Did you spot the nod to Bratz dolls in Barbie?

The scene could well refer to an old quarrel between Mattel and MGA, the company behind the Bratz.

Warning, this article contains spoilers!

If we saw Barbiewe know that the film is peppered with nods to Mattel’s marketing strategy and the evolution of the doll since the 1960s. Among the references to Ruth Handler’s invention, one scene in particular caught the eye. attention of some viewers.

As she travels to the real world, Barbie (Margot Robbie) arrives at a high school and comes face to face with Sasha (played by Ariana Greenblatt), a young girl she thinks is her owner. Accompanied by her friends, she does not give him a very warm welcome. For teenage girls, the doll is just a product of the totally corny patriarchy. The stereotypical Barbie ends up bursting into tears at their words.

A theory then appeared on social networks: what if these four young girls represented the Bratz, Barbie’s main competitors that appeared in the 2000s? Indeed, the physical resemblance is quite disturbing, but above all, Sasha corresponds to the name of one of the dolls, also known under the pseudonym Bunny Boo. And this is precisely the nickname given to her by her mother, Gloria (America Ferrera), in the movie. At this level, the coincidence seems less and less likely.

If Sasha and her three girlfriends (Sasha Milstein, McKenna Roberts and Elise Gallup) are particularly disagreeable with Barbie in the film, it could well be a nod to the conflicted relationship between Mattel and the MGA, the company behind of the Bratzes.

Indeed, in 2008, the MGA is obliged to pay 100 million dollars to Mattel. The reason ? The designer behind the Bratz, Carter Bryant, would have created the quartet while still working at the creator of Barbie. He would then have arrived at his new employers with sketches originally intended for Mattel. The Los Angeles judges therefore ruled that the MGA was not the rightful owner of the dolls.

After two weeks at the French box office, Barbie is already approaching 3 million admissions. With Oppenheimerthe film largely boosted the figures for the month of July in theaters.

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