, playing Doctor Barbie. Nef previously detailed how the film is trying to normalize so-called “transgenderism” in an interview with Out.
He said, “I think as a trans girl, it’s easy to get caught up in big dreams of what you’ll become. And it’s inevitable that you’ll get struck down by external messages and obstacles of what you’ll never be and what you won’t be able to do.”
“You’re caught constantly between striving for perfection and recoiling from rejection. It’s hard,” he continued.
Hari Nef as Doctor Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Nef then added, “As much as there’s a celebration of femininity and being a girl in this [movie], I think there’s also an encouragement of letting go of the checklist we ascribe to living and living your life and being in your body your way, on your own terms.”
“The best that we can do as women, as trans women, is be there for each other and take ourselves at face value, without relying on the green light from someone or anyone else,” he asserted.
Margot Robbie as Barbie in Barbie Trailer (2023), Warner Bros via Twitter
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Nef also went on share that the film promotes drag racing. He relayed, “I’m a lover of drag. I’m a lover and admirer from afar of ballroom culture. It felt kind of like a legacy that I could honor onscreen of dolls dolling, dolls dressing up. The category was dot, dot, dot, something different every day.”
“I’ve joked before, it really did feel like Greta Gerwig’s Drag Race. Because I was doing acting, dancing, comedy, and the whole time I was cinched, wigged, painted from head to toe, padded, heels,” he continued.
Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
What do you make Margot Robbie confirming this film is targeting children while one of her co-stars is also claiming the film is trying to normalize “transgenderism?”
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