• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Fans believe The Simpsons predicted the Barbie movie mania

Home> Film & TV> News

Published 02:54 20 Jul 2023 GMT+1

Fans believe The Simpsons predicted the Barbie movie mania

Many noted the similarities between the 1994 episode ‘Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy’ and the hype around the Greta Gerwig movie.

Charisa Bossinakis

Charisa Bossinakis

Fans believe The Simpsons predicted the Barbie movie mania currently sweeping the world.

Now that the Barbie press tour has kicked into high gear, I’m sure there’s no shortage of pink consuming your social media feeds.

The film has dropped into cinemas around the world and people can't wait to see what all the fuss is about.

However, many Simpsons fans believe that the long-running animation series made yet another prediction, foreshadowing the Barbie hysteria happening right now.

Advert

Many have noted the similarities between the 1994 episode ‘Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy’ and the hype around the 2023 Greta Gerwig flick.

Warner Bros. Pictures

One scene shows anchor Kent Brockman addressing Lisa Simpson's campaign to make Barbie creators reinvent a Malibu Stacey - AKA Barbie - that is a better role model for young girls that doesn’t set harmful gender stereotypes.

The TV host says: "Thought it was unusual to spend 28 minutes reporting about a doll, this reporter found it impossible to stop talking."

Advert

The current Malibu Stacy utters phrases such as ‘Math is hard’ or ‘Don't ask me, I'm just a girl’ when you pull her little string.

Later in the episode, Lisa enlists Stacy Lovell, the doll’s creator, to launch a more feminist-empowering toy called Lisa Lionheart.

The doll is released and is instantly a big hit.

However, the creators of Malibu Stacy see Lisa's doll as a real threat and release a new figurine to bury Lisa Lionheart.

Advert

To Lisa and Lovell’s dismal, the new Malibu Stacy - which is just the old one wearing a ‘new hat' as Lisa points out - is wheeled in front of Lisa’s doll display, with little girls opting for Malibu Stacey instead.

Ah, genius.

Many fans have pointed out that art has intimated real life.

One Simpsons fan penned to Twitter: “If Barbie really is a feminist movie, it’s probably gonna be the plot of that one Simpsons episode.”

Advert

Another said: “Is the Barbie movie really just a feminist screed? I'd rather just rewatch the Lisa Lionheart episode of The Simpsons.”

While a third shared: “Have The Simpsons potentially predicted another thing? When Mattel releases Margot Robbie Barbie dolls, there's guaranteed to be adult men who will buy them and leave it unopened for their collection.”

Veteran Simpsons' scribes Josh Weinstein and Ben Oakley, who wrote ‘Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy’, recently sat down with Vanity Fair, to which they admitted that female fans often say this episode is their favorite.

Advert

And with the Barbie movie reigniting the discussion around how toys impact children, the episode is more relevant than ever, almost three decades on.

“I remember writing this and thinking, If I have a daughter someday, I want her to watch this episode and like it,” said Oakley.

Featured Image Credit: The Simpsons/Fox. Warner Bros.

Topics: News, Film and TV, Barbie, The Simpsons

Charisa Bossinakis
Charisa Bossinakis

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

22 hours ago
a day ago
  • 22 hours ago

    Underrated Netflix mini-series labeled 'beautiful and relatable' as viewers watch for 9.4 million hours

    Idris Elba stars in the 'refreshing' eight-parter

    Film & TV
  • a day ago

    Fans can't stop watching 'underrated' Ryan Reynolds movie that's one of the best 'made in the last 10 years' and is now on Netflix

    Ryan Reynold has a whole lot of films under his belt but many think this gem is underrated

    Film & TV
  • a day ago

    Five epic movies that have just arrived on Netflix include 'cinematic masterpiece' which 'not enough people have seen'

    Which film will you choose to watch this weekend?

    Film & TV
  • a day ago

    People are just discovering what the 'Disney Hug Rule' is when visiting worldwide theme parks

    TikTok users have been chiming in with their own experiences with staff members

    Film & TV
  • Producer of The Simpsons sets record straight after fans rage that main character is 'killed off' for first time ever
  • The Simpsons voice actor retires from voicing iconic main character and fans are devastated
  • The 20 Simpsons characters whose voice actors have been replaced over the years
  • The Simpsons fans are just realizing why Maggie is scanned in opening credits