Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie heads into theaters in just a couple of weeks, but it’s not the first movie to star the fantastic plastic fashion icon. Before the doll made her way to live action, there were 16 animated Barbie movies — and one company is looking to pay someone some serious money to watch and rate them all. Casino.ca is paying $1000 USD/$1325 CAD for a true “Dream” job of watching all 16 of those original animated Barbie movies and ranking them ahead of the release of Barbie on July 21st. The lucky person to win this job will also receive a paid trip to their local theater to see Barbie when the film is released.
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For those who aren’t familiar, between 2001 and 2009, animated Barbie movies were a big deal and saw Barbie take on not only a lot of classic stories — such as 2001’s Barbie in the Nutcracker, 2002’s Barbie as Rapunzel, and 2004’s Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper — but a variety of other adventures as well, including the enduring fan favorite Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia from 2006. The films are a huge part of a particular corner of Millennial and Gen Z nostalgia — which should make this job a real dream for one lucky fan.
If watching the original Barbie movies and setting up your own power rankings for them ahead of Barbie sounds like the job for you, here’s what you need to know. Applications are open to US and Canadian residents (you can apply here) and will close on July 16th at 11:59 p.m. EST. A winner will be chosen on July 17th and will then have seven days to watch and rank all of the 16 Barbie movies with each ranking including a brief analysis of each film. Once the rankings have been submitted, the winner will receive $50 USD/$66 CAD to go see Barbie in theaters. They then have to rank the live-action film against the animated films. Once that’s done, the big prize is all theirs.
Barbie Director Greta Gerwig Was Discouraged From Playing With Barbies Growing Up
In a recent interview, Gerwig revealed that she has her own complicated history with Barbie as a toy, noting that she was always intrigued by them, but the doll wasn’t something that was particularly supported in her household growing up — though her mother did eventually relent.
“I was always intrigued,” Gerwig said of Barbie. “Barbie was, if not exactly forbidden in our house, well, it was not encouraged.” She explained, “Oh, the usual criticisms. ‘If she was a real woman, she wouldn’t even be able to stand up; she wouldn’t be able to support her head.’ My mum was a child of the 60s. She was like, ‘We got this far, for this?’” However, Gerwig’s mother eventually gave in. “She got me my own,” Gerwig shared. “Fresh out the box.”
Gerwig continued, “I played with dolls until… I don’t want to say too late, but I played with them long enough that I didn’t want kids at school to know I still played with them. I was a teenager. I was about 13 and still playing with dolls. And I knew that kids at that point were already kissing.” She added with a smile, I was a late bloomer.”
“I always think that 8, 9, 10 years old is peak kid,” Gerwig explained. “I was brash and unafraid and loud and big. And then, you know…” Puberty. “It’s a shrinking. Wanting to make yourself smaller, less noticeable, take in all that spikiness and bury it. And you’re profoundly uncomfortable because you’re going through metamorphosis, literally … But also, you’re getting tall. You’re getting your period. You get spots.” She explained, “My experience of it was wanting to hide.”
Margot Robbie Revealed Her Favorite Easter Egg in the Movie
While the Barbie movie is definitely an original story, it’s also an homage to the iconic toy and its history. and, as a result, has plenty of Easter Eggs for fans — including one that star Margot Robbie called her favorite that involved her Barbie meeting Barbie’s creator.
“There’s a moment where Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman), who created Barbie, and the Barbie I play I meet,” Robbie recalled to Variety. “And when she hands her a cup of tea, our hands touch like the Michelangelo [painting]. Greta snuck that in.”
In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera , Kate McKinnon , Michael Cera , Ariana Greenblatt , Issa Rae , Rhea Perlman , and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey , Hari Nef , Alexandra Shipp , Kingsley Ben-Adir , Simu Liu , Ncuti Gatwa , Scott Evans , Jamie Demetriou , Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya , Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren . Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach , based on Barbie by Mattel .
Barbie hits theaters on July 21st.
