Barbie has been around for decades and is one of Mattel’s greatest assets in sales. She’s been in nearly every profession from fashion to medicine. Barbie and Ken are an iconic couple who, throughout the years, have taken the guise of several celebrities and pop culture icons. In all this time, Barbie has shown children that they can be whomever they want to be and look absolutely fantastic doing it.
Both Barbie and Ken have gotten quite drastic changes to their looks in the last few years to the pleasure of children everywhere. For many years, Barbie has pulled off her careers and looks with very similar traits. You’ll easily recognize her by her long blonde hair, out of proportion body and teeny tiny feet. (Anyone who managed not to lose her shoes had their lives together much more than I do.)
Given this history, it’s no surprise that Barbie has found her way into pop culture, recreating the likenesses of several of our favorite characters. There are times when she gets the look just right. Other times… they make it on to this list.
Now here is a baby disclaimer. Most of these dolls are batting average. They’re not terrible, but they don’t really look like who they’re supposed to be. And that’s the problem. For the most part, these dolls simply look like Barbie and Ken cosplaying their favorite characters. I understand the dolls are mass produced and are sometimes going to be bland. But these are examples of characters who really could have made one of a kind Barbies that ended up a lot less impressive than first imagined.
25 The Queen Of The Sea
Coming soon to a theater near you is Aquaman. No longer is he the subject of mockery, as Jason Momoa’s reimagining of the character has seemed to spread to all of the characters. Mara plays Aquaman’s queen and skilled fighter of Atlantis. She’ gotten quite a makeover with her green skin suit and golden accents. This Barbie could have been really cool, but instead opts for beauty instead of ferocity. She didn’t get much time in Justice League, but we’re excited to see her in the standalone film!
24 On To The Next Adventure
Lara Croft has seen her own amount of adventures throughout the years, but there’s no doubt being made into a Barbie was one that was completely different. This Barbie is based on the 2018 Tomb Raider movie and set of games.
Lara seems tired of all this posing.
I liked that they made her a doll that can bend at the joints, but her face doesn’t reflect the thrill she gets from all of her adventures. Perhaps she’s seen one too many tombs? Or perhaps she’d rather be there than in a photoshoot?
23 A Whole New World
I think I actually had this doll growing up, and I remember wondering why they made Jasmine’s jewelry out of fabric. Jasmine’s necklace and large earrings are iconic and a large part of her outfit. Because of the material they’re made out of, it can sometimes be hard to see them. Her eyeshadow is also a little distracting, but not distracting enough to take away from her incredibly long face. Let’s hope the dolls for the live action movie turn out better.
22 I See Fire
Remember how I said that a lot of these dolls simply look like Barbie was simply cosplaying? Here is a prime example of it. Galadriel from The Lord Of The Rings series was beautiful and spooky and mysterious all at once.
Galadriel is more than a pretty face.
It seems like Barbie forgot the last two and put all of her points into her charisma. Artists have repainted the doll to capture Cate Blanchett’s incredible portrayal, but for those of us who can’t afford hundreds of dollars for a doll, this is the best we can do.
21 Over The Rainbow
These three dolls were made as part of a collection of vintage dolls, which means that they have the aesthetic of the original Barbie dolls. If you thought the rest of the dolls on this list were carbon copies, you haven’t seen these. Practically the only difference between the three is their hair. Granted again that because the original Barbies were mass produced in ways that were less efficient than now, they couldn’t have much detail. Still, it makes it hard to identify which person they’re based on.
20 Must Only Be Pictured
While I will admit this Voldemort has some sweet detail in his skin texture, the color is completely off. Most fans of the book and movie know the symbolism of his pale skin in connection with the negative past he’s created. His teeth showing is a little unnerving, as many dolls do not have such an odd detail. The blue eyes stick out like a sore thumb too, giving us a hope that maybe this could actually be some unknown good version of Voldemort.
19 The Odds Weren’t In Her Favor
Effie Trinket is one of those characters that really annoys you in the beginning but then starts to grow on you when times get hard. She is spunky and sheltered, but also good-natured and empathetic.
Effie is recognizable, but this doll is not.
Her Barbie though, while it gets the point across, doesn’t quite seem to be the same character. Her expression perhaps is a little more mischievous than we tend to give her credit for, but luckily all of the sass comes through. The odds seem stacked against this Barbie.
18 Queen Of Warriors
This Hippolyta doll from the 2017 box office hit Wonder Woman is actually fairly decent. The jawline is stronger than your usual Barbie, and it looks like the clothes and the shield were done beautifully. Why this doll makes the list though, is because of the facial expression. She almost looks like Connie Nielsen, but not quite. The face is far too smooth and worry free to be the queen who is destined to lose her daughter. A little bit of detail goes a long way.
17 Opposite Day
For a Disney princess whose entire shtick was to be her own woman and not dolled up, Mattel sure made her quite the fashionista. From the posing of her hands to the neatly curled hairs on her head, Merida doesn’t quite look herself. Hasbro makes all of the Disney dolls these days, but once upon a time they were Barbie material, and this picture proves it. It’s even interesting that they would put her in the dress she LITERALLY tore up in the movie doing something she loves. What kind of message is that supposed to send?
16 One Classy Lawyer
For those who don’t know, this is supposed to be Elle Woods from the movie Legally Blonde 2. For those who know, this is simply Barbie pretending to be a lawyer. While the outfit works and she even has a dog, this is not Elle.
This is Elle’s stereotype.
Gone are her flawed features that make her human and gone is the correct breed of dog. I appreciate how they even gave her a little id card, but that’s not where you’re supposed to be putting your details. Pretty sure Elle would win a court case for identity theft.
15 An Excellent Body Double
I actually had this doll growing up, even though I wasn’t a huge Star Wars fan. The face mask was lost in a matter of weeks, popping up again every so often when I cleaned my room, even long after the Barbie was gone. It was a clever idea, but terrible in production. Their Amidala doll isn’t terrible, but it lacks the mature look Keira Knightley gave to the role. She looks confident, but not in the way that says I’ll help win this civil war.
14 I Want To Believe
Here we have the 1998 version of agents Scully and Mulder from the popular show X-Files. Avid collectors will know that these are the original versions of the dolls. Since the show got a reboot, Barbie gave these two a reboot as well. They look so much better!
Scully and Mulder look like cosplayers at a convention.
Mulder is actually given real hair this time and Scully has features to her face that make her look human. For these dolls, you may as well have called her “paranormal investigation Barbie”.
13 The Beauty Is A Beast
I’ll bet that when you clicked on this link you knew this doll was going to be on this list. Congratulations, here’s however much you bet. It honestly earns the number one spot. you can tell they did a fairly decent job in modeling Emma Watson’s face, actually giving her more attention than many of the other dolls on this list. However, it’s the paint job and receding hair line that ruined the look. Many people compared her to Justin Bieber, and I’ll be honest with you, they’re not wrong!
12 A Little Bird Told Me
If you thought this was a Taylor Swift Barbie, I don’t know that I’d correct you. They do look very similar. However, if you somehow knew this was actually a Black Canary doll, I’d congratulate you on your lucky guess. It seems that DC can’t quite get their leading ladies a proper doll. Granted Black Canary has only been in one live action show and that’s part of the CW’s Arrowverse. There are plenty of iterations, but this one doesn’t seem to pull from any one of them in particular.
11 Somehow Profitable
They say that even bad press can be good. That theory was basically proven by the Twilight franchise and it’s many ways to merchandise. When even your cast members make fun of the project, you know you’ve goofed. Still, the Twilight Barbies were a thing, and this is supposed to be Bella and Victoria. While Victoria has some decent face shaping, Bella is just as bland and replaceable as she was in the book series. I have a theory about that, and you can find an article about it here. The movies may have been better with this Barbie.
10 Wherever You Are
Given Barbie’s main audience, you may wonder how this doll was even made. (I’ll give you a hint: the movie was incredibly lucrative and everyone was getting in on that cash grab). Since Barbie had the go ahead, they made a Rose doll from the movie Titanic.
Rose stands out from this crowd; this Barbie does not.
While this doll does very well to (almost) model off the evening wear fashions of the early 1900s, she doesn’t do a very good job at making herself look like Kate Winslet. Instead, she looks like one of the background actors.
9 Not A Prize
Poor Jasmine! It seems like she gets the worst luck out of the Disney Princess dolls. With two entries on this list, she should get some respect. With this doll, she looks more like a mix between Belle and Snow White. Her skin is too pale and her eyes make her look gentler, even though she does have a bit of a temper. Her outfit has been given changes, and she could be any doll at this point. Jasmine is one of the beloved princesses from Disney’s renaissance and deserves to be done right.
8 It’s A Crazy World
I never watched Mad Men, so I honestly don’t have much of a connection to this group of Barbies. Like the Wizard of Oz dolls, they’re made to look vintage. That’s one of the reasons they’re on this list. The Barbies they make these days are able to look more realistic thanks to modern technology. These Barbies are very much run of the mill. The men have some variations between them, but it’s not very much. Perhaps they’ll try again.
7 Seeing Green
One of the things that came out of the box office flop Green Lantern was this Barbie doll. Based off of Blake Lively’s character, it’s clear that some consideration to the actress was made.
Blake Lively’s doll doesn’t look like Blake Lively.
There are hints of her face in the doll, but that’s about it; hints. It’s a nice mirror to the movie if you think about it. Both are based in a DC property that fans have liked in the past and have some similarities to their source material. Were you predicting something, Mattel?
6 A Different Complex
For the one or two fans of Jennifer Garner’s take on Elektra (as well as the comic book nerds), This doll was a must-have. However, she seems way too beautified to be the action hero we have read about in her comic. It bugs me that she has such nice make up because that’s not what Elektra was all about. Still, it seems like DC doesn’t have all of the flops when it comes to Barbie. Marvel’s just as prone to mistakes as well.
