The Barbie movie is finally here. And while there’s a lot to enjoy, from its perfectly pink set to its musical numbers, the biggest treat of it all is seeing the sheer amount of Barbies and Kens onscreen — including the controversial and discontinued dolls.
Greta Gerwig’s vision of Barbieland is packed with so many elaborate details that it might be difficult to fully appreciate it all from just one viewing. But when the first Barbie character posters came out a few months ago and teased long-forgotten dolls like Midge (Emerald Fennell) and Allan (Michael Cera), we knew we were in for a playful lesson in Barbie history.
While some of these characters had shorter cameos than others, they all exist in the unofficial Discontinued Barbie Hall of Fame. So if you caught yourself asking, “Who the hell is Sugar Daddy Ken?” while watching Barbie, we’ve got you covered.
Allan
Credit: Composite: Mattel
“There’s only one Allan.” Barbie‘s secret gem, Allan is an awkwardly hilarious outcast wonderfully played by Cera, and his one-liners and reaction shots are sure to launch a thousand memes. But why is there only one of him?
Released in 1964, the Allan doll was launched into the Barbie-verse as Ken’s best friend. His selling point? All of Ken’s clothes could fit him!
Allan was dating Midge, Barbie’s best friend — more on her below! — and they could go on double dates with Barbie and Ken. But the Allan doll was eventually discontinued in 1966, most likely because he wasn’t as popular as Ken, a detail that the movie won’t let Allan forget.
In the early ’90s, however, Allan was resurrected and repackaged as “Alan,” Midge’s new husband. Eventually, Alan would become the father of Midge’s kids in an early 2000s Happy Family collection, along with their three-year-old child Ryan. However, the uproar over the highly controversial pregnant Midge doll — with removable newborn — meant this nuclear family got shelved.
Since then, Allan hasn’t really appeared in the Barbie-verse at all. While Midge had a comeback in 2013, Allan was only ever sold again in 2014 as part of a 50th anniversary double date set with Midge. I guess there’ll always be just one of him.
Barbie and Tanner
Credit: Composite: Getty: Chip Somodevilla / Staff
Tanner the pooping dog makes a memorable appearance in Weird Barbie’s (Kate McKinnon) house, and yup, that was a key selling point for the toy pet.
Released in 2006, Tanner was Barbie’s beloved pup who kids could play with, feed treats to, and — the biggest selling point — pick up his poop. The doll came with its own poop scooper that had a small magnet that could attach to little pieces of plastic poop. Fun!
But the toy was recalled in 2007, because the magnet in the poop scooper was loose enough to fall out and become a choking hazard without an adult noticing. Tanner fell out of favor, and Taffy, another yellow Labrador, took over the role as Barbie’s dog in the animated series Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse.
Pregnant Midge
Credit: Composite: Getty: Lawrence Lucier / Stringer
Poor, poor Midge. Perhaps the Barbie doll with the saddest history, Midge was initially released in 1963 as Barbie’s best friend.
Although they were the same size (so the two could share clothes), Midge was considerably less glamorous than Barbie. See, Mattel was worried young girls wouldn’t be able to identify with Barbie (a dream girl), but they might be able to identify with Midge (an ordinary girl). She had freckles, didn’t wear a lot of makeup, and her wardrobe was on the tamer side. This version of Midge was eventually discontinued in 1967.
Like Allan, Midge enjoyed a couple of resurrections in the ’80s and ’90s. But her time in the spotlight came to an abrupt halt in 2002 when a pregnant Midge (who we see in Barbie) was sold. The belly was a magnet that kids could remove, and when they did, they’d find a small, removable baby figurine inside Midge.
The pregnant Midge doll received considerable backlash from concerned parents, who believed that the doll promoted teenage pregnancy. They also believed that the doll being packaged alone, without a husband, sent the wrong message to kids. (Alan and their three-year-old child, Ryan, were available as a separate set.)
As part of her research for her book Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll, writer M.G. Lord found that kids would use Midge’s pregnancy bump to store erasers and coins — do with that information as you will. Walmart recalled the pregnant Midge dolls in 2002, and that version of the doll was never seen again…until the Barbie movie.
In 2013, Midge had a comeback as a doll and a character on the animated show Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse. She was now single (no more Allan/Alan), didn’t have any kids (or removable bump), and was ready to be Barbie’s perfect best friend. Justice for Midge.
Barbie Video Girl
Credit: Composite: Mattel
Barbie Video Girl (played by Mette Towley) is by far the strangest doll ever released in the Barbie-verse.
Launched in 2010, the Barbie Video Girl doll came with a necklace that had a camera lens in it and a video screen on Barbie’s back, as replicated in the film. The camera could record up to 30 minutes of footage, which could then be downloaded to a computer. Barbie Video Girl was marketed for “budding filmmakers,” allowing kids to film playtime from Barbie’s perspective in whichever way they wanted. Is that weird? Yes. And the FBI found it even weirder.
Federal authorities were concerned that the hidden camera in Barbie’s necklace could be used for child pornography and issued an advisory to all consumers. The doll was discontinued in 2012.
Earring Magic Ken
Credit: Composite: Getty: Yvonne Hemsey / Contributor
We all know Ken is queer-coded, but have you met Earring Magic Ken (played by Tom Stourton)? Although the doll had a quick cameo in the Barbie movie (spot him with Sugar Daddy Ken at Weird Barbie’s house), his actual legacy is nothing short of a gay icon.
In the early ’90s, Mattel conducted a survey with a bunch of kids to get their opinions on Ken. The verdict? Ken wasn’t cool enough. And Mattel was ready to revamp him.
You may ask, what was cool in the early ’90s? Well, according to Mattel’s surveys, it was raves and Madonna, so naturally things got queer pretty quickly. Thus, Earring Magic Ken was born into the world in 1993, strutting around in his lavender mesh shirt and pleather purple vest, with platinum blonde hair and accessories for the ages, gay enough to have every conservative mom clutching at her pearls.
The doll was essentially decked out with gay-coded accessories, from his circular charm necklace easily passing as a ringed sex toy to his left ear being pierced. So, queer men embraced him, but other Barbie buyers did not.
The doll caused such an uproar that it was discontinued and recalled only six months after its release. Reportedly, Earring Magic Ken remains the best-selling Ken doll in Mattel’s history, and I’m thinking it’s time for his renaissance. Earring Magic Ken was the gayest Ken ever got, and we’re so thankful for him.
Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken
Credit: Composite: Mattel
He’s not just a sugar daddy, he’s a Palm Beach sugar daddy. Released in 2009 as part of Barbie’s 50th anniversary, Sugar Daddy Ken is the perfect Palm Beach hottie, matching his lush green blazer with business casual pleated pants and backswept, silver locks just in case you didn’t get the point. He also comes with a unique accessory — a toy puppy on a hot pink leash.
In fact, Sugar Daddy Ken (played by Rob Brydon) is quite literally Sugar’s daddy. As briefly mentioned in the Barbie movie, the puppy’s name is actually Sugar — hence Ken is Sugar’s dad.
Still, the double entendre didn’t land well, with Sugar Daddy Ken stirring up enough controversy to get Mattel to release a statement. The doll was eventually discontinued.
Teen Talk Barbie
This Barbie can talk! Released in 1992, Teen Talk Barbie found fame for coming with a voice box that could generate four phrases. While some phrases were innocent, one particular phrase caused enough controversy to inspire a Simpsons episode: “Math class is tough!”
Concerns over the phrase discouraging young girls to study math and science quickly poured in. Educators and activist groups slammed the doll for insinuating that girls can’t do math, arguing Barbie should be a doll inspiring girls to do anything — even math.
While the doll wasn’t discontinued, Mattel eventually removed the phrase from its settings and offered refunds for anyone wishing to switch out their Teen Talk Barbie for another. The controversy also inspired the “Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy” episode in Season 5 of The Simpsons, where Lisa goes through a similar situation.
Teen Talk Barbie (Marisa Abela) has a quick cameo in the Barbie movie, but she barely talks. And she certainly doesn’t comment on mathematics.
Growing Up Skipper
Both Skipper (Erica Ford) and Growing Up Skipper (Hannah Khalique-Brown) make an appearance in the Barbie movie. But the latter is in the Weird House of Misfit Barbies for good reason.
Created in 1964, Skipper is Barbie’s younger sister. In the current Barbie-verse, she’s thriving as a hip teenager who’s into tech and gadgets. But in 1975, she publicly went through puberty with the launch of Growing Up Skipper — a nightmare for anyone, least of all a doll.
Released to help kids understand puberty, Growing Up Skipper had a left arm that kids could rotate to see the doll growing from a kid to a teenager in real-time. How? She grew boobs.
As her arm rotated, Skipper grew an inch in height and on her chest, transitioning from a little girl to a curvy teenager. Obviously, this is incredibly fucking weird. The doll was met with significant controversy and was discontinued in 1977. Still, she lives on in Barbie.
How to watch: Barbie is now playing in theaters.
