Barbie: Greta Gerwig Had To Fight Warner Bros. To Keep A Now Classic Ken Scene
Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie is full of incredible moments that became instant classics the second the film premiered — and the "dream ballet" that occurs near the ending is just one of them. Faced with the terrifying prospect of self-reflection, Ken (Ryan Gosling) loses sight of who he is, feeling abandoned by his Barbie (Margot Robbie) and seduced by the lure of the patriarchy. Apparently, though, Warner Bros. and Mattel were worried that Gerwig's audiences wouldn't quite understand the dream ballet, where Gosling's Ken figures out his feelings alongside other Kens played by Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and others.
"It just said in the script, 'And then it becomes a dream ballet and they work it out through dance,'" Gerwig told "Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong during a chat at the BFI London Film Festival earlier in October (Variety reported on the event). "There was a big meeting that was like, 'Do you need this?' And I was like, 'Everything in me needs this.' They were like, 'What do you even mean? What is a dream ballet?' And I was like, 'A dream ballet? Where do I begin!'"
Luckily, Gerwig got her way, and the dream ballet stayed. It's hard to imagine the movie without it — especially because it's one of many loving homages to a classic Hollywood movie.
The Ken dream ballet is inspired by classic cinema
If you're at all familiar with the classic 1952 musical "Singin' in the Rain," then the dream ballet from "Barbie" might bring back some memories. The classic Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds starring movie features a beautiful dream ballet smack in the middle as part of a sequence known as "Broadway Melody." Performed by Kelly and Cyd Charisse, it's a gorgeous cinematic moment that feels like an homage in and of itself to another movie that inspired "Barbie" — the 1948 dance drama "The Red Shoes."
"I was like, if people could follow that in 'Singing in the Rain,' I think we'll be fine," Greta Gerwig told Jesse Armstrong at the festival. "I think people will know what this is. So that was the big reference point. Even though everything felt right to me and was giving me so much joy in the way we were doing it, it was also like, 'Oh no, this could be just terrible, but now I'm committed.'"
Both Gerwig and Armstrong understand the importance of trusting their audiences, as well as the importance of giving them a little razzle-dazzle. Not only is "Barbie" absolutely stunning from a production perspective — with its creative team relying on practical sets over CGI, building the entirety of Barbie Land from scratch, and even causing a reported pink paint shortage — but the musical numbers in the film were a highlight for many. In fact, according to Film Updates on X (formerly known as Twitter), Warner Bros. officially submitted three "Barbie" songs as contenders for best original song at the Oscars. Besides "I'm Just Ken," the studio put forth Billie Eilish's emotional anthem "What Was I Made For?" and Dua Lipa's absolute banger "Dance the Night."
Greta Gerwig had to fight to keep a few of the film's most pivotal moments
Apparently, Ken's song isn't the only thing that Mattel and the studio were hesitant about in Greta Gerwig's script. Before the film officially released in July, Gerwig told Rolling Stone that unnamed forces wanted her to consider cutting a pivotal scene between Margot Robbie's Barbie and an elderly woman at a bus station (played by legendary costume designer Ann Roth), but Gerwig pushed back.
"In early cuts, looking at the movie, it was suggested, 'Well, you could cut it. And actually, the story would move on just the same,'" Gerwig revealed. "And I said, 'If I cut the scene, I don't know what this movie is about.'" So what is the scene in question? While visiting the real world, Barbie encounters the woman played by Roth and is struck by her age, as aging doesn't exist in Barbie Land. When Barbie tells the woman that she's beautiful, the woman readily agrees with her, and it's a stunning, touching, and sweet moment that's integral to Barbie's growth in the film.
If it seems wild that such a small yet impactful moment was on the chopping block, Gerwig agrees with you: "There's the more outrageous elements in the movie that people say, 'Oh, my God, I can't believe Mattel let you do this,' or, 'I can't believe Warner Bros. let you do this.' But to me, the part that I can't believe that is still in the movie is this little cul-de-sac that doesn't lead anywhere — except for, it's the heart of the movie."
In the end, it's a relief that Gerwig got her way with both the bus stop scene and the show-stopping "I'm Just Ken."