5 Movies Like ‘Barbie’ to Watch Next With Similar Ken-ergy

Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”(starring Margot Robbie as the titular doll) is, justifiably, capturing the cultural zeitgeist.

The movie itself is wonderful – a subversive, silly and surprisingly moving. Whatever you thought a “Barbie” movie would be, this isn’t it. There is no egregious product placements (despite almost every product imaginable in our world having a “Barbie” tie-ins) or feelings of gross consumerism. Instead, it’s a lovely tale about feminism and the differences between an idealized world created, in part, by the dreams of young women, and the cruel reality of the world we actually inhabit.

“Barbie” gives you such a buzz, in fact, that you’re probably looking for more things like it (even though, if we’re completely honest, there isn’t a whole lot exactly like the movie). We’ve compiled five movies that are, at the very least, “Barbie”-ish, and ones that we think you’ll probably enjoy.

Note: These are all movies that were not a part of Greta Gerwig’s wonderful and suitably thorough Letterboxd list of movies that helped inspire “Barbie” (she includes everything from “The Red Shoes” to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”). These are movies that we find similar, in terms of tone, spirit or some shared technical sensibility.

“One from the Heart” (1982)

It’s strange that this isn’t on Gerwig’s list of “Barbie” inspiration; there is such a clear connection between the two movies. Francis Ford Coppola’s “One from the Heart,” a notorious bomb that, when it debuted in 1982, bankrupted Coppola and his idealistic Zoetrope Studios production company. (There’s a reason, a few years later, that he agreed to direct a 3D Michael Jackson attraction for the Disney theme parks.) Like “Barbie,” “One from the Heart” is full of big emotions – and it also is a musical, with songs by Tom Waits (with help from the great Crystal Gayle).

Also “One from the Heart,” like “Barbie,” embraces its synthetic stylization – Coppola shot entirely on a soundstage, which lends the movie a heightened sensibility that would otherwise have been missing. While the movie was largely ignored upon its initial release, there’s a director’s cut that Coppola has fashioned, debuting later this year. Maybe “One from the Heart” will find a new appraisal in the wake of “Barbie.” Stranger things have happened.

“Speed Racer” (2008)

A film still marvelously ahead of its time, The Wachowskis’ “Speed Racer” similarly adapted a beloved piece of IP (this time the Japanese comic book and animated series of the 1960’s) and looked to update it with a subversive edge. In the Wachowskis’ more than capable hands, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) isn’t just racing against his fellow drivers, but against the oppressive machinery of capitalism. (There’s an entire, gonzo montage about how the sport of racecar driving is rigged and essentially devoid of hope. It’s beautiful.) Also, the look of “Speed Racer” is just as shocking and hyper-stylized as “Barbie” – and this was back in 2008.

In order to achieve the look of a living piece of animation, the Wachowskis shot everything separately and composited it all together to make the images look “flat;” and they rendered the racing sequences with off-the-wall computer-generated imagery that was referred to as “car-fu.” Just like Barbie, who breaks down the barrier between two worlds, there’s a moment at the end of “Speed Racer” where the character drives so fast he seems to warp the world around him. This one is ripe for reappraisal.

“Popeye” (1980)

“Popeye” is like “Barbie” in that it was crafted by an American auteur (in this case Robert Altman), was an unconventional musical (with songs by Harry Nilsson), was based on popular source material (E. C. Segar’s comic strip character, who first appeared in 1929) and was deeply committed to the bit. So committed, in fact, that Altman commissioned an entire town of Sweethaven to be built in Malta; the sets were so sturdily built that they still stand and are visited by tourists to this day. And, like “Barbie” and Margot Robbie, it’s hard to imagine “Popeye” with anybody else but Robin Williams in the title role. Altman admirably creates a world wholly indebted to the original comic strip, slightly askew from our world, and filling it with characters that could only exist there.

“Popeye” was a colossal failure upon release, which definitely sets it apart from the oversized success of “Barbie,” although it has been reappraised over the years as something of a cult classic. There’s an innate sweetness that both movies share; we could imagine Robbie’s Barbie enjoying Altman’s “Popeye.” Or at least that she’d sing along to some of the songs.

“Last Action Hero” (1993)

“Last Action Hero,” another big-budget flop (jeez, were all of these movies disappointments?) that deserved more love, features a similar structure, with a non-real character emerging from a fantasy land for some hilarious fish-out-of-water hijinks in our own realm. But instead of having the main character of the movie be the clueless ingenue, the movie instead identifies with a young boy (Austin O’Brien) who is obsessed with his favorite action movie star, Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger). After the boy is given a magic ticket, he’s blasted into the unreal cinematic world of Slater – a place where everyone is beautiful, cartoon cats are paired with live-action partners, and characters from “Basic Instinct” and “Terminator 2” are walking around freely. After some commotion, the two of them are blasted back into the real world, where Slater has to contend with real-world physics and real-world heartache.

Meant initially as a parody of action movies, the script was later re-written by the same screenwriters that the script was initially taking aim at. The end result is a bit messy, tonally, but still features tons of terrific action by another American auteur, director John McTiernan (“Predator,” “Die Hard”). And Schwarzenegger gives a performance every bit as warm and committed as Robbie. This movie is a hoot.

“The Lego Movie” (2014)

The parallels are pretty obvious here – both films are both based on a popular toy, they both are unexpectedly moving and they both feature a winning supporting performance from Will Ferrell. Also, this has some musical numbers that will get lodged in your heads for days afterwards (are you an “Everything Is Awesome” enthusiast or an “I’m Just Ken” truther?) Also, both are visually stunning fantasias, full of pop and color that still pay homage to the rather limited nature of the original toys. Before “Barbie,” “The Lego Movie” proved that even the worst, most cravenly commercial set-up can yield actual art. And that really is awesome.

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