10 Best ‘Barbie’ Quotes, Ranked
Director Greta Gerwig scored the biggest opening for a female director with Barbie, based on the iconic doll, complete with a bright and colorful look. The highly anticipated live-action movie followed Stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, as she began to experience flat feet and thoughts of death. Accompanied by Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, Barbie’s quest for an explanation as to what was happening to her led her to the Real World, where she met the girl who once played with her and her mother and learned just how different the two worlds are.
With a script by Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach, Barbie is wonderfully funny while also offering up clever commentary on feminism, toxic masculinity, and more. Barbie‘s best quotes reflect that, from Ken’s simple misunderstandings to insightful observations about life and a powerful speech about the challenges woman face every day.Barbie also joined the billion-dollar club, officially making Greta Gerwig the first solo female director to achieve this at the global box office. With the film recently earning eight Oscar nominations – including for Best Picture – it’s the perfect time to revisit some of the best quotes from the movie.
Barbie
- Release Date
- July 21, 2023
- Runtime
- 114 minutes
10 “When I found out the patriarchy wasn’t about horses, I lost interest anyway.”
Ken
When Stereotypical Barbie embarks on her quest to find who’s playing with her, Ken stows away in the back to go with her, rollerblades in tow. They both discover how different the Real World is from Barbie Land, particularly when it comes to the patriarchy. Ken is pleased as he learns for the first time what entitlement feels like. While Barbie is shocked, Ken takes notes and returns to Barbie Land with his new knowledge, shifting the power from the Barbies to the Kens. The Barbies have been brainwashed to go along with it.
But Ken doesn’t really believe in everything he saw and learned in the Real World. He wanted Barbie’s attention and to step out of her shadow, not undermine her completely. When she confronts him about what he made Barbie Land into, he says he didn’t mean for it to go so far – he just really liked horses, showing his innocence. The hilarious moment also shows off Ryan Gosling’s comedic talent, perfectly pulling off the delivery of the line.
9 “Ask your mother.”
The Narrator
Barbie opens with a scene of little girls playing with baby dolls in a setting that’s a clear reference to the sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. The narrator, voiced by Helen Mirren, comments, saying that “can be fun…for a while, anyway.” She adds, “Ask your mother,” and as the little girls stand in awe of the new Barbie before them – the Barbie version of A Space Odyssey‘s mysterious monolith – they smash their baby dolls.
It’s a funny line from Barbie because of what it implies – motherhood is hard work. This is a sentiment that’s explored more than once in the empowering film. It’s the first time the film touches on the theme of motherhood, which returns near the tear-jerking end. It also suggests that Barbie introduced a new way to play with dolls, elevating them from being vulnerable infants in need of care to becoming anything under the sun.
8 “Do you guys ever think about dying?”
Stereotypical Barbie
In Barbie Land, everything is perfect. Stereotypical Barbie starts every morning with a smile, then chooses the perfect outfit for the day and sits down for a perfect breakfast. She spends her day at the beach with her fellow Barbies and the Kens, and in the evening, she hosts a huge dance party in her elaborately designed Barbie Dreamhouse where she blurts out, “Do you guys ever think about dying?” – from that moment on, Barbie’s days stop being so perfect.
It’s a hilarious moment, with the statement juxtaposed by upbeat music and a choreographed dance number. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie, balancing humor with larger issues dealing with life. When contrasted with Barbie‘s ending, the line is clearly a hint at the fun film’s more serious existential undertone that encourages viewers to ask the hard and scary questions about life.
7 “Thanks to Barbie, all problems of feminism have been solved.”
The Narrator
In Barbie Land, the iconic dolls run everything, and there’s nothing they haven’t accomplished. They’re successful writers, doctors, and politicians, and they can’t even imagine a world in which this isn’t the case, leading the narrator to declare the obviously untrue statement “all problems of feminism have been solved.”
As they soon learn, this is an overly simplistic view, and the Real World is very different from Barbie Land. In fact, some people – notably Sasha, the girl who once played with the movie’s stereotypical Barbie– feel the opposite is true, that Barbie has been detrimental to women. She believes that the proliferation of Barbie movies, dolls, and other merch do more harm than good. It’s a line that reminds audiences that there is no easy fix to complex issues like gender inequality, but also points out that consumerism certainly isn’t the solution to it.
6 “You’ve been making women feel bad about themselves since you were invented.”
Sasha
Stereotypical Barbie seeks out the girl who is playing with her, at first assumed to be tween Sasha – but when Barbie finds Sasha, played by Ariana Greenblatt, she learns that not only has Sasha stopped playing with Barbie, but she has some harsh words for her about her influence. Her scathing quote about how Barbie has “making women feel bad about themselves” is far too relatable for many.
Sasha’s reaction to Barbie touches on actual criticisms of the doll and shows just how different some of the perceptions of her are. Barbie Land may present a world where girls run the world, but to many like Sasha, the doll represents an outdated stereotype that harms women, not empowers them. It’s incredible that a film about Barbie would be so critical of the product, which indeed reinforced negative stereotypes and promoted an unrealistic body image among girls.
5 “That’s life. It’s all change.”
Gloria
After Barbie’s upsetting encounter with Sasha, Barbie realizes it’s actually Sasha’s mother, Mattel CEO’s assistant Gloria, played by America Ferrera, that’s been playing with her, which explains a lot about Barbie’s thoughts of death. The three women return to Barbie Land together and discover the changes Ken has made in the process. In the end, Barbie and her allies draw the strength they need from Sasha, who knows what it’s like in the real world.
As a mom, Gloria has plenty of words of wisdom for Barbie. Gloria tells Barbie that life is change, reflecting everything from major changes as people grow from children to adults to smaller changes in appearances and everyday life. She knows more than anyone in that moment that life is far from perfect and is much messier, more chaotic, and scarier than anyone from Barbie Land could understand.
4 “It is literally impossible to be a woman.”
Gloria
As the Barbies face what Ken has done to their world, Gloria gives an impassioned speech about what it means to be a woman and how impossible and contradictory the standards are, from physical appearance to personality traits. Her words are so impactful that they actually undo the Kens’ brainwashing, helping the Barbies set a plan in motion to get through to all the other brainwashed Barbies and regain control of Barbie Land.
It’s Ferrera’s best moment in the film and one of the highlights overall. It drives home the movie’s feminist theme, but it also serves a greater purpose – it actually moves the plot forward as the key to undoing the brainwashing. The fact that it has become a trending line on social media platforms like TikTok only further underscore how it has resonated with so many women around the world.
3 “We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back and see how far they have come.”
Ruth Handler
As Barbie runs through the Mattel offices trying to escape, she finds an older woman in a cozy kitchen, later revealed to be Barbie creator Ruth Handler, played by Rhea Perlman. Although they only share a few moments together initially before Barbie has to leave, Ruth visits Barbie Land at the end of the film, and she’s full of wisdom for Barbie, similar to Gloria.
Ruth’s conversation with Barbie returns to the theme of motherhood. Ruth is a mother figure to Barbie not just a creator, but because she based Barbie on her own daughter, Barbara. One of the many points Ruth makes is that mothers strive to make the world better for their daughters, sometimes making lots of sacrifices in the process. This line also sets up Barbie‘s heartfelt ending that undoubtedly made countless moviegoers cry.
2 “Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever.”
Ruth Handler
By the end of the movie, Barbie’s been through a lot and doesn’t feel she’s the same person that she started as. After she and Ruth enter a vast white void, Barbie confesses to Ruth that she doesn’t feel like a Barbie anymore and doesn’t know where to go from here. One of the many things Ruth tells Barbie is, “Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever.”
Some of the film’s most poignant lines and moments come from the conversation between the important Barbie character Ruth and the protagonist. Here, Ruth touches on mortality – humans’ time on earth is finite, but what we put out into the world is not. Barbie has an important choice to make between living in her perfect fantasy land and accepting life as a human being, flaws and all. The line also hints that as the creator of Barbie, Ruth is, in a way, immortal.
1 “You’re beautiful.” “I know.”
Stereotypical Barbie & The Woman on the Bench
Barbie’s time in the Real World is off to a rough start, and she sits on a bench for a quiet moment to herself. She sees an old woman seated nearby, played by Ann Roth, and smiles at her, then tells her she’s beautiful. “I know,” the woman says matter-of-factly but with a smile. The small interaction ends up becoming one of the most unforgettable parts of the film.
Barbie has never seen an old woman before, as they don’t exist in Barbie Land, and her reaction to having cellulite earlier in the movie sets up the expectation that she’d be shocked by wrinkles. Instead, Barbie thinks the woman is beautiful, and rather than being shocked and flattered by the compliment, the woman simply agrees. It’s one of Barbie’s most powerful moments, and it’s a beautiful one that says a lot about beauty standards and self-love.
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