As the day of Barbie’s highly anticipated release comes closer, audiences may be curious as to what exactly this film has in store when it comes to reintroducing the iconic pop culture figure. Margot Robbie sat down with Vogue to speak on Barbie energy and further explore the processes which brought this movie to life.
Barbie is a fantasy comedy film that explores the world of the iconic Mattel brand doll of the same name. According to Variety, when it came to Robbie’s personal exploration of the leading role, she looked to Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot for that “Barbie energy.”
“Gal Gadot is Barbie energy,” stated Robbie. “Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork.”
The actress was later asked about the sexuality of the Barbie doll with it, after all, being a children’s toy. To this, Robbie responded by stating that the doll “is sexualized, but she should never be sexy.”
“I’m like, ‘Okay, she’s a doll. She’s a plastic doll. She doesn’t have organs. If she doesn’t have organs, she doesn’t have reproductive organs. If she doesn’t have reproductive organs, would she even feel sexual desire?’ No, I don’t think she could. She is sexualized. But she should never be sexy. People can project sex onto her. Yes, she can wear a short skirt, but because it’s fun and pink. Not because she wanted you to see her butt.”
Barbie is directed by Greta Gerwig and has a cast led by Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken. The film is set to open in theatres across the nation on July 21.