Barbie touched audiences in many ways, but its portrayals of girl and womanhood were its core. Ruth taught Barbie the true meaning of being a woman as she struggled with her existential crisis and desire to be more than a doll.
Barbie's first real-world adventures were bad, but they inspired one of the film's best scenes. While at a bus stop figuring out her next actions, Barbie briefly met the sweet older woman beside her.
Gloria's husband scarcely appeared in Barbie, but fans will be pleased to know that Ryan Piers Williams, America Ferrera's real-life husband, played him. Funny and kind, he was largely focused on learning languages in the film.
Even though Barbie Land and the real world were separate universes, Barbie Land had many real-life references. One humorous detail was that Barbie Land's airport was named BAX, evidently after LAX.
Weird Barbie gave Stereotypical Barbie an option using two different forms of the same object, which was one of Barbie's most important and humorous moments.
The Barbie movie was so powerful because Greta Gerwig used Barbie's extensive history to depict every form and iteration. Small Easter eggs like the Pegasus statue on Barbie Land's beach showed that the movie built on and improved what already existing.
Fans enjoyed the movie's sweet inclusion of Barbie creator Ruth Handler. Greta Gerwig added a Renaissance element to Ruth's interaction with Barbie. Ruth poured Barbie tea in the style of Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam".