Barbie (The Screenplay) by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach

*spoiler-free*

After loving the film, I was so excited to see Barbie the screenplay in Waterstones that I had to pick it up. Barbie is a childhood favourite, so the film, soundtrack, cast, and crew made a perfect combination.

The screenplay itself was really enjoyable to read. It starts with an introduction from Greta and Noah and helps set the scene as to how this film came to life. It was a nice touch to have pictures from the film included throughout the screenplay and to see drawings/pictures that inspired certain scenes such as specific Barbie outfits or toys. The gallery at the end of the screenplay was also a charming ending to the book.

This is one of few screenplays I have read so it was interesting to compare the pacing of the screenplay to the film, as it varied from scene to scene. Reading in this format also showed how important music was to the film because that was the only thing missing in the screenplay, as the music came so much later. Seeing how iconic the soundtrack is, it’s so clever to see how they formulated the rest of the screenplay/film until the music was ready.

Overall, this is definitely worth a read if you are a Barbie fan and loved the film. It was interesting to see what changes were made by the time the film came into production, and it’s a lovely book to keep as a reference to the Barbie film.

5/5 stars