What are all the Barbie movies?

Created by Ruth and Elliot Handler with the friend Harold MatsonBarbie was introduced on March 9, 1959, at the American International Toy Fair in New York, by Mattel, and took shape after the couple’s daughter, Barbara Handler (whose nickname gave the doll its name) was seen playing with paper dolls, since at the time, there were no dolls that could change clothes, much less look like an adult.

Since then, Barbie has become one of the most desired toys for children around the world, being part of their fun moments for over 60 years, not only through games, where imagination can take the doll anywhere, but also through productions shown on the small and big screens, as she has been the star of animated films since the 1980s.

The film that introduced the blonde doll in 2D was “Barbie – The Rock Star” (1987), whose narrative follows Barbie ending a successful world tour, started to promote world peace, with a show in space. The plot gained a sequel in 1998 with the title “Barbie and the Sensations: Returning to Rockin’ Land”, where it is possible to follow Barbie’s return to Earth after the tour.

Still, the two feature films were just the beginning of an extensive list of productions that explore Barbie’s life and professions. See below all the animated films featuring the doll:

1. Barbie: Rock Star (1987)
2. “Barbie and the Sensations: Back to Rockin’ Land” (1988)
3. Barbie: The Nutcracker (2001)
4. Barbie as Rapunzel (2002)
5. Barbie and Swan Lake (2003)
6. Barbie in The Princess Switch (2004)
7. Barbie Fairytopia (2005)
8. Barbie and the Magic of Aladus (2005)
9. The Barbie Diaries (2006)
10. Barbie Fairytopia Mermaidia (2006)
11. Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses (2006)
12. Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow (2007)
13. Barbie in the Island Princess (2007)
14. Barbie Butterfly: A New Fairytopia Adventure (2008)
15. Barbie and the Diamond Castle (2008)
16. Barbie in A Christmas Carol (2008)
17. Barbie in Thumbelina (2009)
18. Barbie and the Three Musketeers (2009)
19. Barbie in Mermaid Tales (2010)
20. Barbie: Fashion and Magic (2010)
21. Barbie and the Secret of the Fairies (2011)
22. Barbie: Princess School (2011)
23. Barbie: A Perfect Christmas (2011)
24. Barbie in Mermaid Tales 2 (2012)
25. Barbie: The Princess and the Pop Star (2012)
26. Barbie in the Pink Shoes (2013)
27. Barbie Butterfly and the Fairy Princess (2013)
28. Barbie & Her Sisters in a Pony Adventure (2013)
29. Barbie: The Pearl Mermaid (2014)
30. Barbie and the Secret Door (2014)
31. Barbie: Super Princess (2015)
32. Barbie: Queens of Rock (2015)
33. Barbie & Her Sisters in Puppy Adventure (2015)
34. Barbie and the Secret Agents (2016)
35. Barbie: Star Trek: Adventure (2016)
36. Barbie and Her Sisters in Search of Puppies (2016)
37. Barbie in a Video Game World (2017)
38. Barbie Dolphin Magic (2017)

In addition to these, Barbie was also present in the Pixar Animation franchise, “Toy Story”, where toys come to life when humans are not around, as several Barbie dolls had small roles in “Toy Story 2”, and a larger role in “Toy Story 3”, where Barbie and Ken’s romance was addressed.

More than just animated plots, Barbie also gained a flesh-and-blood version. This happened in 2022 with the release of “Barbie”, a film by Greta Gerwig (Little Women), where several versions of Barbie are given real interpreters and the protagonist of the plot is the Stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad).

In the plot, Barbie from Robbie leaves Barbieland as a less than perfect looking doll, and travels to the human world in order to find a new meaning to her existence.