“You would not believe what I’ve been through tonight,” Mr. Potato Head cries to Woody and the other toys in Toy Story 3, recounting his ‘survival’ through the frenzy of chaotic toddlers. As we all know, kids can be quite a handful, and if toys could talk, their stories would probably echo the experiences of those of Vietnam War veterans.
Barbies, then, are not immune to a child’s inclination to use them as a blank canvas for imaginative, often wild transformations. As Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking Barbie riffs on in the movie, some of them are destined to encounter a fate similar to that of Mr. Potato Head, which itself became a hilarious and nostalgic trend.
#1
Image credits: sinmineral
In Gerwig’s blockbuster, the 39-year-old SNL alum Kate McKinnon brings to life a disheveled doll who has clearly been played with “too hard.” With her scribbled-on face and chaotically chopped blond hair, “Weird Barbie”, who’s frequently contorted into splits, stands out amid the array of perfectly manicured Barbies and Kens. Clearly, her presence resonated with the audience, as following the movie’s massive success, viewers began sharing their own childhood botched dolls on TikTok.
“I feel so bad for my Barbie. She’s walking around in barbie land like this!” one user wrote, accompanying a clip of a shaved doll head affixed to two plastic legs without a body or arms, while Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” plays in the background.
#2
Image credits: nezumi096
Other notable videos showcase a doll trapped inside a beer can, one with a green dinosaur body, and another with a tiny picture of Eminem inexplicably taped over the face. Another clip displays Barbie in a creepy DIY “Hellraiser” mask adorned with needles. That poor thing – at least she had her head on…
#3
Image credits: gretavantastic
While many fans of the film giggled at the presence of “Weird Barbie”, Gerwig, the film’s director, has detailed the real story behind the doll – adding that it came from some of her experiences as a child.
“We grew up in a neighborhood where there were a lot of girls older than me,” she told Rolling Stone. “So I had a lot of hand-me-down Barbies that had already gotten a haircut by the time I got them. It was like, ‘Well, we have to do that.'”
#4
Image credits: kenlee.w4
#5
Image credits: vanorossi
#6
Image credits: mewreti
#7
Image credits: sushiiluver
#8
Image credits: ahcheflr6i1
#9
Image credits: starrbreadd
#10
Image credits: harrietlevi
#11
Image credits: iluvsofiacoppolaa
#12
Image credits: sophiesophie_06
#13
Image credits: emilyy__003
#14
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#15
Image credits: nezumi096
#16
Image credits: nezumi096
#17
Image credits: raychelemae
#18
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#19
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#20
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#21
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#22
Image credits: laurakordova
#23
Image credits: gracieschlager
#24
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#25
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#26
Image credits: eva.meyer_
#27
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#28
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e
#29
Image credits: e._.s._.m._.e