Barbie Unveiled: Margot Robbie Dishes on the Cinematic Creation - Revealing the Last Line as The Hill I Was Ready to Die On in the Making of the Film

The producer and star argue that, despite encountering some negative feedback, writer Greta Gerwig's controversial gynecological punch line possesses the potential to be life-saving for the movie's young audience.

Margot Robbie, Ana Cruz Kayne, Greta Gerwig and Hari Nef on the set of 'Barbie'

In the initial stages, precisely in 1959, Barbie emerged on the scene. Far from being formless or vacuous, she presented herself to toy enthusiasts adorned with high heels and prominent breasts, embodying a semblance of mock adulthood. Ruth Handler, her creator, bestowed upon her the mature persona that she observed little girls projecting onto baby dolls, accompanied by a name honoring Handler's own daughter, Barbara.

Fast forward to 2018, and Margot Robbie enters the picture. The burgeoning actress, in the process of expanding her production company, LuckyChap, perceived an opportunity within the doll and its brand. Having monitored the efforts to transform the long-standing intellectual property into a film, Robbie and her partners, including husband Tom Ackerley, sought a meeting with Mattel. Their aim was to persuade the company's executives to designate them as the team to finally bring Barbie to the silver screen, especially as Sony's option had just expired, transferring the rights to Warner Bros.

I'm not sure what made Mattel confident enough to say yes to us, but what I do know is that we entered that meeting with a deep respect for the brand and its legacy. Our intention was to create a comedy that addresses difficult truths in a thoughtful way without resorting to mockery, expresses Robbie. "We didn't want the movie to be mere propaganda."

Finding the right balance demanded a unique leader. Having crossed paths with Greta Gerwig during the 2017-18 awards circuit while promoting "I, Tonya" and "Lady Bird" (both nominated for Oscars), Robbie knew they needed someone courageous enough to tackle certain topics and engage in challenging conversations while infusing a sense of fun. "That's why we needed Greta," she adds.

For Gerwig, Barbie is akin to the mythical Athena, emerging fully formed from Zeus' head. She perceived the beginnings of a plot within that character dynamic but encountered some initial hesitation. I wanted Noah [Baumbach, her partner] to write it with me because we hadn't written together in a while, and I love writing with him. But his first reaction was that there is no character or story here, she explains. The doll is inherently something to project onto, meant to be interpreted by the person playing with her.

Despite the initial hesitation, they forged ahead. Gerwig recalls that the first thing she wrote was a conversation in which Barbie delves into topics like "mortality, death, illness, and decay." Reflecting on those early drafts, she recognizes how all her interests found their way into the script, which was crafted during the peak of the pandemic. At the time, we didn't know if there would even be movies anymore, she reflects. When we submitted it, I was thrilled with it, but I thought, They probably won't let us make this, but maybe it will turn into some nice Hollywood lore about scripts that never came to be.

“We had swatches of the 12 main pinks that we carried everywhere with us,” says set decorator Katie Spencer.

“His vibe on set was wonderful,” Robbie says of cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, pictured at left with Gerwig

The London soundstage’s Technicolor setting

The narrative they settled on is a hero's journey, tracing the titular doll as she begins to question her own reality in the vibrant matriarchy of Barbie Land. Gerwig's unique touch is evident in Barbie's now-famous query, "Do you guys ever think about dying?" The story then takes a surreal and sentimental turn as Barbie ventures to the Real World in search of clarity. It playfully prompts the audience to ponder how children engage in play and why adults often abandon it.

Additionally, the narrative frequently contemplates the enigmatic figure of Ken and why he is so committed to being "Kenning" so intensely. In Gerwig's vision, Ken is akin to Eve, fashioned from Barbie as an afterthought in a gender-flipped Garden of Eden. She finds it intriguing that on the toy box, it simply states, "Ken is Barbie's boyfriend," with no other references.

For the role of Ken, they enlisted Ryan Gosling for several evident reasons. Gosling brought his comedic timing, distinctive jawline, and notably, newly bleached blond hair (a crucial detail!) to the character. However, the actor discovered that the nostalgic film was rekindling his inner child. Gosling's first "real" job at the age of 8 involved performing at weddings, singing and dancing during the garter ceremony, eventually leading to gigs at local malls and The Mickey Mouse Club.

During the development of Barbie, he suggested the idea of Ken dancing to Gerwig. That kid worked really hard to get me where I am today, and I thought I could let him retire, he notes. It's funny because, for a long time, I was embarrassed of him, but what moved me most about this script is how it encourages you to be a little kinder to your younger self. I felt I owed that kid one last dance.

Barbie's song-and-dance sequences played a crucial role in both the film and its reception. Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Oscar winners for their work on 2018's "A Star Is Born," were enlisted to compose the soundtrack. Inspired by the portrayal of Ken as a tragicomic figure, Ronson recalls that upon reading the script, they immediately thought of the lyric, I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a 10. They crafted the rest of the song before seeing any footage of Gosling's onscreen portrayal, but his performance influenced the production and arrangement of the final version. Ronson explains, We saw him coming in on that boat, with a white mink on, like some kind of Saving Private Ryan, and were like, 'Wait, we need to make this feel like this character's favorite song in the world.'

When Gosling initially entered the recording booth, he wasn't confident about singing "I'm Just Ken." Despite his past experience in a band (Dead Man's Bones) and receiving an Oscar nomination for his role in the musical "La La Land," he felt the song was outside his range and comfort zone. I kept trying to lower the key, but Mark, in his infinite wisdom, kept pushing it back up, Gosling recalls. Eventually, I realized it wasn't me singing the song; it was Ken. I felt like Ken rode in on his tiny horse and sang it with me.

Gosling also played a significant role in the release of another track - Ken's rendition of "Push" by Matchbox Twenty. Although originally intended to be exclusive to the film, early screenings revealed that the scene, where Ken plays the guitar for hours, elicited substantial laughter. After receiving approval from Gosling, Ronson and Wyatt added production backing and organ drums in the studio. Ronson notes the irony of the song's use in the movie as a "bro-y sentiment," given that Rob Thomas wrote it about a relationship where he felt pushed around by a partner. Despite this, Gosling has sent many complimentary messages about the song to Thomas, expressing gratitude for its inclusion.

“I knew we’d need someone brave enough to address certain topics and have hard conversations, but who was going to make it feel fun,” says Margot Robbie (left), with Greta Gerwig (center). “That’s why we needed Greta.”

“I asked Greta if there was any way Ken could dance his feelings at some point,” says Ryan Gosling

Effects in the film are all practical, including a conveyor belt for Ken and Barbie’s bike ride through a field of tulips

The prominent feature that captures the attention of most viewers watching Barbie is the abundance of pink. Gerwig characterizes the film's vibe as "gleeful anarchy," and this exuberance is most evident in its visual aesthetics. For production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer, known collaborators on projects ranging from the live-action Beauty and the Beast to Atonement, the initial challenge was to "crack the pinks." Millennial pink was ruled out, as was the 1980s version perceived as leaning toward the pornographic.

They settled on a palette of 12 hues and crafted the pink-grain desk in Issa Rae's Oval Office, part of her portrayal as the presidential Barbie. Spencer recalls the initial skepticism, stating, When you see it on your own, you think, 'That's never going to work,' but Greta never wavered — she said, 'You have to stop your adult taste from coming in, you've got to use your inner child.'

The entire Barbie Land was constructed to scale at the Warner Bros. studio outside London, with the broken-down set preserved in numerous storage units. Greenwood, Spencer, and their team drew inspiration from 1950s Technicolor musicals and dioramas, like those found in New York's Museum of Natural History. Greenwood explains the set design process, stating, You start with the Dream Houses, and then everything beyond that goes two-dimensional. The palm trees in the background are flat, and then the mountains are smaller, though still 20 or 30 feet high, and then we have a painted sky — which was, in fact, 800 feet long and 50 feet high. When Margot and Ryan are taking the boat, we built the rolling waves and the dolphins; somebody's back there literally turning the waves and making the dolphins move.

When they're on the bike, there's a conveyor belt with tulips going by really fast. Nothing had to be created in post. Spencer reminisces about Gosling's first formal shoot day, during the scene where Barbie and Ken take the boat on their journey to the Real World. She recalls, It was straight off the plane into this madcap world. He completely got it. He was like, 'I love this, can I have a seagull?'

America Ferrera was so eager to experience the set that she arrived well before the call sheet stipulated. The Barbies and Kens were rehearsing the choreography to Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night," and Ferrera wanted to be part of the bonding moment. She expresses her excitement, saying, It's also my deepest dream to be with a bunch of women, learning choreography together. I'm always looking to re-create that feeling of being in a basement at a sleepover. Ferrera recalls her favorite day on set, a rehearsal for Mark Ronson and Rodrigo Prieto (the cinematographer), where no cameras were rolling except for Rodrigo planning future shots on his iPhone. The performance was done purely for themselves, and Ferrera observed tears in Gerwig's eyes.

Ferrera's first copy of the Barbie script included a note from Gerwig: "I wrote a Barbie movie, hear me out." She appreciates the self-deprecation in that note, especially since the title page initially said "Barbie," with "And Ken" written and crossed out underneath. Gerwig and Baumbach acknowledged the length of the document but promised quick-moving dialogue.

One of the enjoyable aspects for Ferrera was the inclusion of every actor's name in the script. Narrator/Voice of God was attributed to Helen Mirren, and Ken was designated for Ryan Gosling. Ferrera praises this bold move of declaring the desired actors for specific roles, and Robbie agrees, stating, I have to say, reading it as an actor, you can't help but see yourself doing the role when your name is there — it's a clever tool.

From left: Gosling, Gerwig, Simu Liu and Robbie filming the “Dance the Night” sequence

Filming the “I’m Just Ken” sequence

“Once Noah and I were far into the script,” says Gerwig, pictured with Gosling, “I thought, ‘Oh, I’d really like to direct this.’ ”

After accepting the role of Gloria, the woman who aids Barbie in overthrowing the patriarchal Kendom, America Ferrera collaborated with Greta Gerwig to shape the character's crucial third-act monologue addressing the challenges faced by women. Lines such as You have to be thin but not too thin, and you can never say you want to be thin are often associated with Ferrera or Gerwig individually, but they stress that the ideas emerged from a broader collaboration. Gerwig emphasizes, That speech isn't something I 'gave' to America, and I don't feel as if it's my declaration. It belongs to America.

They spent months sharing poetry, TikToks, and clips of congresswomen testifying, building a strong connection as mothers and artists. Ferrera notes, By the time it was my turn to say the words, there was so much support beneath each line. I also think we're both doing that annoying thing that we don't want other women to do, which is saying, 'Oh no, it wasn't me, it was all her.' But it really was a collaboration.

For Margot Robbie, her proudest moment of dialogue in the film is not a speech but the six words that conclude the story: "I'm here to see my gynecologist." As a producer, Robbie faced challenges and occasionally dealt with discomfort or nerves from the studio and corporate entities involved in Barbie. However, she asserts that the last line of the movie was the battle she was prepared to fight.

Robbie received feedback, although she doesn't disclose the source, expressing concern that the line might prompt young viewers to ask too many questions. In response, Robbie states, I said, 'If that's the only thing this movie accomplishes, then I will be so proud because that might save that little girl's life one day.' I think it's extremely important that girls know, and if this movie makes them ask, then it will all have been worthwhile.

 Barbie has reached such a vast audience this year that the notion of only one little girl learning about reproductive health seems like a statistical impossibility. The film holds the record as the highest-grossing domestic release in Warner Bros. history, achieving the largest opening ever for a female director.

Greta Gerwig now stands as the only woman to solo-direct a billion-dollar movie. Margot Robbie describes the cultural moment as "Pink Fever," acknowledging that while marketing strategies were underway before principal photography, the trend of dressing up for screenings unfolded more organically than anticipated.

Gerwig is still coming to terms with this level of success but feels an increased belief in herself and her creative vision. She reflects, Now that I've done this, I have an expansion of faith in myself.

In the beginning, Gerwig said, "Let there be pink," and indeed, there was pink — and it was deemed good.

Robbie and Gosling singing “Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls

“When I wrote that ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ beginning, I had no idea how we would do it,” says Gerwig