Explaining the ending of ‘Barbie’: What was I made for?
The biggest box office hit of 2023, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie became an unstoppable cultural juggernaut that had audiences laughing, crying, and experiencing significantly more emotions than would reasonably be expected from a candy-coloured caper inspired by a plastic plaything.
At its core, though, the movie is a story about Margot Robbie’s title character forging – and then embracing – her own identity, free from the preconceived notions of what her peers and even the wider society she occupies wants her to be.
Battling against internal and external threats that include body image, the patriarchy, and the preconceived notion of what normality is supposed to be, Barbie regularly takes unexpected existential detours along its journey of self-discovery.
Having finally vanquished the threat of Barbieland permanently becoming Kendom, Robbie’s Barbie makes a life-altering decision that both vindicates and validates every comedic and emotional beat that’s come before.
What happens at the end of Barbie?
After thwarting the attempted coup staged by a band of rogue Kens by turning their own egotistical ways against them, Barbie decides that she needs to find her own purpose in life. Rhea Perlman’s Ruth Handler – the creator of the doll – then appears and offers a stark choice. Does Barbie want to become human or continue living the life of a toy?
Experiencing real feelings for the first time, Barbie being so many things to so many people while also being nothing unto herself makes her mind up, and to avoid losing her sense of self, she opts to take the plunge and try her hand at living in the real world.
The final line of the film finds Robbie overcome with exuberance at the prospect of visiting a gynaecologist for the first time. On the surface, it might be a throwaway one-liner to pay off a recurring gag made throughout the narrative, but on a deeper level, it sees Stereotypical Barbie embrace her body, herself, and the newfound thrill of a meaningful and unexplored existence with no shackles or limitations.
Who is the woman on the bench in Barbie?
There were rumours that the woman on the bench was played by Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara, but the reality is that an Academy Award-winning friend of the production was drafted in for the small but pivotal part. A two-time winner of the Oscar for ‘Best Costume Design’, Ann Roth is a known associate of both Gerwig and Baumbach.
Roth provided the costumes for Margot at the Wedding, While We’re Young, and White Noise, all three of which were written and directed by Baumbach, with Gerwig appearing as a member of the cast in the latter. The character doesn’t get a name beyond ‘woman on the bench’, but being told she’s beautiful by Barbie is more than enough to melt even the hardest of hearts.
Does Barbie have an end-credit scene?
As much as Mattel would love to build its own Marvel-style universe with Barbie at the epicentre, Gerwig’s movie didn’t feature a mid-credits or post-credits scene. Or at least, the theatrical edition didn’t.
In the IMAX release, a stinger featuring Emerald Fennell’s Midge – based on the discontinued line of pregnant dolls – is seen giving birth, forcing Helen Mirren to break the fourth wall and bound into frame for a live-action cameo. “No, no, no! This is disgusting! Stop the camera! Stop!” she yells before the screen cuts to black.
Beyond that, a deleted scene was also screened that showed Will Ferrell’s Mattel CEO trying to find true love for Barbie, which drew Barney the Dinosaur and Thomas the Tank Engine into the conversation, while there was footage of Ryan Gosling’s Ken singing Cyndi Lauper twist ‘Boys Just Want to Have Fun’, as well as his unseen interactions with Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie.
