Barbie Ending Explained: Is it a happy ending for Barbie?

Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” is one of the summer’s hit movies, with more advanced ticket purchasing than any title since “Avatar: The Way of Water.” It should be no surprise that something this colorful, hilarious, and touching would connect with such a diverse array of audience members.

Barbie ends with Barbie, Gloria, and her daughter Sasha joining forces with the brainwashed Barbies to take back Barbieland.

After the Kens turned on each other, the Barbies voted not to change the constitution, booting Kendom and rejuvenating Barbieland with a few changes, including some Kens serving in the lower courts.

Margot Robbie’s Barbie tells Ryan Gosling’s Ken, who has an existential crisis that he needs to figure out who he is without her. Meanwhile, Barbie is unsure about what’s next or how her story ends. She doesn’t think she can be Stereotypical Barbie anymore, and with wisdom from creator Ruth Handler, Barbie decides to become human.

1. Barbie Decides To Become Human – Even If That Means She’ll Die

The ending of the Barbie movie is both heartwarming and thought-provoking. After self-discovery, Barbie (Margot Robbie) is faced with a choice: either return to Barbieland, where she will be perfect and unchanging, or become a human, with all the flaws and imperfections that come with it.

In the end, Barbie chooses to become a human. This decision is not made lightly. She knows that she will face challenges in the real world, but she also knows she can experience a broader range of emotions and relationships.

She can feel love, loss, joy, and pain. She can make her own choices and live her own life.

Ana Cruz Kayne, Margot Robbie, Alexandra Shipp, Sharon Rooney, Hari Nef, and Emma Mackey in Barbie (2023) | Source: IMDb

The ending of Barbie is a celebration of the human experience. It is a reminder that it is okay to be imperfect. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to feel things. It is these things that make life worth living.

The ending of Barbie also has a feminist message. It suggests that women should not fear embracing their flaws and imperfections. They should not be afraid to be themselves. They should not be scared to live their own lives.

The ending of Barbie is a powerful and moving one. It is a reminder that we should all strive to be our true selves, flaws and all. It reminds us that we should all embrace the human experience in all its beauty and complexity.

2. What is the symbolism of the ending?

The ending of Barbie is full of symbolism. Barbie’s choice between Barbieland and the natural world is a metaphor for all women’s options: the choice between conforming to society’s expectations and living their own lives.

Barbieland represents the world of perfection and conformity. It is a place where everyone is the same and has no room for individuality. The real world, on the other hand, represents the world of imperfection and diversity. It is a place where people are different, and everyone has room to be themselves.

By becoming a human, Barbie embraces her imperfections and lives her own life. She is choosing to be true to herself, no matter what.

3. Barbieland’s Future Explained – What’s Next For The Barbies & Kens?

With the Barbies successfully restoring Barbieland from the takeover dubbed Kendom, things were, more or less, back to normal for the dolls. However, they’d all been through too much, having experienced the effects of patriarchy, identity crises, and the revelation of the natural world and its problems.

Ken will likely explore who he is without Barbie, which might pave the way for a more self-confident but not toxic version of the character. The rest of the Kens will follow suit, especially since they don’t want to fight but hang out at the beach with the Barbies.

The Barbies, meanwhile, became more inclusive, even allowing Weird Barbie to join them rather than continue living in alienation. The Barbies also allowed some of the Kens to join them in the courts, though in a smaller capacity, which marked a significant change for Barbieland. Crucially, the Barbies and Kens understand each other better by the end of the Barbie movie.

The changes enacted and the understanding gained from Stereotypical Barbie’s realizations could steer the rest of Barbieland’s residents towards self-exploration.

Ryan Gosling in Barbie (2023) | Source: IMDb

4. What is the impact of the ending?

The ending of Barbie is likely to have a positive impact on the way that people view Barbie. For many years, Barbie has been criticized for promoting unrealistic beauty standards. However, the ending of the new Barbie movie suggests that Barbie is more than just a pretty face. She is a strong, independent woman who is unafraid to be herself.

5. Will we see Barbie again?

Given Gerwig’s unbridled enthusiasm for the brand and the film’s commercial success thus far, sequels to “Barbie” are more a question of “when” rather than “if.” There are plenty of Barbies and Kens to follow from this first film into their own similarly meta-dramedy vehicles to iterate and evolve from the blueprint set out here in this first film. With Mattel pledging to use all the other toys in their massive IP toybox, there may be a larger Mattel cinematic universe in which Barbie would merely be a player.

If you’ve made it this far and have already seen “Barbie,” you know that the doors are blown wide open for any tie-in to create some emotional sense, even if it’s found to be wanting in the logic department.

Barbie could end up in Eternia. The right combination of winking, nodding, and sharply employed ’80s or ’90s needle drops on the soundtrack will smooth any rockiness between the two brand’s identities.

6. About Barbie (2023)

Barbie is a 2023 film directed by Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. It is based on the eponymous fashion doll line by Mattel, and serves as the franchise’s first live-action film adaptation after several computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming television films.

The film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken respectively. Barbie released in the United States and United Kingdom on July 21, 2023, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

 

Comments

Leave a Reply