Mythology Gag / Barbie (2023)

• The swimsuit Barbie wears in the opening sequence is based on the outfit paired with the doll when it was first released in the 1950s.
• Many of the dollhouses seen in Barbieland have been sold as actual toys over the years.
• Midge is a character passed over as too weird because she's a pregnant doll. Her costuming, and this narrative haste to ignore her, are a reference to the controversial "Happy Family Midge" doll, infamous for depicting a pregnant Barbie with a removable belly to let her "give birth" to the baby stored inside.
• As seen on the posters, Dua Lipa's Barbie is a blue-haired mermaid, which could be seen as a reference to either Nori from Barbie Fairytopia or the blue-haired mermaid doll from the Dreamtopia line.
• In the opening, Barbie steps out of her heels... but her feet stay in that position, just like the doll.
• Similarly, during her breakdown at realising she doomed Barbieland to Ken's Patriarchy by accident, she begins assuming the stiff sitting position the doll does, with varying results.
• The font for the sign leading to the real world is the same font for the logo used in the 70s and 80s.
• The bizarre toys and Barbies in Weird Barbie's sanctuary are all real bizarre points in Mattel's product release history, which is later clarified further with the credits depicting the real toys and their marketing—there's the pooping Tanner dog known for being weird and gross, Growing Up Skipper (controversial for her simulated puberty transformation including growing breasts), Video Girl Barbie (a weird doll with a camera in her chest and a screen in her back, discontinued after no less than the FBI expressed concerns that the video function put children's privacy at risk), Sugar Daddy Ken (a bizarre cultural spotlight with a badly-chosen name), Teen Talk Barbie (infamous for featuring quotes perceived as sexist like "math class is tough!"), and Earring Magic Ken (infamous for heavy gay connotations). Teen Talk Barbie is the only one not spotlighted by the characters, making her reference more subtle and only identifiable by her distinctive costume.
• Allan is noted to be the only Allan there is, referring to him being a one-off character in the doll line, and when punching out the Kens, he says "I can wear your clothes!" as a boast because one of the selling points on Allan's box (later shown in the credits) was that he could wear all of Ken's clothing.
• One of the dolls Gloria and Sasha have around appears to be Clara from Barbie in the Nutcracker.
• The heart locket Stereotypical Barbie wears while talking with Ruth's ghost seems to be a reference to the heart locket worn by Clara in Nutcracker; just like how Clara wanted to use her locket to return home, then chose to stay in Parthenia, Barbie is wearing this heart necklace as she realizes she's outgrown Barbieland and wants to become a full-fledged human being.
• Filipino movie-goers may recognise the Filipiniana gown Ana Cruz Kayne's Barbie character wore in the film in honor of her family's Filipino heritage. In the mid-1970s, Mattel opened plants in the Philippines in a bid to diversify production lines and cut costs following Ferdinand Marcos's spearheading of the Export Processing Zone project. While the "Pinoy Barbie" dolls were short-lived due to setbacks, Mattel later produced a series of dolls honoring the Philippines and its culture.