Barbie Star Kate McKinnon Pays Tribute to the Movie’s Many Artists (Exclusive)

July 12, 2023, 7:31am

The look of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has been so distinctive and all-encompassing that audiences have been paying close attention to wardrobe, set design, and other elements that don’t usually get love from the average viewer. You can add star Kate McKinnon to that list, who shouted out the various technical artists who worked to shape and realize the world of Barbie during its pink-drenched production. Speaking with ComicBook.com, McKinnon joked that the world created by Barbie‘s artisans was one that she didn’t want to leave when she got done with work at the end of the day.

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McKinnon plays a Barbie who…well, she’s a little bit of the wise elder on the mountaintop. With bizarre makeup reminiscent of a doll whose face has been scribbled on and hair that reminded fans of Cynthia, the mangled Barbie-style doll from Rugrats, McKinnon’s Barbie sticks out in a crowd, and her big scene was used in most of the movie’s trailers and promos as a result.

“Everyone who worked in the production — artists, true, sculptors, artists, designers — this movie is a canvas for the art of so many incredible people,” McKinnon told ComicBook.com’s Jamie Jirak. “Just getting to wear and walk around their art was like, ‘Oh my God, this is the greatest, and I don’t want to go home.’”

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.