---
title: "Barbie"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/barbie"
fi1m_id: "barbie"
imdb_id: "tt1517268"
tmdb_id: 346698
wikidata_id: "Q55436290"
fi1m_score: 76
critics_score: 85
critics_reviews: 18
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:41.344719+00:00"
region: "CL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Barbie (2023)

Directed by Greta Gerwig · 1h 54m · Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy

## Identity

Barbie

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/barbie
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** barbie
- **IMDb ID:** tt1517268
- **TMDB ID:** 346698
- **Wikidata ID:** Q55436290
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517268/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/346698, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55436290

**Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 85 from 18 reviews

*In a sentence:* The most expensive doll’s house ever built, and it has a lecture theatre in the basement

> Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is a proper comedy first, sharp about its own absurdities and built with wit down to the fake water. The second half swaps jokes for speeches, and it is a duller film for as long as it is speaking.

## Synopsis

In Barbieland every day is perfect. Barbie (Margot Robbie) wakes, waves to the other Barbies, who hold every office from president to surgeon, and spends the evening at a dance party where the Kens compete for her attention. Ken (Ryan Gosling) has no job beyond the beach and no purpose beyond being looked at. Then Barbie starts having thoughts about death, her feet go flat and her shower runs cold. Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) tells her the fault lies with whoever is playing with her in the real world, and Barbie drives, sails and skis to Los Angeles to find out who, with Ken stowed in the back seat. There she meets Gloria (America Ferrera), her daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) and the men who run Mattel.

## Review

Greta Gerwig has made a film about Barbie with the blessing of the people who sell Barbie, and the surprise is how little that has cramped her. *Barbie* is a real comedy, with jokes that land and a town built to make them land. For an hour it is as sharp as studio comedies get. Then it leaves for the real world and begins arguing its case in speeches, and the arguing is the least funny thing in it. We recommend it, warmly, with that reservation.

Sarah Greenwood’s Barbieland is the film’s best joke and it keeps telling it. The sea is a painted wave nobody can get into. The cars are a size too small, so Margot Robbie drives with her knees up by the wheel, and the houses have no walls, so the day begins with a street of women waving through open air. Rodrigo Prieto lights it evenly from every side, the way a bedroom lamp lights a toy, and the colours are the colours of the box. Jacqueline Durran puts the Kens in matching outfits in different shades and changes Barbie’s clothes for every scene, because that is what Barbie is for.

Robbie has to play a woman who has never had a thought and is starting to. Her Barbie is untroubled to the point of blankness, and Robbie makes the first cracks funny: a morning when her heels touch the floor, a shower that runs cold, a question at a party about whether anyone else ever thinks about dying. Kate McKinnon, as the Barbie who was played with too hard, arrives with felt-tip on her face, hair cut with kitchen scissors and legs stuck in a permanent split. We laughed and then felt a small pang, because everyone who ever owned a Barbie made one of these. McKinnon gets that in about a minute of screen time.

Ryan Gosling’s Ken has been praised everywhere, rightly. Ken’s job is beach. Not lifeguard; beach, and he is firm about the difference. Gosling plays him as a man who has never had one thought interrupted by another, and his face, when Barbie fails to notice him, does more than the script asks of it. Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt give him a song in the second half, and Gosling sings it with complete sincerity, which is the only way it could have worked.

Los Angeles is where the trouble starts. In Barbieland the sets made the argument for Gerwig and Noah Baumbach; in the real world they have to make it themselves, and they do it out loud. America Ferrera’s Gloria is warm and exact in a part that exists mainly to make a point, and Ariana Greenblatt’s Sasha is handed a denunciation of Barbie that sounds like an opinion column read aloud. Ferrera’s speech is well acted, and we felt it had been written to be quoted rather than said. Nick Houy’s editing is quick in Barbieland; late on it keeps stopping so that someone can finish a paragraph, and the film feels longer than its 114 minutes.

Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef and Sharon Rooney are billed in the top ten as Barbies, and between them they get perhaps a dozen lines. A film about women being able to be anything gives most of its women little to be.

Gerwig and Baumbach wrote [*Frances Ha*](https://film.one/film/frances-ha), a comedy about a woman explaining herself badly, and it was funny because she never got it right. *Barbie* is a comedy about people explaining themselves well, at length, and to general agreement. What survives the speeches is the sadness underneath, about a girl putting a toy away without knowing it is the last time, and Gerwig gets at that in pictures more than once, without a word of help.

See it in a full cinema; the jokes need company, and the fake water needs a screen big enough to show there is none. It is a 12A, and the children near us laughed at the cars and went quiet in the last act, which is more or less what we did.

*Fi1m score 76, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like Barbie a great deal, and the spread is narrow: seventeen of the eighteen reviews are positive, with one mixed notice and no negatives. The praise clusters around two things. First, the performances, with Ryan Gosling’s Ken named again and again as the comic centre and Margot Robbie credited with holding the film together. Second, Greta Gerwig’s script and the production design of Barbieland, which most reviews call inventive and funny.

The reservations are consistent and fairly mild. Several critics feel the film goes easy on Mattel; The Hollywood Reporter says it delivers the fun and dodges the politics. The Skinny, the lone mixed review, finds the later sections stall for speeches, and The New Yorker thinks it fragmented beside Gerwig’s earlier work. Vulture takes a different line, arguing the film should not be judged generously simply because it is based on a toy. Deadline adds that characters of colour are poorly served.

## Straight answers

**Is Barbie worth watching?**

*Barbie* is worth watching for anyone who likes a proper studio comedy, and we scored it 76. The first hour in Barbieland is as sharp as the form gets, with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling both funny in ways the script does not always ask for. The second half stops joking to make speeches, and it is a duller film for as long as it is talking.

**How long is Barbie, and what is it rated?**

*Barbie* runs 1h 54m. It is a comedy and adventure film.

**Where can I watch Barbie in Chile?**

*Barbie* is streaming on HBO Max in Chile, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from CLF 1.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Barbie, and is it suitable for children?**

*Barbie* is a UK 12A with no violence to speak of and nothing that should frighten a child. Its adult content is talk rather than action: the second half turns into argument about women, men and what dolls are for, and younger children may lose interest there, as the ones near us did. Teenagers and adults will follow it fine.

**How does Barbie compare to The Truman Show?**

*Barbie* and [*The Truman Show*](https://film.one/film/the-truman-show) both start in a perfect painted town with a resident who begins to notice the seams, but *Barbie* is the broader comedy and *The Truman Show* the more unsettling film. Weir keeps his argument under the surface; Gerwig brings hers out and speaks it aloud. Choose *Barbie* for jokes and design, *The Truman Show* for the hurt beneath the premise.

**What should I watch after Barbie?**

After *Barbie*, try [*Playtime*](https://film.one/film/playtime) (1967, Fi1m 88): Tati built a whole glass city to make jokes about it; Greenwood would understand. Then [*The Truman Show*](https://film.one/film/the-truman-show) (1998, Fi1m 88): Another perfect town with a painted sky and a man who starts to notice; and [*The Lego Movie*](https://film.one/film/the-lego-movie) (2014, Fi1m 83): The other toy film that outwitted its sponsor, and got there first.

### Reviews we read (28)

- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (4/5/4): Gerwig’s blockbuster is stranger and more fascinating than its marketing suggests, delivering a gorgeously weird event that leans into emotional core over heavy-handed feminism. Robbie and Gosling’s performances embody the plastic fantasy while the film’s gender essentialism draws some criticism. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/barbie)
- **Total Film**, Jane Crowther (5/5): The critic finds Barbie a profound, silly, moving and smart existential study that exceeds expectations for a toy-based studio film. They single out the emotional depth around themes of identity, motherhood and the human condition, particularly in the film's later acts and a key Billie Eilish montage. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/barbie-2023-review/)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a camp, wacky, unmitigated delight that fights the patriarchy in high heels while remaining vibrant, tongue-in-cheek and warm-hearted. She singles out its novelty in adapting a corporate toy franchise into something that feels like art, with standout performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/barbie-movie-review-camp-strange-glorious-2486999)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Christy Lemire (3.5/4): The critic finds the film a clever, subversive satire that succeeds as both a toy commercial and a feminist statement. She singles out the witty script and performances, particularly Ryan Gosling's Ken, for praise. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/barbie-2023)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (85/100, inferred): The critic hails Gerwig's clever script for delivering laughs and social commentary without alienating audiences. He singles out the inventive visual style and Gosling's scene-stealing performance as highlights of this pink-hued blockbuster. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/barbie-review-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-1235672349/)
- **Empire**, Beth Webb (4/5): The critic praises the film's witty subversion of expectations, its meta commentary, and standout comic performances from Margot Robbie and especially Ryan Gosling as Ken. Minor issues with ensemble balance and toy-movie constraints are noted, but overall it is seen as an ambitious, entertaining blockbuster. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/barbie/)
- **Radio Times** (4/5): Director Greta Gerwig has created a delightful, barmy pink-blush comedy-musical that is this summer’s must-see. The deft smuggling of ideas about gender and perfection into a bubble-gum blockbuster without preachiness is praised. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/barbie-review/)
- **Time Out**, Alice Saville (4/5): Gerwig’s playful comedy is a pop opera of kitschy joys and biting satire that celebrates and skewers the Barbie brand simultaneously. Margot Robbie’s pure joy as the lead is highlighted as the film’s exhilarating, unabashedly feminine heart. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/barbie-2023)
- **Financial Times**, Danny Leigh (★★★★☆): Gerwig’s day-glo comedy gives Mattel the last laugh as Robbie and Gosling’s double-act blends infectious wit with a look at the gap between Barbie’s sold vision of femininity and real adult choices. The execution impresses despite the corporate tie-in. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/4efa2465-1045-4dc3-97ad-4b8e91a718e4)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang: The critic calls it an exuberant, clever comic fantasy that promotes and deconstructs its brand, praising Robbie's sincere performance, Gosling's comedic turn, and Gerwig's witty direction. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-07-18/barbie-review-margot-robbie-greta-gerwig-mattel)
- **Screen Daily**: In Gerwig’s confident hands the film becomes a feminist call to arms wrapped in an entertaining popcorn movie, with existential crisis Barbie struggling to understand womanhood. Margot Robbie’s layered performance and the acerbic message delivered through powder-pink pep are singled out. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/barbie-review/5184124.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic finds Gerwig's Barbie an original, self-mocking blockbuster that avoids a biting critique of Mattel but succeeds through its kitschy tone and the lead performances. Robbie and Gosling's committed work is singled out for keeping the film afloat despite some grating elements in the script. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/barbie-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-keep-this-film-afloat)
- **The Guardian**: Gerwig’s reinvention of the doll is a riotously entertaining candy-coloured feminist fable that celebrates, satirises and deconstructs its subject. Robbie and Gosling carry the film through its dismantling of male power and meta gags about patriarchy and Mattel. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/23/barbie-review-greta-gerwig-margot-robbie-ryan-riotous-candy-coloured-feminist-fable)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Lovia Gyarkye: The film delivers the fun but fudges the politics in a tricky balancing act of corporate fealty and subversion. It is driven by jokes that poke light fun at Mattel and gesture at the contradictions of sexist society, with pleasure always in the details of its pink fever dream production design. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/barbie-review-greta-gerwig-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-1235538253/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane: The review sees the film as fun but fragmented and a disappointment compared to Gerwig's prior work, criticizing its uneven balance between satire, corporate promotion, and feminist themes while highlighting Gosling's standout performance. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/31/oppenheimer-movie-review-barbie)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis: The critic finds the film enjoyable yet limited in the depth it can bring to branded material, praising its visual style and performances while noting constraints on emotional resonance. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/movies/barbie-movie-review.html)
- **Vulture**, Alison Willmore: We shouldn’t have to grade Barbie on a curve just because it is based on a toy line. It is still very much a Gerwig movie with worthwhile aspects like Margot Robbie’s performance, but the writing feels like a lark and the impulse to focus on what it got away with under corporate auspices feels unfair to the director. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/barbie-review-we-shouldnt-have-to-grade-this-on-a-curve.html)
- **Consequence** (A-): Gerwig turns corporate IP into a magic trick of a film that is giddy, silly, hilarious, and life-affirming. The script delivers a clear message while showcasing strong performances and tonal balance. [Read](https://consequence.net/2023/07/barbie-review-margot-robbie/)
- **Digital Spy**, Mireia Mullor (90/100, inferred): Barbie is a sharp, hilarious and joy-contagious satire of gender roles that is as deliciously stupid as it is bright. The critic highlights the pitch-perfect casting, fabulous soundtrack and self-conscious humour, calling it a delight and a miracle as a big-budget female-focused comedy. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44506215/barbie-review/)
- **/Film**, BJ Colangelo (9/10): The critic hails it as an uproarious existential adventure and one of the best films of the year, exceeding expectations as Gerwig’s best yet. They single out the meticulous world-building and production design that captures the delight of childhood play, along with Ryan Gosling’s complex and sympathetic performance as Ken. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1341150/barbie-review/)
- **The Playlist**, Marshall Shaffer (A-): The critic calls it an existential and electrifying comedy that cements Greta Gerwig’s status as a master storyteller. They single out the inventive world-building in Barbieland and the blend of fizzy summer blockbuster fun with deeper themes on gender, identity, and imagination. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/barbie-review-an-existential-electrifying-comedy-cementing-greta-gerwigs-status-as-master-storyteller-20230718/)
- **The Wrap** (90/100, inferred): Gerwig delivers a shrewd, bitingly brilliant and soulful feminist statement that rethinks the doll's iconography with heart, ambition and complex commentary on womanhood. Robbie and Gosling are perfectly cast in a funny, heartfelt film elevated by a standout monologue on the impossible contradictions of being a woman. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/barbie-review-greta-gerwig-feminist/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (8/10): Greta Gerwig turns the Barbie concept into a hilarious and emotionally surprising comedy that explores womanhood, perfection, and patriarchy without feeling like a commercial. The standout element is the tremendous lead performances by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who bring depth and humor to the plastic characters. [Read](https://collider.com/barbie-movie-review/)
- **Deadline**, Valerie Complex (80/100, inferred): The critic finds Barbie a surprisingly profound film that balances comedy, commentary, and camp while exploring identity and societal structures. They praise the performances, especially Robbie and Gosling, and the production design, but note shortcomings in handling characters of color and some filler scenes. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/07/barbie-review-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-greta-gerwig-1235440750/)
- **NME**, Alex Flood (4/5): Gerwig's satirical comedy-adventure is a nuanced, rose-tinted take that rips into sexist societal shortcomings while living up to the hype. The critic singles out the very funny script, excellent performances (especially Gosling as Ken) and clever self-aware balance between commercial and subversive elements. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/barbie-review-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-3470019)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (3.5/5): Gerwig's Barbie is an ambitious, funny and thought-provoking but uneven mix of ideas that feels like several films squished together. The critic praises the subversive take on the brand and the standout performances, especially Ryan Gosling as Ken. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/barbie-review-margot-robbie-greta-gerwig-make-art/)
- **The Skinny**, Philip Concannon (3/5): Gerwig's inventive and visually stunning adaptation is often smart and funny with a wondrous performance from Ryan Gosling as Ken. The critic notes that the film does not entirely convince, with later sections stalling for speeches and feeling less effective. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/barbie-greta-gerwig)
- **Film Stories**: The critic praises Greta Gerwig’s Barbie as a colourful, hilarious and heartfelt movie with excellent performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. It weaves a smart, astute, and hilariously funny story about feminism, the difficulties and expectations tied to existing as a woman, and the patriarchy, while being incredibly joyful. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/films/barbie-review-crikey-they-pulled-it-off/)

## Details

- **Director:** Greta Gerwig
- **Director:** Greta Gerwig
- **Writer:** Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig
- **Cinematography:** Rodrigo Prieto
- **Editor:** Nick Houy
- **Music:** Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson
- **Production design:** Sarah Greenwood
- **Costume design:** Jacqueline Durran
- **Producer:** Robbie Brenner, David Heyman, Tom Ackerley
- **Cast:** Margot Robbie as Barbie; Ryan Gosling as Ken; America Ferrera as Gloria; Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha; Issa Rae as Barbie; Kate McKinnon as Barbie; Alexandra Shipp as Barbie; Emma Mackey as Barbie
- **Runtime:** 1h 54m
- **Release (Chile):** 20 July 2023
- **Genres:** Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2023); [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Nominee, 2023)
- **Budget:** $145 million
- **Box office:** $1.45 billion
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1IgAEejvqM

## Where to watch in Chile

- HBO Max: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent CLF 1.99, uhd
- Apple TV: rent CLF 9990.00, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy CLF 7.49, uhd
- Apple TV: buy CLF 11990.00, hd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2024: Best Picture (nominated)
- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 2024: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (won)

## If you liked this

- *Playtime* (1967), Fi1m 88: Tati built a whole glass city to make jokes about it; Greenwood would understand. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/playtime.md)
- *The Truman Show* (1998), Fi1m 88: Another perfect town with a painted sky and a man who starts to notice. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-truman-show.md)
- *The Lego Movie* (2014), Fi1m 83: The other toy film that outwitted its sponsor, and got there first. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lego-movie.md)
- *Legally Blonde* (2001), Fi1m 78: Pink, underestimated and cleverer than everyone assumes; the template for Robbie’s Barbie. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/legally-blonde.md)
- *Pleasantville* (1998): Colour arrives in a black-and-white town and nobody is ready for it.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/barbie