Barbie ending explained: Does she join the real world?

That's right, folks: Greta Gerwig's movie based on the world's most famous doll has shattered several box office records - and has become the most commercially successful movie by a female director.

Ahead of Barbie landing in cinemas, little was known about the plot, with the movie's trailers giving little away, but now we finally now what unfolds for Margot Robbie's "Stereotypical Barbie" and her trusty sidekick Ken (Ryan Gosling) as they venture into the real world - and it's a whirlwind of pink and sequinned fun with lashing of existential dread.

With a new MCU (Mattel Cinematic Universe) on the horizon, and rumours swirling regarding a potential sequel or a Ken-focused spin-off, now's your chance to catch up on the end of Barbie and to unwrap the message behind the movie.

Read on for our full explainer on how Barbie wrapped up. But be warned, there are major spoilers from this point onwards.

Barbie movie ending explained

When Stereotypical Barbie first ventures into the real world to find her owner and reckon with her newfound problems, she is little prepared for what she finds.

Far from the utopian society she was expecting, she comes across a world replete with all sorts of problems – not least the existence of sexism at every corner.

Furthermore, when she eventually tracks down Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), the child she believes has been playing with her, she is greeted not with the awe she imagined but instead with disdain: Sasha chastises her for pushing unrealistic beauty standards and shallow consumerism, even calling her a fascist.

Ken, on the other hand, greatly likes what he sees in the real world. He is particularly enchanted by the idea of patriarchy, which he believes has something to do with horses. And so, armed with a number of books on the subject, he heads back to Barbieland with some ideas on how to change the way things are done.

Meanwhile, it emerges that Sasha's mother Gloria (America Ferrera) is really the one who has been playing with Stereotypical Barbie, and it was her own worries about the world that led to Barbie's crisis.

The two meet and form a bond, escaping from Mattel executives led by Will Ferrell's CEO – who is now chasing them desperate to get Barbie back in her box – and arrive back in Barbieland.

Except, Barbieland is no longer what it once was. The ideas Ken had learned about in the real world have now been adopted by the whole community, replacing their matriarchal society with a patriarchal one and relegating all the Barbies to lower positions.

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Naturally, Stereotypical Barbie isn't happy about this at all and allies with Gloria, Sasha, Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), Allan (Michael Cera) and others to reverse the change.

They agree upon a strategy whereby if they flatter the various Kens with attention, they will be able to snap the brainwashed Barbies out of a trance – before tricking all the Kens into a massive fight on the beach.

This proves successful, and the various Barbies are able to work together to return things to how they were before – following which Stereotypical Barbie and Ken have a heart-to-heart where she tells him not to base his entire identity on being loved by her.

Things then take another turn when an elderly woman (Rhea Perlman) – who had appeared briefly earlier in the film – shows up in Barbieland. It is explained that this woman is Ruth Handler, the original inventor of the Barbie doll.

Handler approaches Stereotypical Barbie and gives her a choice: either stay a toy and remain in Barbieland or embrace humanity and return to the real world.

Although she is initially torn by this choice, Handler gives Barbie a glimpse of what it really means to be human – full of both joy and heartache – and Barbie ultimately decides that this would be a more rewarding life, whatever shortcomings might exist.

And so the film ends with Barbie – now going by the name Barbara Handler and living with Gloria and Sasha – living in the real world.

What is the last line in the Barbie movie?

But the film does not end there.

The actual ending of Barbie occurs in one final sequence, as Ferrera’s Gloria and Greenblatt’s Sasha drop her off at at what initially appears to be a job interview.

However, Gerwig gives us one last joke as Barbie heads over to the front desk and says: “I’m here to see my gynaecologist."

Speaking to USA Today about the last line of the movie, Gerwig revealed that “with this film, it was important for me that everything operated on at least two levels”.

“I knew I wanted to end on a mic-drop kind of joke, but I also find it very emotional.

“When I was a teenage girl, I remember growing up and being embarrassed about my body, and just feeling ashamed in a way that I couldn’t even describe. It felt like everything had to be hidden.”

She continued: “And then to see Margot as Barbie, with this big old smile on her face, saying what she says at the end with such happiness and joy. I was like, if I can give girls that feeling of, ‘Barbie does it, too’ – that’s both funny and emotional.”

What is the message behind Barbie?

Gerwig’s film highlights the unrealistic expectations placed upon women to send the message to viewers that you can be whatever you want to be (in terms of size, profession and personality) and that you should accept everything about yourself, flaws and all.

This is exemplified in a spectacular monologue from Ferrera's Gloria, in which she outlines the ridiculous expectations placed upon women, as well as when she proposes that Mattel make an 'Ordinary Barbie' doll.

“It is literally impossible to be a woman,” Gloria says after finding Barbie having an existential crisis and claiming she's ugly.

She continues: “You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough... I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing a woman, then I don’t even know.”

This has been echoed by members of the Barbie cast. Asked what the messages are in the movie that they related to the most, Margot Robbie told Yahoo Entertainment: "You're good. You are enough. You're already doing it right, I guess."

Kate McKinnon, who plays Weird Barbie in the movie, added: "Ugh! Do away with it. Just be-- frickin' just chill, OK? Like, be yourself. Be your whole self. Bring your whole self. Rules be damned. That's the message. And what more poignant message could there be in the world? Come on."

Does Barbie have a post-credits scene?

No, there is no post-credits screen in Barbie.

You might, however, wish to stay for the credits to listen to Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's track Barbie World, which heavily samples Aqua's iconic Barbie Girl.

Barbie is now showing in UK cinemas. Visit our Film hub for more news and features or find something to watch tonight with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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