Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is one of the year’s most anticipated movies. However, this isn’t the first time Barbie has starred in her own film. Since 2001, Mattel has released movies starring the iconic doll as classic fairytale characters or living a modern life and embarking on an adventure.
Before watching the new Barbie, fans should watch the animated films as they could contain references or Easter eggs in the live-action movie. Watching the other Barbie films will also help moviegoers see how far Barbie has come as a character, going from an “actor” in a fairytale to playing herself on a grand adventure to the human world. The animated Barbie movies are a great nostalgia source to prepare Barbie fans for the new film.
10 Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses follows the plot of the fairytale, with Barbie in the lead role of Genevieve. This is one of the few Barbie movies that features Barbie having more than one sibling. While dancing is all the sisters’ passion, it is seen as unladylike by the other nobility.
The sisters keep dancing and challenging societal norms despite other peoples’ opinions. This plot point highlights the theme in Barbie as it shows different characters in male-dominated roles, like the President of the United States. The male characters in Barbie are seen as “just Ken,” and in Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses, the male characters are secondary to the doll and her sisters.
9 Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia
Dua Lipa and John Cena take on the role of mermaids in Barbie, but this isn’t the first time a Barbie has taken on the mermaid role. Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia features Barbie reprising her role as Elina as she travels under the sea to save a mermaid prince. The film is the first Barbie adventure that features her changing from one magical creature (a fairy) to another (a mermaid).
The mermaids in Barbie resemble the mermaids in Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia. Each character has a different colored tail and hair to match, which helps differentiate them from one another as they all look the same. One of the movie’s highlights is Bibble tagging along for the journey as he becomes a famous Barbie sidekick in Barbie Fairytopia.
8 The Barbie Diaries
The Barbie Diaries is not a fairytale Barbie movie. Barbie is a high schooler struggling with her identity and goes on an adventure to find her true self. The plot is similar to the live-action Barbie, as Margot Robbie (Barbie) and Ryan Gosling (Ken) are set to uncover what makes Barbie more human and who she is. While The Barbie Diaries is a cliché high school story, it still has value.
With so many similarities to Barbie, The Barbie Diaries is a good place for fans to see how much Barbie grows from being depicted as a teen to an adult. Since it is an original story, The Barbie Diaries has more relatable themes. Even though the animation is not the best, and the dialogue is clunky, The Barbie Diaries exemplifies feel-good teen movies from the 2000s.
7 Barbie and the Three Musketeers
Barbie and the Three Musketeers flips the roles of the musketeers from men to women. This continues the tradition of Barbie and Barbie movies putting females in male roles to show young girls that they can be anything they want to be. Barbie follows suit, with Margot Robbie’s Barbie being the lead hero and Ken being the sidekick who decides to tag along to the human world.
Barbie plays Corinne, who is seen as an outcast by others because she is not content with living as a farm girl in the French countryside. While the setting differs, Barbie and the Three Musketeers characterizes Barbie similarly to the 2023 live-action film. Barbie isn’t content with being in the dark about her origins or why she is losing her Barbie traits; instead, she wants to adventure and find the truth. Corinne and Barbie’s adventurous spirit connects their characters.
6 Barbie Fairytopia
Barbie Fairytopia started a series of movies that starred Barbie as Elina. Elina is a sprite that wants her wings but hasn’t earned them yet. To get her wings, Elina has to take on the all-powerful Laverna, who controls the powers of all winged creatures.
The idea of an overarching villain that controls society is the serious undercurrent in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, as Mattel is described as a mysterious controlling force. The worlds in Barbie Fairytopia and Barbie are utopias full of pink paint, glitter and magic. For those who love the traditional Barbie color scheme and Barbie taking on a villain, Barbie Fairytopia is the perfect movie to watch before Barbie.
5 Barbie: Spy Squad
Barbie Spy Squad took a page from Kim Possible when it told the story of three former gymnasts that used their skills to work as spies. With Universal taking over the Barbie franchise, the animation improved significantly from other Barbie films with the same graphics as the first movie in 2001. Barbie and her friends are tasked with sneaking around and trying to catch a gem thief.
Barbie isn’t a spy thriller, but Barbie and Ken may have to sneak around as the trailers reveal Mattel’s CEO, played by Will Farrell, doesn’t want the world to know the truth about Barbie and Ken. Barbie Spy Squad was released in 2016. This detail means the central themes are closer to what can be expected from Barbie and the main character being a positive role model.
4 Barbie Video Game Hero
Barbie has starred in many video games, but Barbie Video Game Hero was the first movie to put her in one. Barbie is portrayed as much younger when she enters the video games than in other Barbie movies — for viewers, seeing Barbie as a child shows that she has always had the spirit of a hero and wants to help.
In the film, video game fans will notice references to classic games like Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart. Portraying Barbie as a skilled gamer is unexpected; however, the movie’s release in 2017 shows Universal and Mattel were trying to involve Barbie’s character and appeal to the interests of their current viewers. Barbie will do the same but play to the campy nature of the character.
3 Barbie in the Island Princess
In Barbie in the Island Princess, Ro is stranded on a mysterious island where nothing seems out of place. But soon, Ro starts questioning the truth about her identity and her role on the island. This is comparable to Barbie in the new movie, as trailers show she starts thinking and experiencing things that hint at her identity being different from what she believed.
While it is unlikely for Barbie to be about a long-lost princess who finds the island she is supposed to be ruling filled with animals, the idea of Barbie learning about her past is the same. Barbie in the Island Princess includes fabulous gowns and costumes, which fans know the new Barbie movie will have.
2 Barbie in The Nutcracker
Barbie in The Nutcracker was the first animated Barbie to be released. The movie’s plot follows the same story as the ballet but places Barbie as Clara and the Sugar Plum Princess. Barbie in The Nutcracker characterizes Barbie as brave and adventurous, which are two traits Barbie has in Greta Gerwig’s version of the character.
As the first Barbie movie, The Nutcracker changes the perception of Barbie as only a doll that dresses up and has many careers. This movie also showed Ken or Ken-like characters taking on the role of sidekick. As a computer-generated movie from the early 2000s, Barbie in The Nutcracker has a distinct animation style that defines the era and will spark nostalgia in viewers who grew up during that time.
1 Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper
The Barbie movie doesn’t include “Barbie Girl,” but the soundtrack has been drumming up hype for the movie. While other Barbie movies haven’t gotten as much publicity for their soundtracks, fans still love the songs featured in the animated films. Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper features songs that Barbie fans know every word to, including “I’m A Girl Like You,” which is the most popular song from the movie.
Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper takes the classic fairytale and changes the roles, so female characters lead the cast. While the movie is similar to other animated Barbie movies, this was the first film to acknowledge how similar Barbie dolls look. The new Barbie focuses on modern Barbies with diverse skin tones and sizes.