Arts
Mattel Introduces Barbie Modeled After Mindy Kaling
The Barbie dolls are based on characters of Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey in the upcoming movie, A Wrinkle in Time.
Mattel has revealed the first look of the doll-sized versions of Indian American actor Mindy Kaling, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. The dolls have been fashioned after their characters in the Disney movie A Wrinkle in Time. The Barbie dolls are Mrs Who, Mrs Which and Mrs Whatsit played by the actors respectively.
Mattel has described the dolls as “three powerful women warriors made of stardust, each with a special role in [13-year-old heroine] Meg’s journey to find her missing father.”
Mrs Who, played by Kaling, is described to be eccentric while she uses her diamond spectacles to see things otherwise hidden to the eye. The Indian American actor responded to the news of a doll in her likeness by posting celebratory emojis on her Twitter.
🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 https://t.co/tX95xxLrDD
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) January 25, 2018
The actor also expressed her happiness on Instagram.
Fans of the actor are overjoyed. “An Indian barbie. An Indian barbie who’s not wearing the god awful saris that Mattel always put them in,” tweeted one fan. “Injection-molded plastic never looked so good,” posted another.
THERE’S AN INDIAN BARBIE!!! https://t.co/k2FT75kkZK
— Aditi Juneja (@AditiJuneja3) January 25, 2018
Injection-molded plastic never looked so good https://t.co/nvIveONOkF
— Michal Lev-Ram (@mlevram) January 25, 2018
— Chantal Sandal (@ChantalSandal) January 25, 2018
Ava DuVernay, the director of the movie A Wrinkle In Time, wrote on Twitter: “When Disney makes Barbies of your movie’s characters, you just want to stare at them all day in disbelief because you loved Barbies as a girl but never had any like these.”
When Disney makes Barbies of your movie’s characters and you just want to stare at them all day in disbelief because you loved Barbies as a girl but never had any like these. #WrinkleinTime pic.twitter.com/7PzQsiNoyG
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 25, 2018
I love that she calls the doll an “action figure.” That’s how warriors think. Big!pic.twitter.com/H2BT5LopWK
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 28, 2018
DuVernay was pointing at the fact that Mattel has made a conscious effort for including greater representation of people of color by diversifying its toyline with Barbies bearing likeness to Oprah and Kaling. This is also evident in the Shero series that includes Barbies inspired from women who “break barriers and expand possibilities for women everywhere” such as ballet dancer Misty Copeland, 5-year-old fashion designer Sydney Keiser, plus-size model Ashley Graham and Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad. The doll made in likeness of Muhammad is the first time Barbie wore a hijab. Incidentally, DuVernay also has a Barbie in her likeness as part of the Shero series in 2015.
The latest doll is the first Barbie made in Kaling’s likeness. This comes on the heels of Kaling ranking third on the Forbes’ list of highest paid television actresses in 2017, and being among the 10 highest paid TV actresses since 2014.
Kaling is also set to appear in Ocean’s 8 — an all-woman heist movie — this year.
Reese Witherspoon also displayed her excitement on Twitter, calling it a “childhood dream come true.” This is the second time a Barbie has been modeled after her.
When a childhood dream comes to life! Excited to reveal my very own @Mattel doll based off of my Red-headed alter ego, Mrs. WhatsIt from #WrinkleInTime!! 💫⭐️✨ #DreamComeTrue pic.twitter.com/mpknhGjSvV
— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) January 26, 2018
This is the second time for Oprah Winfrey as well. She had revealed her first doll in a Twitter post in 2016, with the doll modeled after DuVernay.
@AVAETC look who became friends today..Yay! pic.twitter.com/gu5RpWuBRH
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 27, 2016
All three dolls, available for pre-order at $50 each, will be up on shelves from Feb. 23. The fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time hits theaters on March 9. The film is an adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery Medal-winning children’s book of the same name.