Barbie first reactions call the film "perfection" and "laugh-out-loud funny"

Margot Robbie in Barbie
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

The first reactions for Greta Gerwig's highly-anticipated Barbie movie are here, and everyone is blown away by the pink-tastic movie.

The fantasy comedy is directed by Gerwig from a script by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. Per the official logline, "After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less-than-perfect doll, Barbie (Robbie) sets off to the real world to find true happiness with a little help from Ken (Ryan Gosling)."

"I can't officially quit Twitter before telling you all that #Barbie is currently my favorite film of the year," writes ComicBook.com's Jamie Jirak. "Greta Gerwig somehow exceeded my expectations. She tackles the positives and negatives of Barbie so beautifully. Give Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination, I'm dead serious!"

"I saw #BarbieTheMovie and Greta Gerwig left me all in my feelings as did the production design, costumes, hair and makeup! I was living for the dance numbers led by Simu Liu! It's overblown fun with a feminist twist," says critic Carla Renata

"#BarbieTheMovie is witty, heartfelt, and downright fun at times. Ryan Gosling is a scene stealer delivering most of the laughs while Margot Robbie's heartfelt performance will tug at your heartstrings. While I enjoyed most of the film the screenplay feels bloated at times," is critic Sharronda Williams' verdict. 

"Further BARBIE thoughts to come but the number one is I can't believe Greta Gerwig got away with it! (said admiringly)" says The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan

"Barbie is perfection. Greta Gerwig delivers a nuanced commentary on what it means to be a woman in a whimsical, wonderful and laugh-out-loud funny romp. The entire cast shines, especially Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in roles they were clearly born to play," says Variety's Katcy Stephan

"Barbie caught me off guard & I mean that in the best way possible. It's funny, bombastic, & very smart. Greta Gerwig aims for the fences & hits a home-run. Margot Robbie's performance is great & Ryan Gosling & Simu Liu are pure entertainment! The whole cast is brilliant!" is the take of Screen Rant's Joseph Deckelmeier.

"I have seen #Barbie! The craftsmanship is incredible. In particular the costume & production design includes next-level work that heavily contributes to creating the feeling that these truly are Barbies, their dream houses, and their worlds come to life," says Collider's Perri Nemiroff. "As for the story, that's where I'm a bit more mixed. I think the film serves Margot Robbie's Barbie and her journey especially well, but there are other characters experiencing important arcs that needed more screen time to really dig into and explore to the fullest."

Barbie is set to hit theaters on July 21, 2023. You can watch the trailer through the link. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2023 and beyond, or, skip straight to the good stuff with our list of movie release dates.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

With contributions from
Read more
Mickey 17
First reactions to Parasite director's new delayed sci-fi movie Mickey 17 say it's "worth the wait" and praise Robert Pattinson’s "brilliant performance"
Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher in Companion
First reactions for The Boys and Yellowjackets stars' new horror movie are calling it "absolutely bonkers" and "genuinely brilliant"
Robert Pattinson as Mickey in Mickey 17
Mickey 17 Review: "Bong Joon Ho's best English movie to date and arguably Robert Pattinson's best movie ever"
Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 first reactions are in, and they're glowing: "It’s the closest Hollywood has made to a Dragon Ball movie"
Barbie
Ryan Gosling in Star Wars? The Barbie star is reportedly in talks to join Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy's movie
M3GAN 2.0 teaser
M3GAN 2.0 is here to slay in a perfectly on-brand first sequel teaser for the upcoming horror movie
Latest in Comedy Movies
Claire Danes as Juliet and Miriam Margolyes as Nurse in the movie Romeo + Juliet.
The 33 greatest movies based on Shakespeare
The Monkey
Horror movie marketing ups its game once again, as the team behind The Monkey sends a gross-out bus to drive around Hollywood
Shrek 5
Dune and Spider-Man star Zendaya is Shrek and Fiona’s daughter in the first meme-filled teaser for Shrek 5 and this is the happiest I’ve been since Shrek 2
A Minecraft Movie stills
Jack Black playing Minecraft is the most wholesome thing you'll see all day
Blake Lively as Emily in Another Simple Favor
7 years on from the original, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick reunite in sinister, sun-soaked first trailer for comedy thriller sequel Another Simple Favor
Al Pacino in Jack and Jill
32 movies with Oscar-winning actors in bizarre roles
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip