'Barbie's Allan Was Discontinued Twice Since His Release In 1964
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Before Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie hit theaters this summer, it was already clear that it was going to make massive waves. And make waves it did, quickly blwoing away the box office competition and sending everyone to Amazon to buy a new pink outfit. Two months later, people are *still* buzzing about the masterpiece.
Now that the movie is finally available to buy and rent at home starting September 12, a whole new wave of people are going to get to fall in love with Barbie—but they also might have some questions about the other dolls who show up in the movie. One guy in particular is sending everyone straight to Google. Allan, a very basic male doll, spends a lot of time being awkward and struggling with even simple coordination. He meets up with the humans, and even tries to escape Barbie Land when the Kens take over.
Like many of the dolls in the movie, Allan is—was—a real Barbie doll. But who is Allan and what’s his backstory? Here’s the deal.
Who is Allan?
Allan is Ken’s best friend in the movie and in doll world. He’s considered the male partner for Midge, who is Barbie’s pregnant BFF. The first Allan doll was released by Mattel in 1964. In the 1990s, you could even get a "Wedding Day Allan" with the the Wedding Party Midge Gift Set, according to a Barbie fandom site (and you can buy your own replica on eBay!).
Barbie creator Ruth Handler named several of her dolls after people in her life, and Allan is believed to be inspired by her son-in-law, Allen Segal. Ruth’s daughter Barbara (whose name inspired Barbie's own) married Allen was she was 18, per The New York Times. They were married for 11 years and had two children together.
He’s played by Michael Cera in the movie.
Michael Cera is known for his deadpan comedy, and it came in handy for his turn as Allan in Barbie. While all the other male dolls are named Ken and have a whole lot of swagger, Allan is just...Allan. He struggles to do really basic stuff, like climbing over a short fence, and just isn’t seen as cool as the other Kens.
But Allan-slash-Michael really shined at the end when he helped the Barbies take back Barbie Land.
“It was a kind of very last-minute casting,” Michael told GQ. “My manager got a call checking on my availability for it, and he called me and he said, ‘I got a call about this movie. It’s the Barbie movie. Greta Gerwig’s directing it, and it’s filming in London for four months or something, so I told them you probably wouldn’t want to do it because you probably don’t want to go to London.'”
But Michael really wanted to do it. “I was like, ‘What! What do you mean? Call them back!’ He didn’t like blow it or anything, but he’s like, ‘I managed their expectations that you might not want to do it.’ I was like, ‘How can I not do it? I need to do it!’” Michael said.
Why was the Allan doll created?
Allan was originally designed to be Ken’s buddy, given that Barbie had Midge. Allan fit into all of Ken’s clothes, which gave kids some of the same versatility with their male dolls that they had with their Barbies.
Allan and Midge got “married” in Barbie Land and were sold as part of Barbie’s “Happy Family” collection in 2002, per CBS News. In addition to the small plastic baby that pops out of Midge's detatchable stomach, the couple also shared a 3-year-old son named Ryan.
Why was Allan discontinued?
The doll was originally discontinued because he just wasn’t that popular, per Collider. Poor Allan.
In 2002, he made a comeback as Midge’s husband when he became part of the "Happy Family" collection. Unfortunately, his victorious return was short lived, as he was phased out again when parents freaked over the idea of their little kids playing with a pregnant Barbie, per the Associated Press.
Will Mattel release Allan?
People have become obsessed with Allan after the movie, thanks in large part to Michael Cera's iconic portrayal. And while the toy giant has said they will be releasing a "Weird Barbie" after Kate McKinnon's hilarious character crushed it in the film, Mattel has no plans to release new Allan dolls, according to the Daily Mail.
But if you really want to get your hands on one, Allan dolls are currently selling for hundreds of dollars online. You can still get your taste of Allan though, now that Barbie is streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play.
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