11 Fantastical Movies Like ‘Barbie’ to Watch if You Want to Stay in Barbie Land

Barbie director Greta Gerwig has named at least 33 movies that influenced her blockbuster comedy, from ubiquitous classics like The Wizard of Oz to French New Wave cinephile favorites like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. So there's no shortage of things to watch if you want to stay in a Barbie Land state of mind long after you've returned to the real world.

To that end, we've put together a list of 11 movies like Barbie to watch. Some of them are direct Barbie influences, some share people in front of or behind the camera and some just have something that feels like Barbie about them. So grab your Ken, hop in your pink Corvette and set off on a journey to watch some more movies like Barbie.  

If you like whimsical movies with a touch of melancholy: 'Amelie' 

French romantic comedy Amelie has that je nais se quois we currently refer to as "vibes" in common with Barbie. It tells the story of a shy young Parisian woman (the irresistible Audrey Tautou) who channels her romantic isolation into making the lives of the people around her better. But when she falls for a special man (Mathieu Kassovitz), she has trouble accepting the love she gives others — until her community comes together to help. Like Barbie, it's a brightly colored, highly stylized comedy that's poignant at times but ultimately leaves you feeling good. There's something about Amelie and Barbie that makes them both feel like a smart 16-year-old's favorite movie. -Liam Matthews

Rent or buy on Amazon

If you like Barbie's enviable wardrobe: 'Clueless'

Perhaps the only movie closet to rival Barbie's is Cher Horowitz's high-tech computer stylist in Clueless. In fact, it even served as inspiration for Barbie's magical, glass-doored wardrobe. And if you're a fan of Barbie's pink-tastic fits (echoed by Margot Robbie on the red carpet), then you'll love Cher's fashion, rocked by Alicia Silverstone in this '90s adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. The movie follows a rich girl who sets out to "use her popularity for a good cause" by "adopting" new girl Tai (the late Brittany Murphy). Cher tries to teach Tai how to fit in among the Beverly Hills High School elite, but ultimately, it's Cher who has the most to learn. And though she's no Barbie, Cher also got her own Mattel doll. -Noelene Clark

Watch on Paramount+

If you like Barbie as a big summer blockbuster: 'Free Guy' 

Much hay has been made — including on this list — of Barbie's French art film influences and indie cinema pedigree. But really and truly, it's a big, broad, crowd-pleasing summer blockbuster about a toy who rebels against her nature. The last big summer blockbuster in the same vein as Barbie was 2021's Free Guy, which stars Ryan Reynolds as a video game non-player character who decides to stop playing his role. It's targeted at a more boyish audience than Barbie, but if you're looking for another colorful PG-13 comedy that offers two hours of popular entertainment, it might hit the spot. 

Watch on Disney+

If you like when Ryan Gosling sings: 'La La Land'

Ryan Gosling's misguided, beach-loving Ken is an integral part of Barbie, and his musical moments – original ballad "I'm Just Ken" and bro-y acoustic cover of Matchbox Twenty's "Push" – are movie highlights. If you want to hear more of Gosling's musical stylings, revisit his Oscar-nominated performance in La La Land. He sings and dances while playing jazz musician Seb Wilder opposite Emma Stone's aspiring actress Mia Dolan in director Damien Chazelle's musical romance drama. (If you want a deeper cut, check out his old indie rock band Dead Man's Bones.)

Watch on Netflix

If you like girly girls who prove the naysayers wrong: 'Legally Blonde'

Elle Woods — the sorority queen-turned-Harvard law student played by Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde — famously said, "Whoever said orange is the new pink was seriously disturbed." Barbie might agree. She also might agree with Elle's valedictorian speech, in which the newly minted law graduate declared, "It is with passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world, remembering that first impressions are not always correct." Like Barbie (and Clueless, for that matter), Legally Blonde centers on a heroine who has often been written off as all sparkle, no substance. And like Barbie, Elle proves there's a lot more to who she is than her looks. -Noelene Clark

Watch on Prime Video

If you like genuinely good movies based on toys: 'The Lego Movie'

There have been a number of good movies based on toys, but one of the best — and the one most like Barbie — is The Lego Movie. Like Barbie, it takes what could have been a crass movie-length toy commercial (and honestly isn't not a toy commercial) and finds a sincere, meaningful story in it. In Barbie, it's about embracing one's human imperfections, and in The Lego Movie, it's about finding one's own creativity. And "Everything Is Awesome!," The Lego Movie's song at the beginning of the movie, is even catchier than Barbie's version, Lizzo's "Pink." Bonus: Will Ferrell is a polarizing presence in Barbie, but if you got a kick out of his deranged performance as the CEO of Mattel, you'll love him in a similar role as Lord Business, the tyrannical president of the Lego Universe. -Liam Matthews 

Watch on Max

If you like dolls coming to life (and coming of age): 'Life-Size'

If you were fully moved/destroyed by America Ferrera's Barbie monologue and the movie's overall depiction of the existential dread that comes with growing up, you will probably identify with 2000's Life-Size. In an admittedly similar plot, Tyra Banks plays Eve, a Barbie surrogate in a Mattel-less world who comes to life to help tomboy Casey come out of her shell after her mother's death. The movie captures some of the same emotions that come from growing up, and it's a particularly nostalgic deep cut for anyone who grew up watching LiLo. Unfortunately, it's unavailable to stream, so you'll have to buy the DVD if you want to see it. -Glenn Garner

If you like taking the red Birkenstock: 'The Matrix' 

Barbie is littered with references to classic movies — the opening scene is a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Battle of the Kens dance-off echoes Grease and West Side Story, and so on — but perhaps the one film Barbie borrows the most from is The Matrix. Weird Barbie's (Kate McKinnon) offer to Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) of a truth-revealing Birkenstock or a stay-in-blissful-ignorance high heel is, of course, a parody of The Matrix's famous "red pill/blue pill" moment, but that itself is a winking reference to how the movies' first acts are nearly identical. In both films, the main character feels ill at ease in their world and notices that things are going wrong. Then they learn that their reality is a lie, and they make a choice to travel to the "real world" to set things right. And then it goes even deeper: Barbie and Neo (Keanu Reeves) meet a kindly, all-knowing old lady living in a mysterious apartment. That's right; Ruth Handler (Rhea Pearlman) is Barbie's version of the Oracle (Gloria Foster). And both movies are thematically about gender, with The Matrix a trans allegory and Barbie a direct feminist statement. The similarities between Gerwig and the Wachowskis' films are plentiful, and surely more connections will be revealed in further watches of Barbie. -Liam Matthews

Watch on Max

If you like urban fantasy comedies: 'Splash'

Like Barbie, Splash is a fish-out-of-water comedy, though much more literally. Daryl Hannah stars as a mermaid who falls in love with a Manhattanite (Tom Hanks) and discovers that the human world is much more complicated than the one she's used to. Gerwig cited it as an inspiration for Barbie as another high-concept movie that's "utterly charming and works emotionally" thanks to its script and the chemistry of its cast. -Liam Matthews

Watch on Disney+

If you like a fantastical take on the real world: 'The Truman Show' 

This 1998 dramedy about a man who learns that his perfect life is not what he perceives it to be is another film Gerwig has cited as an inspiration for Barbie. She even talked to director Peter Weir to get insight into how to construct an artificial world. The Truman Show stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, an average guy whose entire existence is part of an elaborate reality show of which he's the unwitting star. -Liam Matthews

Watch on AMC+

If you like Greta Gerwig-Noah Baumbach collabs: 'White Noise'

Gerwig wrote the Barbie screenplay with Noah Baumbach, an acclaimed, Oscar-nominated filmmaker and Gerwig's partner (they had their second child together a few months ago). They've been cinematic collaborators for over a decade. Their film before Barbie, the dark comedy White Noise, is the one most like Barbie. (The films share a producer in David Heyman, who's best known for the Harry Potter franchise.) Adam Driver stars as Jack Gladney, a professor at a Midwestern liberal arts college whose life gets turned upside down when a train derails in town, sending an "airborne toxic event" into the sky. Baumbach wrote and directed the adaptation of Don DeLillo's classic postmodern novel, and Gerwig plays Jack's neurotic wife, Babette. It's not that much like Barbie, but it's also more like Barbie than you might expect. It has a heightened, hyperreal style with almost too much going on, features a showstopping musical number and is preoccupied with the awareness of death. Barbie is Gerwig's movie, but Baumbach's presence is noticeable if you know what to look for.

Watch on Netflix