Barbie star Margot Robbie said she was bewildered by the love fans are showing for the movie before its worldwide release in cinemas next week. The lead actor and producer of the hotly-anticipated film about the Mattel doll has been promoting it around the world dressed in outfits that pay homage to Barbie’s closet.
“I knew how excited we felt about sharing this movie and I had hoped that other people would feel that excitement too but it’s kind of come back at us with so much enthusiasm and excitement, I’m even shocked, very shocked,” Robbie told Reuters at the film’s world premiere in Los Angeles on Sunday.
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The movie shows Barbie living her idyllic life in Barbie World alongside her beau Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, until one day, she starts having dark thoughts and flat feet.
She discovers that whoever was playing with the doll in the real world was causing the changes, so Barbie and Ken decide to enter reality to fix the situation – only to learn more about themselves.
“Over the decades, Barbie’s been ahead of her time, but she’s also been behind the times and she’s been seen as ditsy, she’s been seen as a tool to regress feminism,” actress Issa Rae, who plays President Barbie, said. “There are so many things that have been placed upon Barbie and I hope after this, people use Barbie to examine themselves and their place in the world.”
The film’s trailer says Barbie is for those who love her and those who hate her. “This movie is like an amusement park. There’s a different ride for everyone, so I think everyone can have their own experience and that’s the beauty of it,” Gosling said.
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Barbie features dolls of all sizes, ethnicities and professions. Director Greta Gerwig said she wanted each Barbie to stand out. “We wanted … each one of them to be a superstar, like when you get a perfect Barbie or Ken in a box and they’re in their own perfect superstar show, so … we’d always light each person individually perfectly for every shot because everyone is in their own spotlight,” she said.