Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) aka “The Academy” announced that BARBIE will be competing in the category of Best Adapted Screenplay – not Best Original Screenplay as they had hoped and as the Writers Guild of America had (incorrectly) classified the screenplay at this years Oscars ceremony. And as a massive, huge, fan of both the BARBIE film and the BARBIE toy line, I actually COMPLETELY agree with this ruling.
While there have been adaptations of toys into film franchises before: TRANSFORMERS, GI JOE, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, even MONSTER HIGH – none of these adaptations has merited serious awards consideration, let alone consideration by the AMPAS for the Oscar. So BARBIE somewhat surprisingly emerging into new territory in the Oscar race would naturally bring up this classification question. And I think for the toys lines mentioned above (not Barbie), people would without a doubt classify their films as adaptations. Why? Well, many associate them with a strictly defined universe with built-in stories. Why? Because they were created in the 80s when those “stories” or 30-minute cartoon ads (that I, yes, loved at the time) were released in conjunction with the release of physical toys. We knew who Optimus Prime is, we knew who Snake Eyes was, we knew who She-Ra was. But do we know Barbie?
I get it. Barbie is a different kind of toy. The doll and her many siblings and friends and pets and homes and cars were initially released in the late ’50s, at a time when TV commercials for toys were just finding acceptability, a far cry from the Saturday morning shows and weekday cartoons that would later showcase ’80s toys. But that does not mean BARBIE does not have lore – or is not an original idea fresh from writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
1. Warner Bros paid money to Mattel for the rights to a intellectual property titled BARBIE
While this first reason does not offer evidence per se of Barbie as a pre-existing character, it offers monetary proof that Barbie exists as a purchasable and optionable intellectual property. If WB did not need rights to create a Barbie movie, and the screenplay was original, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach could have just written the screenplay on their own and put it into theaters. But one might argue, “well they couldn’t title it Barbie. And that is what WB was paying for – the word.” I guess this argument would be akin to something like WB purchasing the rights to do movies on CHANEL No 5 or CHEVRON or TRADER JOE’S and produce a “TRADER JOE’s movie.” But what could that be? No one has any idea, because Trader Joe’s is a grocery store and not a character with defined lore that the writers can play against. When WB said they were making a BARBIE movie, people had an idea what that might be about. SEE ABOVE PHOTO!!! They paid to make a movie about that doll – and all of her stories and friends and qualities.
2. The Academy’s History of Classifying Challenging Adapted Works
While a toy line has never been nominated for an Academy Award, there have been many non-traditional screenplays that have received the “Best Adapted Screenplay” designation. And a few of these point to why The Academy decided to place Barbie into adapted.
- Non-Traditional Adaptations: O’ BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU (2000) and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
- In this case, each film received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and was also based VERY loosely on an existing work, the first on Homer’s THE ODYSSEY and the second on Mary Shelly’s FRANKENSTEIN. But each played to the existing works in ways similar to BARBIE. While the stories by and large “did their own thing”, there were very specific ideas and story beats that each echoed to create their non-traditional adaptations.
- Character vs Story Adaptations: BORAT (2006), LOGAN (2017), JOKER (2019), SKIPPY (1931), and IN THE LOOP (2009) and Sequels based on Fictional Characters: TOY STORY 3 (2010) and TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022)
- Each of these films received Best Adapted nominations and were based on a specific character from a previous work (the first four were based on their namesakes from sketch shows and comics – and the final film was based on the character Malcolm Tucker from the tv series “The Thick Of It”) – though none of the films were cited as being based on a specific work. The subsequent pair of sequels all received Best Adapted nominations and are also indicative of original stories being based on pre-existing characters. These examples are all helpful in that they align with Barbie being an original adventure for an established fictional character with a fictional history. In all of these cases, including BARBIE, there was enough character history, even without a specific story history, to merit that the films were adapted and directed by previously existing character qualities and history.
- Adaptations of Little-Known Works: GOING MY WAY (1944), WHIPLASH (2014), and MOONLIGHT (2016)
- GOING MY WAY was based on Leo McCary’s little read private short story, WHIPLASH was based on Damien Chazelle’s little seen student film, and MOONLIGHT was based on a play never optioned or produced prior to the film’s production. I mention all of these because while many people know of the doll BARBIE, I am starting to think that many do not know of Barbie’s story and her relationship with other characters (outside of hardcore Barbie fans – yes, ok like me). Despite the fact that this lore has existed FOR DECADES. These examples are more or less offered to prove the point that just because a work is not seen or known by a lot of the audience, does not mean that the work is diminished in its role as source material because of that lack of exposure. So what is this lore and history that I speak of for BARBIE? Well I am so glad you asked…
3. Barbie is a character-based toy line with built-in lore and history
When Ruth Handler first began to gestate on the creation of an adult doll for children in the mid-1950s, her objective was little more than that. An adult doll that kids can play with. And the opening moments of Greta Gerwig’s BARBIE makes that fact abundantly clear (so already the film is technically an adaptation) and proves that Handler even offering “just” this as its defining quality was a character trait. So in a way, even with just this small sliver of a character, something was already there. But as BARBIE grew on, so did her lore. Now I’m not going to give a full history of BARBIE’s lore and associations (there are plenty of other websites for that) but as the toy became a massive success, Ruth began to grow that lore out. First there was Ken, Barbie’s counterpart and boyfriend – and referred to as such until 2018 (more on that in a second) when Netflix began producing “Barbie’s Dreamhouse Adventures”. And in 2004, Ken and Barbie even separated for 7 years!
But Ken is just the tip of the iceberg. There is Midge, her best friend. There is Allen Sherwood, Ken’s best friend and later Midge’s husband. There is the delightful and legendary Skipper, Barbie’s teen sister and later Stacie and Chelsea, her tween and toddler sisters. And there is Willow’s, Wisconsin – Barbie’s hometown where all of these characters reside. This lore really took off soon after Ken’s introduction to toy shelves in 1962 with Barbie books from Random House in 1963 that included such titles as “Barbie In Television”, “Barbie Solves a Mystery”, “Barbie’s Hawaiian Holiday”, and “Barbie, Midge, and Ken.” All of these books established a character, a history, and a lore even beyond what Ruth Handler and her Mattel cohorts like Jack Ryan and copywriters dreamed up for Barbie on her original packaging.
And that lore kept developing but also was reinforced in the next 30 years. In fact, her lore is on full display in many of the adaptations that have been released decades after the initial toy release. Her run of 20+ direct-to-DVD movies with Universal in the early 2000s and 2010s – and her current Netflix franchise, which began in 2018 and is based in and around a younger Barbie (I like to call the current Netflix franchise ‘Barbie Begins’), approximately college age, still living with her parents, sisters, and in the neighborhood with Ken (who is not yet her boyfriend) in the “Dreamhouse”. In fact, this adaptation launched from a youtube vlog series that presents Barbie as a character, reinforcing her character traits and even giving us more insight into her mind and philosophy.
In fact, in Greta Gerwig’s BARBIE film, when Margot Robbie’s stereotypical Barbie says, “think of a Barbie and you think of me” there is a reason for that. Because that characters is adapted form something. While many BARBIE fans say that BARBIE can be anyone – and I would agree with that – she is also a specific character that can be anyone. Barbie is kind, optimistic, inclusive, a social butterfly. Barbie is the doll who has it all – as Mattel once described her. Mattel goes on to say, “She’s a fashion icon who has a fab home, the best friends, and the perfect guy who’s nuts about her. She’s great at everything while remaining humble and kind and is always there to cheer on her friends no matter the challenges.” You see, it is that person, THAT Barbie who can be anyone and do anything. And it is because of the qualities that she can do so.
While these disparate works from Universal, Netflix, and even all of the others before them – including the books from Random House way back in 1963, all come from different writers, directors, and studios, they also come with similarities in both universe presentation and the qualities and personality that they assign to the character Barbie. Willows is mentioned multiple times, as are Barbie’s siblings, along with counterpart Ken and best friend Midge (though surprisingly no Allen) throughout all of them – and yes, these characters show up in… Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s BARBIE screenplay…
4. Greta Gerwig referenced this lore in her film and it helped make it a FANTASTIC FILM!
Much like O’ BROTHER WHERE ART THOU and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, Greta Gerwig’s film, BARBIE, succeeds because it both showcases and also plays against those typical ingrained BARBIE character interpretations and the accompanying associations with Barbie doll and character, re-fashioning them into a contemporary sensibility that examines issues of our time. This film was about a world full of Barbies and not the world of Barbie per se. The film manages to subvert the traditional Barbie and Ken relationship to speak to things that are current and relevant to the audience watching. It goes beyond mere rote adaptation and into re-interpretation. The Barbie Dream House becomes the Mojo Dojo Casa House. “I’m Just Ken” becomes a lament and then a rallying cry and then a statement of purpose. The main character, aka Margot Robbie’s “Stereotypical Barbie,” moves beyond her built-in expectations. The CEO of Mattel cannot look at a pregnant Midge in the eye. Classic Barbie characters are further repurposed for dramatic effect – like Allen, Teen Talk Barbie, Earring Magic Ken, and Growing Up Skipper, giving each an original spin on their ingrained lore.
But it goes beyond that, Greta Gerwig uses visual design and cues from these characters, Barbie’s dreamhouses, Barbie’s vehicles, as well as the clothes and accessories of all of aforementioned friends.
These decisions and spins and reinterpretations are not a bad thing. They make the film relevant and also universal, something hardcore fans and also newcomers can enjoy. But they also prove the point that this is an adaption. It is an original spin, but spinning from somewhere. I get that OPPENHEIMER and KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON were great works – to say none of the other potential nominees. But I think it speaks volumes to Greta Gerwig’s commitment to originality in the face OF this lore that makes BARBIE such a special adaptation. The mere fact that this classification was such “hot” breaking news on social media is a testament to how highly people think of the work. I think this is part of the reason for its success with both audiences and critics. And it is because of this that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s BARBIE screenplay is truly an ingenious adaptation – and one that deserves awards Oscar recognition – as long as it is Best Adapted Screenplay, of course.
No Scoops Club 