“If you love Barbie this movie is for you...” If you hate Barbie this movie is for you.”

Apparently, Mattel's Barbie franchise only seems to have these two feelings. Although these contrary emotions are also more likely to be related to an age difference. It is extremely popular with children, especially girls, but parents are usually reluctant to buy it.

The main controversy here revolves around the unrealistic and often criticized body image that Barbie represents. The original Barbie had proportions that, if scaled to a real person, would be considered unhealthy and unattainable. Critics argue that this creates a harmful image for young girls and can lead to negative body image and even eating disorders.

The love-hate relationship is directly addressed in the trailer for the film through the above-mentioned display and thus takes the wind out of the sails of everyone who is critical of the doll, also because the film wants to address exactly what has often been criticized.

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With the barbie Feature film, which starts on July 20, gets the world-famous franchise from Mattel a first real film adaptation.

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In the film, the popular doll character is banned from her home, Barbieland, because she doesn't meet the prescribed standards of perfection.

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Together with Ken, she embarks on an adventurous journey into the real world, an environment that not only offers exciting, new experiences, but also unexpected dangers.

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In the course of her adventure, however, Barbie discovers the true meaning of perfection—it isn't external,

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But lies in the inner beauty and individuality of each individual. The film promises a compelling story that gives viewers important lessons about self-acceptance and inner strength.

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And Barbie as a live film also means real shoes, of course.

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We have therefore decided to focus on the topic of Barbie and sneakers and even discovered a few brands that we would not have expected.

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The usual shoes of a Barbie or Ken doll are usually small miniature slippers made of plastic without any branding.

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In the first “poster photos” for the film, we therefore looked for models that were used for the real film version and found what we were looking for:

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Adidas and Nike have apparently contributed “Triple White” versions of their Superstar and Air Max 90 models to a dance scene in the film.

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Elsewhere in the film, leading actress Margot Robbie must opt for high heels or Birkenstocks. The high heels represent “normal, familiar life” in the Barbie world, while the Birkenstock Arizona stands for the “real world” or as Kate McKinnon puts it on the scene: “The truth about the universe.”

By the way, with Kate McKinnon's role, the film takes up a very interesting facet of playing Barbie in the children's room. In fact, it funny depicts Barbie, who was “destroyed” by children. So brightly painted and styled with blunt scissors.

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The story of Barbie begins in 1959 and was invented by Ruth Handler who was also a co-founder of the American toy manufacturer Mattel, Inc.

It takes its name from Handler's daughter Barbara. From the outset, it was designed as an adult model that stood in contrast to most dolls of the time, which represented children.

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From her debut at the New York Toy Fair in 1959, Barbie was a huge success. Her adult image gave little girls the opportunity to picture their future by playing with the doll.

Although Barbie appeared as a fashion doll at the beginning of her career, she took on many roles over the years, from student to doctor, from businesswoman to astronaut.

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With her sheer presence and popularity in almost all children's rooms, Barbie has also had a profound influence on popular culture itself.

She has been portrayed and parodied in numerous films, television shows, songs, and works of art. She also became the focus of various controversy, often because of her role as a symbol of the image of women in society.

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In the 90s and 2000s, Mattel began responding to this criticism by slightly changing Barbie's figure and appearance to send a healthier body image message.

In recent years, Mattel has actively tried to promote diversity and inclusion in the Barbie range. In 2016, Mattel introduced a whole new line of Barbie dolls, known as “fashionistas,” which are available in a wide range of skin tones, hair types, body sizes and shapes.

These dolls were introduced to reflect the fact that beauty exists in many forms and that girls, regardless of their appearance, have the right to feel represented in the Barbie world.

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In addition to the wide range of body sizes and skin tones, Mattel has also introduced Barbie dolls that represent disabilities, including a doll in a wheelchair and one with a prosthesis.

Dolls were also produced in a wide range of professions and with various ethnic backgrounds to encourage girls to recognize their dreams and ambitions.

Since its launch, Barbie has received both praise and criticism, but it has undoubtedly revolutionized the toy industry and remains a cultural phenomenon. With its constant changes and adjustments, it has reflected the changing times and society and continues to be one of the best-selling toy franchises in the world.

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Over the years, many fashion and shoe brands have collaborated with the Barbie brand,

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to release special editions or collections.

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This includes collaborations with brands such as Balmain and

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Ronnie Fieg's KITH. These collections included dolls and clothing for them, but also various pieces for “real people.”

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In the sneaker sector, there was an interesting collaboration with PUMA.

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To mark the 50th anniversary of the Puma classic Suede, a collection was launched in 2018 that included two suede models, dolls and clothing.

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We can also look forward to some collabs on the occasion of the new movie. One of them is downright like a prop from the movie. The inline skates that Ken conjures up from the back seats of the Corvette convertible in a scene in the film (see photo above) are from the Australian brand Impala Skate.

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Just as colorful as a product from the Barbie world should be, they shine in neon yellow and pink.

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Interestingly enough, in the 1990s, there was a collaboration with the top dog in inline skates: Rollerblade.

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The models advertised at that time look similar in color. They were equipped with an unusual gimmick that, from today's point of view, was dangerous for children's hands.

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When rolling the skates across a surface, a type of friction wheel like a lighter created a spark effect. The same can also be admired in the accompanying commercial from 1992.

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The basis for the aesthetics used here dates back to about 10 years earlier, i.e. at the beginning of the 1980s. Jane Fonda published her first aerobic exercise VHS in 1982 under the title “Jane Fonda's Workout”, which was a huge success and contributed significantly to the fitness and aerobics trend.

Jane Fonda won Oscars for her roles in films such as “Klute” and “Coming Home” and received an Oscar nomination for “On Golden Pond.”

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Of course, the fashion industry also reacted to this trend back then. Neon-colored leggings, headbands, gym shoes and skin-tight tracksuits were popular. The music industry created its own music genres, such as “aerobic music,” with fast beats and energetic rhythms that matched the exercises.

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Back then, the brand Reebok and its dedicated aerobics and fitness model were “Freestyle”.

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Barbie and Ken also swam on the fitness wave, see “Great Shape” Barbie and Ken above and continued to do so into the 1990s. That's when the couple appeared in the “All American” Edition:

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Both models came with official Barbie Reebok hi-tops at the time. The back of the packaging also promised a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles, a Reebok The Pump Fitness model and movie theater tickets for the AMC Theatres chain.

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Since these small parts have probably often ended up in a vacuum cleaner when cleaning up the children's room, you can still buy these “Reebok” covers for the shoes of the Barbie figures via Etsy today.

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Another collaboration that is coming to market as part of the new Barbie film is with the brand Superga.

Founded in 1911 in Turin, Italy, they originally manufactured various rubber products, including shoes.

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These shoes were mainly work shoes intended for workers in local industry.

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The famous Superga 2750 Cotu sneakers, also known as the “People's Shoes of Italy”, were first introduced in 1925 when entrepreneur Walter Martiny switched production to vulcanized rubber soles. The shoes were simple, durable and versatile and quickly became popular across Italy.

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The models in the Superga Barbie “The Movie” edition naturally take up the classic pink color scheme and come in various versions. A platform sole is also included.

The sneakers come in a shoe box in the style of Barbie packaging.

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The Barbie franchise has therefore been an integral part of pop culture since its founding in 1959 and has reflected and even anticipated many fashion trends.

Another interesting anecdote about Mattel and Barbie is the 1992 story of Teen Talk Barbie, which was programmed to say one of 270 phrases at random when a button was pressed on its back. One of these sentences was: “Math is difficult.” This led to a public outcry as many felt that this statement gave a false and stereotypical image of what girls can achieve, particularly in subjects such as math and science.

The American Association of University Women even published a report citing the doll as an example of how gender stereotypes are entrenched in society. As a result of the controversy, Mattel withdrew the sentence “Math is difficult” from Barbie's repertoire. It can be said that this anecdote is one of Mattel's unexpected learning moments and shows how sensitive society is to the messages that toys send to children.

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Which brings us briefly back to the actual hanger of the article, the film:

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“Barbie” was directed by Oscar-nominated author and director Greta Gerwig. The main roles are played by Oscar contestant Margot Robbie as Barbie and also Oscar nominated Ryan Gosling as Ken. “Barbie” also features America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell. Oscar winner Helen Mirren will also be on display.

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Gerwig staged barbie based on a script that she wrote herself together with Oscar contestant Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”, “The Squid and the Whale”) and which is based on the character Barbie by Mattel.

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The film was produced by Oscar nominee David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner with Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Ynon Kreiz, Richard Dickson, Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich and Cate Adams as executive producers.

We are excited to see the film and whether other footwear will be shown in addition to Adidas, Nike and Birkenstock. Here is the German trailer:

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UPDATE, July 19, 2023:

Tomorrow it's time, the BARBIE movie starts in German cinemas. In the recently published Behind-the-Scenes photos, we were able to scoff at Ryan Gosling yet another sneaker. It looks like an adidas boxing model. Feel free to correct us if we're wrong.

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Photos via Warner Bros., Mattel, KITH, Superga, Impala, Balmain, Reebok, Puma, Etsy, IMAGO/ MediaPunch