Barbie's success story in the 2023 movie doesn't quite match up to her first cinematic appearance in Toy Story 2. Mattel's protective approach limited Barbie's on-screen presence until her first official movie in 2001 with Barbie in the Nutcracker. Toy Story 2's depiction of Barbie offers a more unbiased portrayal compared to the more revisionist approach in Margot Robbie's film.

Margot Robbie's starring role in the 2023 mega-hit Barbie certainly counts as one of the most memorable performances of the past decade, yet the movie itself still can't match up to the character's original appearance, 25 years ago. Earning critical and commercial acclaim, Barbie is undoubtedly a major success story – both for Robbie, director Greta Gerwig, and the toy's parent company, Mattel. Despite this, however, there remains a lingering sense that the film could have made even better use of the character, largely thanks to the example from 1999.

Movies about Barbie...