The biggest problem here is parents expecting a toy company to raise their kids.

Just here to share the mental image of a gas station blowing up behind Rollerblade Barbie after she skates through it. You're welcome.

Honestly the entire contervisary around midge was just hypercritical as hell-so its okay to make baby dolls who puked , shit , peed , screamed , cried and essaintly had the child become a “mom child” but having an adult midge dolk be pregnant is “inappropate”?? Girl your already teaching children about how to be a mom before teaching them not to be racist or homophobic

I just want to point out that Sugar Daddy Ken is the only Collector Barbie to appear in Barbieland (everyone else, recalled or otherwise, are playline). His existance implies that Collector Barbies also live in Barbieland, which means the likes of Zombie Bride Barbie, Lounge Kitty Barbie, and Barbie Empress of Aliens are walking around somewhere.

The FBI didn't warn against the doll, they just put out an internal memo telling officers not to overlook the doll while searching a crime scene, since they obviously wouldn't think of a barbie being a recording device. But the media picked up on the memo and through a game of telephone it was turned into a "warning to parents".

I mean, math class IS tough. They hated barbie because she told them the truth.

I'm sorry but I'm laughing so hard at "friend of Barbie". It sounds like a predecessor to "friend of Dorothy" that got rejected for being to obvious.

I had the skating barbie with the sparklers in them, like wtf, you couldn't catch things on fire with them if you tried- AND WE DID. We tried SO HARD. But it barely even got warm from my memory- I could run her on my hand, and the most uncomfortable part was how rough the sparkler mechanism was, not the actual sparks.

I’m pretty sure the only reason Oreo Barbie wasn’t in the movie was because of licensing issues with nabisco. That Barbie absolutely feels like she would belong in that scene

Me and my sister had pregnant midge when we were little. I remember really liking her. She was good for the soap opera dramas we’d make with our dolls. We also had the pooping dog (and a peeing cat). Also loved them too😅

My aunt still has her original Becky barbie in box. My aunt's name is also Becky, and she was a wheelchair user growing up, and my aunt happens to look a bit like the doll too. My dad bought Becky barbie for her when she first came out. Becky barbie means alot to her, and I think it's super cool that she has a barbie that's basically her in doll form.

I think its really funny that people will advocate for children to have baby dolls to teach them how to be parents, but when a fashion doll tries to talk about becoming a parent its all scandal. Lol

I had all the sets from the pregnant midge line, I loved it and kept it in perfect condition. Then my dad just got rid of it when I was a teen when I was away for a school trip. It's damn near impossible to replace now. I'm never letting go that he did that.

My cousin got the preggers Midge doll when her mom was pregnant, which seems like exactly the type of situation where a pregnant doll could be helpful in helping a young child deal? It just seemed like another option for the way "girls can be anything!" (especially with Barbie in the line as Midge's doctor) I also found the Happy Family grandma and grandpa dolls really intriguing. I never owned them as a kid, but I kept imagining dressing up the grandma in Barbie's other clothes so she could be a cool rockstar/mermaid/princess too. Though, I can envision trad folks creating their own line of Duggar-esque dolls for really really bad reasons, so maybe people like Gerwig are seeing it through that lens.

I still have all of my childhood Barbies, and I remember playing with the rollerblades without the Barbie on them because you could get better sparks that way. That said, I'm shocked to hear that people managed to actually ignite anything. It was finicky, needed a good amount of pressure being pressed downward, and only really worked on hard surfaces like tile or concrete for me. I was maybe five years old when she came out lol. Also these lists always focus on the exact same dolls and never talk about some of the other weird ones that were bizarre but cool. Where is the "Weird But Wonderful Barbies" listicle? Justice for slumber party Barbie with her snuggly body and Rappin' Rockin' Barbie's boombox :(

Whoever wrote that article clearly hasn’t spent a lot of time around children. Because a pooping dog toy is something that would utterly delight a child. That has so many play features. It’s a dog, it does something funny, you get to take care of it…list goes on.

Definitely don’t spend more than 50 on Earring Magic Ken because they are all deteriorating with age. I had one but his head shrunk and got really sticky so I sold him cheap on eBay. Same thing is happening to my 90210 guys now :( there’s something wrong w 80s/ early 90s Kens

Black American waving 👋🏽👋🏽👋🏽👋🏽… I was a preteen when the Oreo Fun Barbie hit the shelves , and I truly don’t remember hearing about that controversy then… Yes calling a Black person an Oreo is/was a thing , but it’s basically used amongst the Black community towards each other , but I guess it could be categorized as a slur . I first heard about this “so called controversy” maybe 5/+ years ago, I thought it was hilarious “still do”,, 😂😂😂😂

Oh, IIRC the original Allan was apparently named after the real life Barbara's husband at the time and the Allan doll disappeared/got discontinued around the same time as them separating. I'm guessing that when they wanted to bring the character back as Midge's boyfriend and continue their storyline, they wanted to avoid any references to the real Allan and changed the doll's name slightly to Alan.

agree with your take on happy family midge 100%. by the time my mom was pregnant with me, the doll was being sold here in my country, and my sister was gifted one (according to my mom, it was so she could better understand what was going on since she was very young at the time.) and hey if what my sister has to say on the topic is anything to go by, it worked. i never understood the hate for happy family midge, and i think she did her job in a pretty ok way.

I swear pooping tanner was advertised non-stop on cartoon network when I was a kid. I still remember those adverts clear as day

I don’t find the the concept of Tanner that odd (obviously choking hazards are an issue). I work at in a children’s museum and we have an area where kids can clean up fake animal poop and the kids love it.

The fact that they would even dare to make these lists without the insight from actual experts in doll history

I had a friend who had happy family Midge and I was SO jealous of her. I thought she was the coolest thing! I wanted one of her so badly, but she was long off the shelves by then. I almost wish she got a redo due to the movie too.

Pregnant Midge will always be my favorite! My parents apparently didn’t think she was “controversial” 😂

I just watched the Barbie movie for the first time yesterday. They didn’t say pregnant Midge was too weird, they said she was too realistic.

I liked the pregnancy one. My grandmother was a midwife, she would sometimes take me on her rounds. I liked looking after pregnant women and babies and loved the idea of pregnant dolls

I didn't watch it yet, but I just wanna mention that Midge was my favourite Barbie doll as a kid because she had so much articulation and her face and hair felt really unique at the time.

There was actually a HUGE fear (that's not unfounded IMO) about Video Girl barbie, in that unsavory adults could use that Barbie to film CSA material. I don't know if there's evidence of that actually happening, but I feel like it's safer to not have that as an option at all.

Thanks for your discussion on whole on the Ken doll, specifically. Seeing this doll brought back so many memories…reminds me of the very difficult and monumental time couple years before it was produced. I grew up in San Francisco and it was in the early to mid-80’s when the AIDS crisis first appeared. We would encounter men suffering from not-seen-before ailments, vibrant men deteriorating, our friends and loved ones dying. This Ken doll depicted was a stark reminder of those early days and the devastation that was wrought. Something, a vibe of somewhat innocent joyousness, was lost - but, many more things were gained: personal and partner responsibility, increased awareness of healthcare and safety…but, most of all the sense of caring and loving one’s neighbor no matter who they were, who they loved or what they looked like. It was a time of very visible illness and this Ken doll was a reminder to many of the visible losses. Anyway, enough of all this rambling. Just wanted to let you know that your wry, subtly genius discourses on the history of dolls and their sometimes hidden impacts on society as a whole and individuals in are very much appreciated. Thanks!

They actually made a dreamhouse the next year that would fit with Becky as well. And Alan was discontinued the same time as midge and Ken. As in 1967, barbie dropped everyone and got her new image. At this time she didn’t have any other careers either, she was just a fashion model.

Honestly, the weirdest thing to me about Happy Family Midge is that I've never seen any controversy surrounding similar dolls? Like, Takara had a maternity Licca-chan doll with pretty much the exact same gimmick!

I’ve always assumed most of the Barbies and her other doll companions in the doll lines and the Barbie life in the dream house cartoon to be young adults. Like, in their mid twenties or something. The only times where I think it’s implied or explicitly stated that she is a teenager are in a lot of the direct to DVD movies from the 2000’s and 2010’s.

To this day I still want the pregnant midge, I have never seen the problem with her and when people say it was because she was pregnant I feel like they forget that children see people who are pregnant throughout their life, they might have a teacher who is pregnant, a aunt was pregnant or even their mom might be pregnant with their little sibling, I will never understand the controversy behind her and I’m still hunting her down at a reasonable price to this day

It's just Midge & Alan were not as appealing to many as Barbie & Ken. And kids are kids...they want what their friends have.

I have an earring magic Ken doll I bought at the thrift store for $10! He came in box but it was pretty damaged so I took him out. I’m happy with him sitting on my shelf being the only non monster high doll I have lmao

i still have my barbie and tanner! i used to think their whole concept was very amusing as a kid, so i played around with them a lot ahah. the last barbie i received as a kid too!

I must admit that it's quite refreshing to find an article that, while doesn't mention all the context these dolls were sold on, it does get more things right than wrong, and actually clarifying when things were just rumours than the truth, instead of going like "You WoulD nOt BELIEVE wHy tHesE BArBIEs wERe DiscONtiNUEd! pArENtS WeRe FeRaL AbOut LIttLE plAStIC tOys 🤪😨😰😱🤓👆"

Have your Boost for the algorithm.

Seeing those rollerblades gave me a visceral flashback to rolling that wheel and making the sparks. It was not easy to do, much less when she was wearing the rollerblades.

I loved the Barbie movie! I just wish the dolls from the movie weren't so expensive! £46 in the UK!! Not for me wanting to collect but for my little 6yo that came with me. She LOVES Margot Robbie! She was perfect for the role ❤

They'll still slap poor Becky on every last one of these lists despite the fact that everyone agrees with the word of god the movie gave us - that kids don't care about the dream house's stairs or elevator and just make their dolls float from floor to floor

I just had a weird moment where I remembered the outfit of Rollerblade Barbie. I remember the feel of it with the ruffled collar along with the little Fanny pack … Then came another memory unlocked of me undoing the twist in her hair and never being able to put it back the way it was. I had no idea she was controversial. I vaguely remember getting her for my birthday right when she came out, I was maybe 5. I don’t remember playing with the rollerblades … just her outfit and the way it felt. What’s weird is that even when younger, I remember there being dolls for kids and dolls that the older ages might like to collect. For example: the holiday Barbie. I always saw them as “collectibles” - not something you buy a kid to open and play with due to how beautifully elegant their dresses were designed to be for the year. I started getting them when I was 9-10 and was able to have a collection of unopened ones for 1990-1999 that I still have to this day (along with a bunch of special Avon exclusives for some reason). If kids could understand that sometimes there were certain dolls with cheeky names more for the older crowd, why couldn’t some of the adults understand and let it be? Barbie had been around for a long time for a number of us. I always saw it as the older crowd that grew up with Barbie now having a few dolls to continue to collect for themselves and that not every doll = for kids.

I actually had the Tanner Barbie! I loved that thing so much and it was really surprising to see it was considered controversial. My scooper's magnet never fell out, but I think I did feed Tanner stuff he wasn't supposed to have and ended up locking the mechanism in place haha. He has a special place in my heart and seeing his cameo in the Barbie movie was a treat. I love how he was flocked too! I also had puppies I thought came with that set, but I probably just mixed the two because I could since the puppies were normal plastic.

I had growing up Skipper when I was 11. It was perfect timing and I loved her. It helped that what I was going through was universal enough for a Barbie doll.

My sister and I had rollerblade Barbie, and remember having so much fun with the spark feature. 🤣

I've seen lots of articles that the pregnant Midge was pulled from shelves. Walmart did, yes. We spread the word in the dolliverse that Kmart and other stores did not. 😊

My sister got the Tanner set for her birthday one year and we loved it, we played with it so much I remember Tanner snapping down the middle into two halves

Oh my god, the Barbie and Tanner set came out when I was in preschool and I wanted it SO BAD, dogs were my hyperfixation back then and I needed any toy that was even slightly dog-related, and this set seemed so well-made to me, so I begged my parents for it, but I think that my mom was kinda grossed out by the pooping thing (looking back, can't blame them, even then I thought it was kinda gross, esp since the food pellets looked the same as the poop, but by god, I was willing to look it over), so I never got it 😔 one of my friends had it and I was SO jealous 😅 I would have never guessed that the cleaning up was the part that people had issues with, animal ownership comes with responsabilities that aren’t fun or glamorous, so I think that kids can kinda accept it and learn about through this set. Seeing this now as a "controversial" set is WILD, never thought that I'll see a toy I remember seeing irl and wanting so bad was sooo controversial /s. I guess that the magnet thing is a potential hazard but it says so on the box, and that kids that are too young shouldn't play with this set. For what it's worth, I had the barbie pet store set with an aquarium and a washing station and a ton of pet figurines, and when I was older I won a set with Barbie and a bernese dog that would pull her on rollerskates 🥰

4:05 For me, Math was actually fun, until the Algebra nation attacked

A few sources claim that some stores in cities with bigger queer populations than most places were selling out of him in record time, and there was at least one store with a wait list. I think that claim holds water because it's mostly from Mattel employees and toy store managers who had access to sales records. I doubt it's still the case, everyone wants a Ryan Gosling Ken these days, including myself. I don't think I owned any of those Barbies, but I know I at least played with a pregnant Midge and Tanner the dog owned by childhood friends. I recall the magnetic belly having a satisfying attachment feeling, and feeding the dog his own poop is a core memory 😂 I haven't been collecting Barbies in a while, just because I'm more interested in other doll lines and have limited funds, but I always look at them in stores even if I've already picked out my LOL OMG or Monster High doll for the week.

I don't understand midge controversy, i have quite a few midge dolls and her getting pregnant felt natural. A friend of mine had a pregnant Barbie from the 90's and it was fun.

Math class is tough 😂 I feel ya Barbie

I sadly never had Tanner growing up, but I had the potty training pups set. ICONIC.

the barbie & tanner doll was my entire childhood she was my first (and for a long time, only) doll and i loved playing with her. I was not into dolls as a kid but loved dogs, so i begged for her after seeing the ads. I gave my barbies away to a little girl a while back but seeing tanner in the movie was literally my avengers endgame. just iconic

14:51 I have the "share a smile Becky" Still in the packaging & everyone LOL

Am I the only one who remembers the talking Barbie doll from the Life in the Dreamhouse series that was supposed to say "off the hook" but the audio chip was a little distorted so she sounded like she was saying "what the fuck?" This Barbie controversy I believe came out around the same time or shortly after the news reported about the McDonalds toy of one of the Despicable Me minions that said the same thing. Also, math class *is* tough, Pregnant Midge is *definitely* appropriate for kids (to teach kids about mommy's pregnancy and because Midge is obviously an adult compared to Barbie, also she has a HUGE forehead lol), and Hello Barbie should have *never* been made in the first place 😂

25:38 This one was MY “point at the screen gasping” doll when I went to the Barbie movie

I had a roller blading Barbie. My mom realized how the sparks worked pretty quickly and told me she was a non-carpet toy only. Which was alright to me. The sparks worked much better on the laundry room floor and outside on the sidewalk than they did on any other surface. Her top though, was probably my favorite Barbie shirt out of all my doll clothes. It was some kind of vinyl like material but it went so well with almost all the other Barbie clothes I had. I wanted an earring magic Ken, but mainly because I had 2 other earring magic dolls, Barbie and which ever one was wearing the blue dress? I'm not sure why I never got him though. too long ago. I doubt it was because my mom thought he was gay though. I had a total of 2 male dolls among the gaggle of Barbies I had. Great Shape Ken (hand me down) and Aladdin. Most of my Barbies just ended up dating each other. I'm not totally sure if this was a lack of Ken population or because I was a baby lesbian. I did buy my niece the Midge doll because one of her friends gained a little sibling and she was asking questions on where babies came from. Honestly it was a great way for her see that babies are grown inside their mothers and she was happy enough with the tummy popping off that she never asked how they got out of there. I thought the doll was kind of weird, but I liked her better than baby dolls that you fed and then pottied.

hey, you’re a doll channel, you so don’t have to further justify making a Barbie video! living for this, I hope it does give you a boost!!

Before Midge got pregnant, there was Judith, from the Mommy To Be line, which was apparently not Mattel. You'd never know by looking at her though. She had a flat stomach on a spring so when the pregnant belly came off she had a flat stomach rather than a hole. No magnets on the belly.

My cousins owned the dog pooping one, and I always wanted it, but my parents never bought it to me

The fact that sugar's daddy Ken is getting a release because of the movie but not Allen...poor guy

apparently my family is easily swayed by adverts bc i had both tanner the pooping dog and and shirley temple vhs boxset

my younger sister had the pooping dog and we played with it a LOT. Of course we played with it the way any normal kids would, by making the dog eat the poop or by making the dog poop on dolls and stuff

I didn't even realize Tanner & Barbie was a controversial doll until the Barbie movie. That was one of my FAVORITE dolls as a child because I loved dogs, loved her outfit, and liked how she had jointed elbows AND knees. Lots of baby dolls revolve around changing diapers, so I'm not sure why people made a big deal about a pooping dog? I wish I still had mine! They're super expensive on eBay now 😭

I remember seeing the tanner commercial a lot as a kid too. It felt like every other commercial on Nickelodeon was that one

25:36 bringing up the shirley temple dvd box set unlocked a core memory for me even though i was a barely sentient little kid at the time

I had the barbie and tanner set as a kid, the only barbie I remember having (more of a my little pony kid tbh) and I didn't think much about the how concept being weird. I was more interested in the flocking on Tanner being soft and trying not to loose the... "food"😂 people really make such a big deal out of nothing sometimes

i had not one, but two of the barbie pooper-scooper dolls including 2 tanners. the most iconic doll ever

13:32 sounds like that Mississippi mom needs to keep a better eye on her children tbh. It’s not Mattel’s fault that your daughter “set your son on fire”. Also as a Mississippian, I’m not surprised it was someone from here 🤦🏻‍♀️ people complain about all kinds of stuff down here

I had Tanner the dog, and let me tell you… that toy DEFINITELY led to hours of fun for me. I fucking loved that pooping dog and everyone I know that had it loved it too. I kept the dog around long after losing all the other bits and bobs to the set. Even after getting rid of all my dolls. I loved that little poop machine

I am a Woman who has been in IT for over 20 years. I was a Teenager when the tech talk Barbie came out. I grew up playing with Barbies. Honestly, yes that doll was bad. At the time, it was especially hard to get girls show interest in STEM, with the amount sexism faced in classes, much less accept they might have talent in those. There was so much pressure at the time for girls, including teens to not show how smart they were because being smart as a girl was considered “unattractive”. Nerd culture is much more accepted these days.

I remember Video Star Barbie! I thought she was weird as a kid, but idk if the FBI ACTUALLY cared or if it was just one of those internet scares that “Barbie spies on your kids”. I also remember seeing Hello Barbie at Toys R Us once and thinking it was also pretty weird.

I actually wrote an article for my school newspaper on Barbie's brand struggles in the 2010s to before the movie. I relate to both the struggle of the enthusiast and the journalist because while the general reader could not care less about the little facts I want to add but man the temptation to go into wild detail is strong!

Your videos always bring me joy, thanks for the laughs!

This is the first time I've heard about Hello Barbie and that's really... Concerning. Of all the "controversial" Barbies that and the Frida Kahlo one are the only ones I'm all for recalling. Idk how much of a controversy this is, but my boomer moment was around the time LOL dolls were taking off I was going through Target with a friend and I stopped to see an advertised doll that was wearing this black leather outfit with booty shorts and fishnets. We kinda joked about it but agreed that's kinda weird and uncomfortable. Those are babies, right? I've never been bothered about Monster High, I was friends with the alt fashion kids in middle and high school, I'm all for it. But like. Cannonically in the LOL universe those are the babies, right? They can wear all these cool different fashion styles without wearing stuff like that, right?? Am I crazy??? I actually like the OMG dolls and the tweens, I think a lot of the fashion I see on them is really cool. But that leather club outfit baby... Idk man.

Also tbh i do get why ppl bring up the dream house in regards to becky-yes it is great mattel even made a doll in a wheelchair but it is also important to note the issues with her-i remeber seeing fat people say they dont like the curvy barbies because of how they csn only fit into very very limited amount of clothing it just reminded of them of how they struggle to find nice clothing due to their weight , i do think those are valid complients to have and bring up

"Pregnant" midge always reminds me of my kindergarten having that doll and i would play with that shell LOL its such a strange memory.

OMG I HAD ROLLERBLADE BARBIE 😂 I tried to use her skates to make tissue catch but it never did 🤷‍♀️

It's a good thing that you talked about the algorithm at the beginning. I thought that I was already subscribed because your videos come in my feed...well I made sure to fix that 🎉

YAY ONE OF MY FAVORITE DOLL CHANNELS POSTEDDD

i honest to god had that barbie and tanner set, hilarious, My dad only got me it for that reason, only barbie I’ve ever owned. Can confirm it was also ‘recalled’ in the UK, I still have it.

Ever since I learned about it, be it from commercials or something else (I was little then), and the controversy, I've wanted the black Oreo Barbie. I like Oreos, her outfit is basically cute, and I am kind of black on the outside white on the inside. But I wouldn't buy one, cause I don't want it that badly, I'd rather someone else bought it for me.

the commercial for barbie and tanner is one of my earliest memories 😭 i wanted one so bad and my mom said she get them for me if i didn’t cry while getting my shots, but she never got them for me even though i was so good during my check up 😔

I really do enjoy your videos and you do really say what I feel people really need to and understand about Barbie and Friends so I am thankful I found your channel

My gosh I had Tanner! I wasn't much of a doll kid (except for chewing on those delicious Polly Pocket clothes) but when I say I was OBSESSED with Tanner.. I had no idea at all that little dog was notable in any way until it popped up in the movie and like.. what? Lol. It was absolutely one of the best doll 'accessories' out there - it was just so real and interactive and fun!

ngl i used to be obsessed with those top 10 barbie lists when i was younger but now i know better

Really really sad that I never got to have midge..it was tough stuffing cotton under my barbie's shirt and pretending a kelly doll was a newborn baby

Welcome back 🎉🎉

Congrats on not succumbing to your monitor 😄 Glad you're here! Had a rollerblade Barbie and will admit that her blades quickly became separated from her and are what I remember most fondly. Definitely didn't try to start any fires with them though XD And, certainly not a Mattel or doll expert, but suspect Sugar's Daddy Ken was canceled for more than just his name. Considering he could've had a host of other names with that look, and the branding would either drown out or benefit from the previous uproar, I think something else might have been off with his concept (either in terms of the series or overall brand) that Mattel felt the need to set it aside. Will say that, yeah, the problematic connotation of his concept does match the movie's plot, so maybe that's why he works now?? And, yeah, the Growing Up line has "curvy" on both sets of the packaging; so, heaven forbid a girl grow up flat, which is a reality, would've been easier to execute, and kinda needs help in fighting body shaming stigma that fetishizes girls maturing in the first place. Oof, spot on orz

Me and my sister loooooved our pooper scooper barbies 😂

i hate that midge is controversial for not having a husband because my mom didn't have one either. telling kids of single parents that their families are wrong/not whole/controversial is unkind. jesus didn't have married parents either, people need to hop off.

The ZooPals and ZooBooks commercials 👌 we all have some jingles we can never escape

I had the barbie and tanner set as a kid! My friends and I were lucky enough to attend a very late showing and we were the only ones in the theater when we saw the movie and I FLIPPED when I saw him

Me and my sibling LOVED Tanner im so glad he made a cameo!!

I had the Barbie Video Girl when I was younger and remember actually getting her from the store shelves I don’t have much memory of that doll but I do remember my siblings and I making small videos with it.

i never had a happy family midge, but i specifically had the happy family midge's *baby*. i have no idea where i got her but i saw a picture when the movie came out and it unlocked some long lost memory of fiddling with the baby's little arms and legs for *hours* at a time. incredible times.

i also remember the iconic tanner commercial!!

This cracked me up. Honestly, the way you presented all the hilarious details in your matter of fact style was priceless. Great job! Lol