Greta Gerwig Wanted Barbie's Color Palette To Be A 'Dopamine Generator'

One thing that can safely be said about "Barbie": its production design looks pretty darn incredible. Most of us haven't seen the film just yet, so we can't comment on its quality as a movie. But based on the trailers and abundant marketing, it's clear that director Greta Gerwig and company worked hard to create a big, beautiful plastic world for all the Barbies and all the Kens who occupy Barbie Land. It all looks incredibly bright and clear, which is a nice change of pace from so many recent movies that have been dark and underlit. 

And that was, of course, all part of the plan. As was a plan to keep a certain childlike wonder at play when it came to designing the look of the world. Speaking with Rolling Stone, Gerwig said: "I never wanted my adult taste to override what I loved as a kid. When I was eight years old, I loved the biggest, brightest, loudest, sparkliest thing that I could find." It sounds like Gerwig was essentially channeling her own childhood likes and dreams into the film, and it certainly looks like she made the right choice there. 

The official synopsis for "Barbie" states in part "To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place." "Perfect" in this case means a lot of super-bright colored plastic and a lot of pink; pink as far as the eye can see. There's a potential here for everything to look a little silly and childish, but it looks as if that's exactly what Gerwig was looking for. And it paid off in big ways. "I don't want it to be overwhelmed with adult good taste, because that just feels disingenuous to what the task is," the filmmaker said, adding: 

"So we were picking these bright, saturated colors. The result was that the set was like a dopamine generator. People would walk in and smile."

Again: I can't speak to the quality of "Barbie" as a film, but I'd say that Gerwig's instincts were spot-on. It makes perfect sense that she would strive to give Barbie Land a childlike atmosphere rather than being "overwhelmed with adult good taste." Adult taste can often be cold and calculated, bland even. And bland certainly wouldn't fly in the pink-hued world that is Barbie Land. I can only imagine how fun it must've been to walk onto that set every day and see the practical world that Gerwig's team had put together for the film. 

"Barbie," starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as well as America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, and many more, arrives in theaters on July 21, 2023. Don't forget to leave your adult good taste at the door.