The dark stories behind the discontinued dolls spotted in the Barbie movie.

Whether you hate Barbie or happen to be a Mattel superfan, there's a lot to like in the Barbie movie.

The Margot Robbie-led film by director and writer Greta Gerwig doesn't take itself too seriously when it comes to the history of Barbie, especially regarding some of the dolls from the archives we'd all sooner forget.

Of course, there's breakout doll Allan, played effortlessly by Michael Cera, who was first marketed simply as "Ken's buddy". Lucky for poor Allan, he has come into his own in the movie. 

And who can forget Midge, the pregnant Barbie doll? Yep, she makes several awkward appearances in Barbie. 

There's a bunch of hilarious cameos from controversial dolls that were discontinued, and we've rounded them all up, along with their rather dark origin stories.

It turns out, life in plastic has not always been fantastic.

The Allan Barbie Doll.

Allan emerged as the unexpected hero of the Barbie movie – which is no small feat for a doll most people forgot ever existed. The doll was introduced in 1964 as “Ken’s Buddy Allan,” with the selling point that umm, “all of Ken’s clothes fit him.”

Allan was named after the son-in-law of Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler. Allan actually married Barbie's friend Midge, but more on that doll later. Allan and Midge were added to the Barbie universe so that Barbie and Ken would have a couple to go on double dates with. 

Image: The Strong National Museum of Play, Mattel.

By 1966, the Allan doll was discontinued before making a reappearance in 1991 and 2002 alongside Midge as part of their family gift sets. 

The 2002 doll set featuring a pregnant Midge was the end of Allan; the doll has been out of circulation ever since. In the 2012 animation Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, Midge and Allan’s kids no longer exist, and neither does Allan. Justice for Allan! 

The Midge Barbie Doll.

Midge is played in the Barbie movie by Oscar-nominee Emerald Fennell. She makes a few odd cameos, leaving the other Barbies uncomfortable.

At first, Midge was simply marketed as Barbie's friend in 1963 and the next year became Allan's girlfriend. She was supposed to be more “mature” than Barbie in appearance, with a red bob, freckles, less makeup and a rounder face.

But things got weird in 2002, when Mattel released a version of Midge who was pregnant. The doll has a pregnant magnetic belly which can be opened with a removable baby inside.

Image: The Strong National Museum of Play, Mattel.

At the time of the pregnant Barbie's release, Midge and Allan already had a 3-year-old son, Ryan.

For the marketing for the doll, Barbie.com said that the pregnant Midge doll was "a wonderful prop for parents to use with their children to role-play family situations — especially in families anticipating the arrival of a new sibling." 

However, the pregnant doll was heavily criticised by shoppers. Walmart stopped selling the dolls after some customers complained that the toy promoted teen pregnancy. "It was just that customers had a concern about having a pregnant doll," store spokeswoman Cynthia Illick told CBS News in 2002.

"In this case, we decided to remove the product from the shelves. I think it was a unique situation."

“It’s a bad idea. It promotes teenage pregnancy. What would an 8-year-old or 12-year-old get out of that doll baby?” said a mother quoted by USA Today in 2002.

After the controversy, Midge was gradually discontinued. 

Hey now! Listen to this episode of The Spill about Barbie. Post continues after podcast.

The Video Girl Barbie Doll.

A Barbie with a video camera inside, what could go wrong?! 

2010's Barbie Video Girl was hilariously mocked in the Barbie movie, as the doll featured a hidden camera lens inside Barbie's necklace and a colour LCD video screen on her back. 

The camera could record up to 30 minutes of footage, and the doll included software for adding music, visuals and other sound effects. 

Image: Mattel.

The Barbie's built-in camera abilities immediately worried both police enforcement and psychologists. According to NBC Philadelphia, the FBI had to issue an alert about the toy.

“The alert’s intent was to ensure law enforcement agencies were aware that the doll, like any other video-capable equipment, could contain evidence and to not disregard such an item during a search,” the FBI said in a 2010 statement.

The main concern reported at the time was that due to Video Girl Barbie's hidden camera, the doll could be used to record child pornography.

Clinical psychologist Sally-Anne McCormack told Sydney Morning Herald in 2010 that she had concerns about the doll, and encouraged parents to boycott the product. ''Essentially, it's a hidden camera,'' she said. ''Children don't look at video clips the way that adults do, and there might be inappropriate shots that they upload onto YouTube.''

Like the rest of the problematic toys on this list, the doll was discontinued. 

The Earring Magic Ken AKA 'Gay Ken' Barbie Doll.

Affectionately known as the queerest Barbie to ever exist, a new Ken doll was introduced by Mattel in 1993 named Earring Magic Ken. 

And yes, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to this Ken towards the end of the Barbie movie. 

Image: Mattel.

The Ken doll wore a lavender mesh shirt, a metallic purple vest, a necklace with a circular charm, and an earring in his left ear.  

The revamped Ken came as a response to a survey Mattel carried out which found that girls wanted Ken to look "cooler". 

But given the very specific aesthetic Mattel applied to the new Ken, the immediate response was that Ken was now gay. From the cropped top to the bleached blonde hair and a necklace later compared to a cock ring, Earring Magic Ken was an encapsulation of every gay 90s stereotype imaginable. 

At the time, the marketing and communications manager for Mattel, Lisa McKendall, had to come out and respond to the jokes being made. “We’re not in the business of putting c**k rings into the hands of little girls," she said. 

Mattel later discontinued and even recalled the doll, which was only available for six months. 

Despite this, Earring Magic remains the best-selling Ken doll of all time. And the doll has lived on by finding a cult following among the queer community to this day. We simply must stan Gay Ken forever. 

The Growing Up Skipper Barbie Doll.

Barbie's little sister Skipper had a whole range of dolls, but there's one 1975 version Mattel wishes they didn't make, which is briefly mentioned in the film. Growing Up Skipper was a doll that featured growing boobs so that Skipper could mature from a child to a teen girl. 

When you rotated Skipper's left arm, the doll would get taller and her breasts would inflate. The doll was actually advertised as "two dolls in one for two kinds of fun!” 

The ad really needs to be seen to be believed because oh my God...

The doll predictably caused outrage in newspapers at the time. Growing Up Skipper was discontinued by 1977. Shocking!

Feature image: The Strong National Museum of Play + Mattel + Warner Bros.