Passes the Bechdel test
Barbie
2023. Directed by Greta Gerwig, written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
53 women characters. 24 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 17 scenes out of 87. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
Barbie the Doll lives in bliss in the matriarchal society of Barbieland feeling good about her role in the world in the various iterations of Barbies over the years showing girls that play with her that they can be whatever and whoever they want. On the flip side, Ken, who also lives in Barbieland, is unnoticed except in relation to Barbie, which is however one step above any other doll in Barbieland, such as Allan. One day, Stereotypical Barbie begins to have feelings which she's never experienced which leads to her world seemingly falling apart. Weird Barbie determines that there is something happening in the real world with someone playing with her being unhappy leading to Stereotypical Barbie reluctantly heading to the real world to rectify what is happening with that person, she first needing to find this person. Much to Barbie's chagrin, the original Ken, Beach Ken, tags along with her to the real world in he needing to survive in her presence. Beyond their mission to find this person, Barbie and Ken will find the real world unlike anything they know in Barbieland, especially in it being a male dominated society. While Barbie still has to find out what's going on that made her come to the real world, Ken is finding a newfound control which he wants to bring back to Barbieland. If he is able to do so, the role of Barbie in the real world may be forever changed. On top of everything, executives at Mattel, primarily white men, discover that a "real life" Barbie and Ken doll have infiltrated the real world, their mission to capture the pair, but especially Barbie, to put them/her back in their/her place, namely in a manufacturer's sealed box.
- Released
- 21 Jul 2023
- Genres
- Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 80 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 215 wins & 436 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Barbie Margot 264 lines, woman
- Ken Ryan Gosling 136 lines, man
- Gloria 82 lines, woman
- Sasha 55 lines, woman
- Mattel Ceo 51 lines, man
- Weird Barbie 51 lines, woman
- Ken Kingsley 25 lines, man
- Aaron Dinkins 21 lines, man
- Ruth 21 lines, woman
- Allan 20 lines, man
Full cast, 171 people
- Margot Robbie as Barbie
- Ryan Gosling as Ken
- America Ferrera as Gloria
- Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha
- Issa Rae as Barbie
- Kate McKinnon as Barbie
- Alexandra Shipp as Barbie
- Emma Mackey as Barbie
- Hari Nef as Barbie
- Sharon Rooney as Barbie
- Ana Cruz Kayne as Barbie
- Ritu Arya as Barbie
- Dua Lipa as Barbie
- Nicola Coughlan as Barbie
- Emerald Fennell as Midge
- Simu Liu as Ken
- Kingsley Ben-Adir as Ken
- Ncuti Gatwa as Ken
- Scott Evans as Ken
- John Cena as Ken
- Michael Cera as Allan
- Rhea Perlman as Ruth
- Helen Mirren as Narrator (voice)
- Will Ferrell as Mattel CEO
- Connor Swindells as Aaron Dinkins
- Jamie Demetriou as Mattel Executive #1
- Andrew Leung as Mattel Executive #2
- Will Merrick as Young Mattel Employee
- Zheng Xi Yong as An Even Younger Mattel Employee
- Asim Chaudhry as Warehouse Employee
- Ray Fearon as Dan at the FBI
- Erica Ford as Skipper
- Hannah Khalique-Brown as Growing Up Skipper
- Mette as Barbie Video Girl
- Marisa Abela as Teen Talk Barbie
- Lucy Boynton as Proust Barbie
- Rob Brydon as Sugar Daddy Ken
- Tom Stourton as Earring Magic Ken
- Chris Taylor as Ken Emcee
- David Mumeni as Footrub Ken
- Olivia Brody as 2001 Girl
- Isla Ashworth as 2001 Girl
- Eire Farrell as 2001 Girl
- Daisy Duczmal as 2001 Girl
- Genvieve Toussaint as Young Sasha
- Isabella Nightingale-Mercado as Girl Making Weird Barbie
- Millie-Rose Crossley as Advertisement Girl
- Anvita Nehru as Advertisement Girl
- Kayla-Mai Alvares as Advertisement Girl
- Luke Mullen as Guy at the Beach
- Patrick Luwis as Guy at the Beach
- Mac Brandt as Construction Worker
- Paul Jurewicz as Construction Worker
- Oraldo Austin as Construction Worker
- Benjamin Arthur as Construction Worker
- Carlos Jacott as Policeman
- Adam Ray as Policeman
- George Basil as Boutique Owner
- Ptolemy Slocum as Corporate Man
- Deb Hiett as Doctor
- James Leon as Life-Guard
- Oliver Vaquer as Businessman
- Tony Noto as Businessman
- Christopher T. Wood as Businessman
- Ann Roth as The Woman on the Bench
- Annie Mumolo as Anxiety Mom
- Elise Gallup as Warning Girl
- McKenna Roberts as Junior High Friend
- Brylee Hsu as Junior High Friend
- Sasha Milstein as Junior High Friend
- Lauren Holt as Time Mom
- Sterling Jones as Mattel Agent
- Ryan Piers Williams as El Esposo de Gloria
- Jamaal Lewis as Muscle Beach Guy
- Kathryn Akin as Doctor Receptionist
- Grace Jabbari as Dancer
- Ira Mandela Siobhan as Dancer
- Lisa Spencer as Dancer
- Naomi Weijand as Dancer
- Tom Clark as Dancer
- Ireanne Abenoja as Dancer
- Davide Albonetti as Dancer
- Charlotte Anderson as Dancer
- Michael Anderson as Dancer
- Rico Bakker as Dancer
- James Bamford as Dancer
- William John Banks as Dancer
- Callum Bell as Dancer
- Adam Blaug as Dancer
- Mason Boyce as Dancer
- Taylor Bradshaw as Dancer
- Alex Brown as Dancer
- Miekaile Browne as Dancer
- Lewis Calcutt as Dancer
- Nikkita Chadha as Dancer
- Oliver Chapman as Dancer
- Megan Charles as Dancer
- Callum Clack as Dancer
- Danny Coburn as Dancer
- Kat Collings as Dancer
- Adam Crossley as Dancer
- Sia Dauda as Dancer
- Gustave Die as Dancer
- Grace Durkin as Dancer
- Joelle Dyson as Dancer
- Lewis Easter as Dancer
- Onyemachi Ejimofor as Dancer
- Cameron Everitt as Dancer
- Luke Field-Wright as Dancer
- Sasha Flesch as Dancer
- Adam Fogarty as Dancer
- Michael John French as Dancer
- Anna-Kay Gayle as Dancer
- Charlie Goddard as Dancer
- Marlie Goddard as Dancer
- Ellis Harman as Dancer
- Yasmin Harrison as Dancer
- Josh Hawkins as Dancer
- James Healy as Dancer
- Tim Hodges as Dancer
- Mira Jebari as Dancer
- Beccy Jones as Dancer
- Thomas Kalek as Dancer
- Lily Laight as Dancer
- Maiya Leeke as Dancer
- Cristian Liberti as Dancer
- Prodromos Marneros as Dancer
- Nahum McLean as Dancer
- Jordan Melchor as Dancer
- Ramzan Miah as Dancer
- Andy Monaghan as Dancer
- Florivaldo Mossi as Dancer
- Hannah Nazareth as Dancer
- Grant Neal as Dancer
- Freja Nicole as Dancer
- Shaun Niles as Dancer
- Ella Nonini as Dancer
- Jack William Parry as Dancer
- Josie Pocock as Dancer
- Barnaby Quarendon as Dancer
- Redmand Rance as Dancer
- Zara Richards as Dancer
- Liam Riddick as Dancer
- Alana Rixon as Dancer
- Adam Paul Robertson as Dancer
- Kingdom Sibanda as Dancer
- Sebastian Skov Andersen as Dancer
- Aaron J. Smith as Dancer
- Joshua Smith as Dancer
- Lucia-Rose Sokolowski as Dancer
- Janine Somcio as Dancer
- Alex J Sturman as Dancer
- Callum Sterling as Dancer
- Todd Talbot as Dancer
- Charles Tatman as Dancer
- Grant Thresh as Dancer
- Connor Tidman as Dancer
- Wahchi Vong as Dancer
- Jerry Wan as Dancer
- Sasha Wareham as Dancer
- Stan West as Dancer
- Oliver Wheeler as Dancer
- Josh Wild as Dancer
- Joe Wolstenholme as Dancer
- Richard Womersley as Dancer
- Ashley Young as Dancer
- Marja-Liisa Nguyen as Park Ranger Barbie (uncredited)
- Fatumina Saïd Abukar as Hijabi Barbie (uncredited)
- Ashleigh Brewer as Totally Hair Barbie (uncredited)
- Molly Peyton as Fashion Designer Barbie (uncredited)
- Chanel Stewart as 1960 Nurse Barbie (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 87
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 to 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 to 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 to 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 to 12 | 7 | 0 |
| 13 to 14 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 to 16 | 14 | 23 |
| 17 to 18 | 28 | 16 |
| 19 to 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 to 22 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 to 24 | 89 | 2 |
| 25 to 26 | 16 | 15 |
| 27 to 28 | 8 | 9 |
| 29 to 30 | 3 | 4 |
| 31 to 32 | 5 | 5 |
| 33 to 34 | 6 | 4 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 to 38 | 0 | 15 |
| 39 to 40 | 6 | 23 |
| 41 to 42 | 42 | 5 |
| 43 to 44 | 0 | 9 |
| 45 to 46 | 0 | 11 |
| 47 to 48 | 11 | 7 |
| 49 to 50 | 2 | 0 |
| 51 to 52 | 15 | 18 |
| 53 to 54 | 20 | 1 |
| 55 to 56 | 56 | 1 |
| 57 to 58 | 18 | 10 |
| 59 to 60 | 11 | 8 |
| 61 to 62 | 14 | 18 |
| 63 to 64 | 1 | 1 |
| 65 to 66 | 1 | 1 |
| 67 to 68 | 15 | 6 |
| 69 to 70 | 3 | 1 |
| 71 to 72 | 91 | 34 |
| 73 to 74 | 19 | 9 |
| 75 to 76 | 9 | 5 |
| 77 to 78 | 0 | 19 |
| 79 to 80 | 3 | 2 |
| 81 to 82 | 0 | 9 |
| 83 to 84 | 39 | 38 |
| 85 to 86 | 33 | 2 |
| 87 to 87 | 5 | 0 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
BARBIE DIGNITARY: The Nobel Prize in Journalism goes to "BARBIE!" BARBIE RITU: I worked very hard, so... I deserve it! BARBIE DIGNITARY: The Nobel Prize in Literature goes to "BARBIE!" BARBIE ANNOUNCER: You're the voice of a generation.
BARBIE MARGOT: We saw the whole thing! BARBIE ANA: Let's get you up on your feet.
BARBIE ALEXANDRA: This is a real rager, Barbie! BARBIE MARGOT: THANKS BARBIE! Gosh this night is just perfect! BARBIE SHARON: It's perfectly perfect! BARBIE EMMA: You look so beautiful Barbie!
BARBIE MARGOT: And: It's girl's night! BARBIE EMMA: Come on, Barbie, slumber party! BARBIE HARI: Come on! The president is here! BARBIE ISSA: I am. You're welcome!
BARBIE MARGOT: I know I'm Stereotypical Barbie, and therefore don't form conjectures concerning the causality of adjacent unfolding events, but some stuff … BARBIE ALEXANDRA: You're malfunctioning! BARBIE MARGOT: What? No, I'm just, am I? BARBIE EMMA: I've never seen this kind of malfunction.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 64 are women's.
601 lines from women, 332 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
53 women and 51 men in the cast. 24 women and 31 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 13 of 982.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 28 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 66% of the words (6,119), men 34% (3,132). Women have 64% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
50
Two men
32
Exhibit F: behind the camera
8 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 42% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Greta Gerwig (woman)
- Written by
- Noah Baumbach (man), Greta Gerwig (woman)
- Produced by
- Robbie Brenner (woman), David Heyman (man), Tom Ackerley (man), Margot Robbie (woman)
- Shot by
- Rodrigo Prieto (man)
- Edited by
- Nick Houy (man)
- Music by
- Andrew Wyatt (man), Mark Ronson (man)
- Production design by
- Sarah Greenwood (woman)
- Costumes by
- Jacqueline Durran (woman)
- Cast by
- Lucy Bevan (woman), Allison Jones (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
20 women, 30 men, 1 non-binary, 4 not listed
-
Other crew
17 women, 24 men, 12 not listed
-
Art
12 women, 9 men, 14 not listed
-
Production
13 women, 11 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
8 women, 2 men, 11 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 11 men, 7 not listed
-
Directing
3 women, 6 men, 5 not listed
-
Visual Effects
2 women, 4 men, 6 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Non-binary
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 32 on average. Men: 42 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Ariana Greenblatt 15, Emma Mackey 27, Hari Nef 30, Alexandra Shipp 32, Margot Robbie 33, Sharon Rooney 34, Issa Rae 38, America Ferrera 39, Kate McKinnon 39
Men
Ryan Gosling 42
Exhibit H: the money
It made 10.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $145 million
- Box office
- $1.4 billion
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 87 scenes and 982 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
