Mattel launches Strange Barbie after movie success

Riding the wave of movie success Barbie, released this year, the Mattel decided, in the first week of this month, to launch the Weird Barbie (Weird Barbie), character played by Kate McKinnon in the long. Consumers participating in the Barbie Signature (Barbie's signature, in free translation) can now order the new doll. Check out more below:

What will the new Strange Barbie doll look like?

Capitalizing on box office success with Barbie of US$ 1 billion, worldwide, to Mattel, which owns the production of the doll, announced on August 4th that the Weird Barbie it was already available to order, but in limited edition. In this way, members of Barbie Signature, who order the new release, will receive the doll in the same style as in the movie.

That is, consumers who have access will receive the doll with the appearance of McKinnon's character, with peroxide blonde hair and multicolor details on her clothes. The face of the toy, by the way, also imitates the Weird Barbie which is in the film directed by Greta gergwig: has an eye with a colored circle, in addition to crooked colored lines on the forehead. Still, from the publicity photos, we can check other details: the shoe, for example, also imitates the skin of a green snake, inspired by the character.

O designer responsible is the Mexican professional Javier Meabe, which has already been part of other recent Mattel releases, including the edition for the Dia de los Muertos. The announced price was US$ 50,00 (at the current exchange rate, R$ 245,00), with orders being accepted until August 18th. Anyone who has the chance to order Weird Barbie will have to wait, as deliveries will only be made from May 2024 onwards.

What does Mattel still intend to launch beyond the Barbie product line?

Beyond the Weird Barbie, the toy and children's products company is already prepared to put future projects into practice, which have been working on since before the doll movie. Even with a 12% drop in sales at the beginning of this year, Mattel, several partnerships with the producer Warner Bros. Discover were announced. The union of the two brands will allow the continuity of the release of action figures based on the Batman, at Super-Homem, among other characters.

Board games are also on the brand's radar, as Mattel wants to launch the one four. The game will have new rules and is being promoted with the search for an experienced player who, once chosen, will earn more than US$ 4 thousand (more than R$ 21,7 thousand) per week, to teach the new rules of the launch. Still, the company wants to venture into the production of other films, planning another 14 works: the list includes Hot Wheels, Barney e Polly Pocket

How was the character of Weird Barbie created?

Imagine not being able to fit into a community where you are forced to live. That's the premise of the novel The Giver, Lois lowry, who helped create the film's weird character. So important to creating the outsider, the book has a character who sees the world around him colorfully, unlike the rest of the people.

At the same time, the Weird Barbie she has unusual features, compared to other dolls: she can think of life as a doll in a less romantic way, and is also able to see things that others do not believe. This, by the way, is consistent with the childhood of the director herself — when she was young, her neighborhood had many girls older than her, who no longer played with her. Barbie. During childhood, then, she had to use dolls that were already used, with an appearance similar to that of Kate McKinnon in the movie.

the book of Lowry, in turn, served as the basis for the film's story due to the role of one of its characters, the Memory Receiver (or, in English, Receiver of Memories). In The Giver, society got rid of all memories and feelings, giving all this to the receiver. With each generation, a new person is responsible for keeping these memories, becoming the donor (hence the name of the book in English, with gives). In the movie, Strange Barbie needs to do something similar, explaining about the universe where stereotypical barbie lives.

The actress, Mckinnon, does not share that much with the awkward way of the supporting character. To the Entertainment Weekly, she said that she is not capable of making “sparklers”, like Barbie Estranha. However, she also stated that there was an important immersion to play the weird member of the film: “every square millimeter [of the character] has been carefully considered".

What did you think of the doll launch? Tell us your opinion about the launch of Mattel, in the comments of showmetech!

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Source: Collider | Independent UK | El Universal | Mattel News | Screen Rant

reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 9 / 8 / 23.