Warner Bros.’ New ‘Barbie’ Movie Spurs Controversy

Moviegoers walk past the poster of the movie "Barbie" at a cineplex in Islamabad on July 21, 2023. Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images

Those Barbie lovers looking for a dreamy two-hour experience of living vicariously through the doll’s fun and fluorescent world should instead expect to enter Hollywood’s land of woke, critics say.

The movie from Warner Bros., which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and was directed by Greta Gerwig and co-written by Ms. Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, opened in theaters Friday.

While its tagline on IMDb (Internet Movie Database) is “Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence,” some critics and media outlets have said the film suffers from its own crisis of both controversy and feminist agitprop.

First off, it endured a rocky road to theaters. After years in development with different writers and actors attached, which included Oscar-winner Diablo Cody and comedian Amy Schumer, the film finally went into production. Controversies cropped up as soon as the first full trailer for the movie was released.

Movie’s Marketing 

While fans complained about Mr. Gosling’s casting as Ken—some feeling he was too old—international issues arose as the movie’s marketing blitz ramped up. They included a raunchy translation on a French movie poster that caused a stir (the film’s slogan included a double meaning in French slang), and then the film was banned in Vietnam.

“I would say, you know, if people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with,” Mr. Gosling, 42, told GQ in an interview published in May about complaints about his casting.

The Vietnam-related dust-up was related to a scene featuring a map that shows Beijing’s unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea, which Hanoi said violated their sovereignty.

As reported in Variety, the director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department told the state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre, “We do not grant license for the movie ‘Barbie’ to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line.”

The controversial “nine-dash line” refers to the area Beijing claims over the South China Sea, including portions Vietnam considers its own. While in 2016, The Hague ruled the line invalid, and, according to Variety, while the resolution is binding, China has said it does not recognize that determination.

A Warner Bros. Film Group spokesperson told Variety that the map in the film’s “Barbie Land” is a child-like crayon drawing. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement,” the spokesperson said.

That’s as the government in the Philippines also considered banning the film over the drawing but eventually decided against it.

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie attend the “Barbie” European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on July 12, 2023, in London, England. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Barbie Goes Woke 

Yet, even more prominent than such controversies have been the claims by some critics concerning Barbie’s overly woke depiction in the film.

Inspired by the Mattel doll that dates back to 1959, the movie portrays an uber-feminist Barbie at the expense of its core audience. That would include families and young girls and, perhaps more importantly, “grown-up” little girls who once played with Barbie and the “Barbie Dreamhouse” for hours in favor of feminism and LGBT stories.

“(It) loathes men to a degree that would make a Women’s Studies major blush. It hates the Barbie toy itself, dubbing it ‘fascist’ and worse throughout the film,” wrote Christian Toto, host of The Hollywood in Toto Podcast. “‘Barbie’ also hates women with sweet memories of the doll. Just know you supported the ‘Patriarchy’ all those years ago.”

The movie’s world of “Barbie” with its all-star cast playing a variety of Barbies and Kens, includes “Insecure” star Issa Rae, “Saturday Night Live’s” Kate McKinnon, and Marvel star Simu Liu.

In a July interview with Screenrant’s Joe Deckelmeier, Mr. Liu spoke about the diverse array of dolls that come to life, highlighting how the movie challenges “heteronormative” ideas about gender.

The film also features Hari Nef, who identifies as transgender and who told Out Magazine the movie has an empowering message about being transgender.

While Mr. Toto noted Ms. Gerwig’s talent at establishing inventive ways to bring the toy franchise to life, he said it’s hard to see past the movie’s obvious agenda, some of which would make more sense if “Barbie” had been set in the 1950s.

“Every time the film gains momentum it pauses to make a mini-speech. The characters can’t move beyond these moments because there’s always another minutes away,” he wrote.

“It’s the perfect encapsulation of woke storytelling. The AgendaTM matters more than the narrative and mustn’t be denied.”