Let’s get this straight from the start – Barbie is not a kids’ movie. Yes, it centres around the female doll beloved by generations of children, but director Greta Gerwig’s funny, thoughtful and clever movie isn’t aimed at the little ones who are currently playing with the figures, but the teens and adults who grew up in a Barbie universe.
That’s not to say younger audiences won’t adore the colourful comedy that begins in Barbie’s world, where numerous Barbies (including ones played by Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney and Alexandra Shipp) live alongside each other in their dream homes, greet each day (and each other) with a smile, and hold impressive careers such as doctor, pilot, astronaut and President of Barbieland.
Kids will love all that, and they’ll laugh through Barbie’s (a truly magical and hilarious Robbie) fish out of water adventure as she travels with ‘boyfriend’ Ken (Gosling) to the real world to find out why she just doesn’t feel as happy as her fellow Barbies (in fact, she’s been having dreams about death).
But only older viewers will get the joy of Kate McKinnon’s ‘Weird Barbie’ or Michael Cera’s adorable Allan, the multiple Kens (including ones played by Simu Liu and new Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa) or understand why their older sisters/mums/every woman in the cinema cheer when real-world mom Gloria (Ferrera) delivers a speech about being a woman/girl that is, well, it’s everything.
And while Gosling’s hilarious, pitch-perfect Ken may make a kid giggle, with each flick of his hair and meaningful stare over the top of his guitar, younger audiences probably won’t understand what it all means when his trip to the real world makes him realise what a patriarchy is and what, in his mind, is lacking from the pink, perfect, female-led world he has come from.
Filled with superb performances from the cast led by Robbie and Gosling, and co-written (with Noah Baumbach) and directed by Little Women’s Greta Gerwig with style, wit and oodles of fun, this is deservedly the hit movie of the summer of 2023. It’s so much more than a movie about a toy, but if the junior Barbie doll fan in your house wants to see it, take them along safe in the knowledge that you’ll love it even more than they do.
Is Barbie suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
As said in the review above, Barbie is not aimed at young children. There are, however, no disturbing scenes, and the sex references are more innuendo than explicit references. A reference is made to the dolls’ lack of genitals.
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