Barbie plot holes that don’t make sense – from missing star to brainwashing

Barbie is fast becoming the runaway hit of the summer that has already generated massive acclaim and nearly $400 million at the box office so far.

Audiences are lapping up Margot Robbie’s existential fantasy and have crowned Ryan Gosling’s Ken as one of the funniest comedic performances in years.

However, the movie also has some glaring problems that have been covered up by the laughs and poignant drama.

Although the movie certainly benefits from repeat viewings, here are all the plot holes and bloopers that may have been lost in the pink haze.

How did the humans survive?

Once Barbie escapes her plastic dream world she meets the CEO of Mattel, portrayed by Will Ferrell.

She then runs into Gloria (played by America Ferrera), the human who has been playing with her real-world counterpart after struggling to connect with her daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt).

After making a quick getaway when the toy company tries to put her back in her box, Barbie, Gloria and Sasha return to Barbie Land to discover the Kens have been busy.

However, the humans’ presence in the fantasy land raises some huge questions – namely, what did they eat and drink?

@LoFangs97 asked on Twitter: “The only plot hole in Barbie I’m still curious about is how humans (Gloria and Sasha) stayed in Barbie Land for multiple days with no food or water.

“Is the rule of the universe that as soon as you’re in Barbie Land you function as a Barbie?”

How were the Barbies brainwashed?

Once Ken returns to Barbie Land to teach them about his discovery of the patriarchy the Barbies quickly become subservient to the Kens.

Gosling’s Ken explains they crumbled as soon as they learned about how things work in the real world – but why?

Gloria likens the brainwashing to settlers introducing smallpox to indigenous civilizations in a throwaway line.

But many of the Barbies are intellectuals, scientists, doctors and politicians, so it doesn’t really make sense that they were so easily duped by a simple-minded Ken.

Where did Nicola Coughlan go?

Bridgerton and Derry Girls fans were thrilled when Nicola Coughlan was announced as a major member of the cast.

She joined the likes of Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa and Emma Mackey amongst the huge list of British TV stars portraying Barbies, Kens and other roles.

Near the beginning of the film, Coughlan’s Diplomat Barbie is shown giving a rousing speech to a crowd of Barbies.

Unfortunately, the Bridgerton star disappears from the rest of the film, potentially due to scheduling conflicts with the Netflix drama.

Twitter user @brokebackstan asked: “Wait am I insane or did Nicola Coughlan show up on screen like one entire time in Barbie?”

Barbie Roleplay

Barbie’s imaginary home exists in parallel to the real world in Gerwig’s movie, with all the inhabitants supposedly acting out what children in the real world are doing with their dolls.

Although Barbies and Kens are aimed at younger children, some fans have humorously pointed out that their adventures might become a little inappropriate when their owners get older.

@trashpupdotcom joked: “The biggest plot hole in Barbie is that it’s based so much on the physics of how you play with the dolls, but there’s not a part where two of the dolls mash together to have sex.”

The film almost alludes to this with Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who has a bizarre hairdo, paint on her face and is constantly in the splits after being played with too hard.

However, given the film has plenty of jokes aimed at older audiences, it’s easy to see why some fans found it a little strange that it doesn’t address what some kids made their Barbies do behind closed doors.

Barbie is out now.