Filmmaker Greta Gerwig looked to theBarbiearchives to bring the iconic doll’s world to the big screen, but Mattel has also been taking cues from the hit film. The global toy company has announced the launch of Weird Barbie, based onKate McKinnon’s wackyBarbiecharacter. The doll wears the same pink baby doll dress as McKinnon’s, and also shares the same cut: short blonde hair with pink and blue highlights. It doesn’t end there: Barbie’s signature face is adorned with squiggly forehead lines and a circle around her eye.
Mattel announced the launch of the new doll onBarbie’s Instagram page, writing: “Time to get weird Inspired by her look in @BarbieTheMovie, Weird #Barbie knows what it’s like to play just a liiiiittle too much! Pre-order your official movie doll by August 18, only at #MattelCreations. #BarbieTheMovie is now playing in theaters.”
Weird Barbie doesn’t just look like her film version, she can also move like McKinnon’s character: she’s capable of making similar hand and arm gestures, and can do the splits. Weird Barbie is available for pre-order until August 18th, and is expected to ship on or before June 25, 2025.
Related:Barbie Set Designers Were Inspired By Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho For Weird Barbie’s House
Weird Barbie Inspiration
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Gerwig discussed her inspiration for Weird Barbie, noting that having grown up as one of the younger girls in her neighborhood, she was often given used dolls to play with. Most who grew up with Barbie dolls will likely recall dressing their dolls in mismatched outfits, drawing on their bodies and cutting off their long locks. Even before its July 21st release,Barbiehas provided plenty of inspiration for trends, memes and viral moments.Weird Barbie has inspired her own nostalgic Tik Tok trend, with users sharing their own wacky doll creations.
Besides drawing inspiration from the less than perfect dolls of her youth, Gerwig says she looked to Lous Lowry’s young adult sci-fi novelThe Giver. The award-winning1993 book tells the story of a society that has removed pain from its inhabitants by converting to “Sameness,” which provides security through conformity. Jonas, a 12-year-old-boy is chosen for the position of Receiver of Memory, storing memories from before the Sameness. In Barbie Land, Weird Barbie serves as a version of Jonas, as she has seen and experienced things other dolls haven’t, providing her with a deeper understanding of the world.
“She had the knowledge that everyone else didn’t have,” Gerwig told Rolling Stone.
McKinnon also shared further insight into the creation of Weird Barbie, discussing how her look came about. Physically, Weird Barbie represents the dolls that have been “played with too much”:
“There was so much philosophy and thought behind it,” McKinnon says. “We [McKinnon and hair and makeup artist Ivana Primorac] talked a lot about what this sort of Barbie who had been played with and burned and drawn on would look like. I just pulled a bunch of pictures off the internet. I think I typed in, like, ‘effed up doll.'”
Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is currently in theaters.
