The two biggest blockbusters of 2023 may soon have more in common than audiences could have imagined. Reports have arisen that toy and entertainment giant Mattel is in talks with the Universal-owned animation studio Illumination (Despicable Me franchise, Sing, Secret Life of Pets) to produce an animated Barbie theatrical feature.
The live-action Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie as the iconic doll was the No. 1 movie of 2023, raking in more than $1.4 billion worldwide. Illumination, meanwhile, produced the No. 2 pic: The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which adapted the beloved Nintendo brand for the big screen and brought in $1.36 billion at the box office.
According to Matthew Belloni’s Puck newsletter, a fully-animated flick would not impact a potential live-action Barbie sequel (or Ken spin-off) from Warner Bros. Pictures, as Mattel retains animation rights. According to the report, Gerwig and Robbie “aren’t thrilled” by these plans.
The Barbie brand has long had a prolific animation presence, starting with the launch of Mattel Entertainment and the early 2000s direct-to-video CG fairy tales produced by Mainframe Entertainment in Canada. The first original Barbie animation line debuted with Elise Allen’s Barbie: Fairtyopia concept in 2005. Since then, the fashion-doll-turned “Everything” avatar has starred in dozens of animated movie specials, series and web series. Most recently, Netflix has been the streaming home for these adventures, such as Barbie: Mermaid Power; Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams and this year’s Barbie and Stacie to the Rescue.
The original Barbie fashion doll was created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler and introduced by Mattel in 1959.
[Source: Puck via ScreenRant]
