Ken (short for Kenneth Carson) hit the toy aisle as Barbie's buyable boyfriend two years after her 1959 debut. He was available in two styles — blond or brunette hair, made of hard plastic — and came dressed in very short red swim trunks. He cost $3.50 and shared a name with the son of Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler.
Ken is first introduced when his boss, Lotso, tells him that Andy's toys have arrived. Shortly afterward, Ken catches sight of Molly's old Barbie doll and falls in love with her. Little do Barbie and Andy's toys know that Ken is a member of Lotso's gang.
After Toy Story was a success, Mattel decided to put that policy aside and allowed her to appear in Toy Story 2, and also with her boyfriend Ken in Toy Story 3.
Created by Barbie's inventor Ruth Handler, Ken was a boyfriend designed by women for girls. Just as Barbie was named after Handler's daughter, so Ken was named after her son. And so the safe, boyfriend-friend dynamic of Barbie and Ken's relationship was established.
TOY STORY 3 | Ken Meets Barbie | Official Disney Pixar UK
Did Barbie and Ken kiss?
Summary. Margot Robbie's friends were surprised that she and Ryan Gosling's Ken don't kiss in the Barbie film, questioning her role as a producer. Barbie and Ken have a close bond but do not share a romantic relationship in the movie, with Barbie explicitly stating that she isn't interested in Ken that way.
Apparently, Barbie will never get married. According to the wishes of Barbie creator Ruth Handler, part of Barbie's appeal to young children was that she defied patriarchal norms, and would never walk down the aisle toward Ken or have children.
By the end of the movie, Barbie and Ken have to have a serious conversation about their relationship. Barbie makes it clear she's not interested in Ken romantically and urges him to find his own personal passions.
Technically, Ken has no official age (he is a doll, after all) although he was first introduced as Barbie's boyfriend on March 11, 1961, which means he has been around for 62 years. (Barbie was created in 1959, which would make her 64.)
“Pregnant Barbie” is actually Margaret Hadley Sherwood, or Midge, as her friends call her. Midge was created to be a less glam, more relatable Barbie, per Buzzfeed News. The doll was launched in 1963 as Barbie's bestie. She had freckles and red hair, and she wore less makeup than Barbie did.
Fidelity Counts: When Toy Story ends, Woody is in a relationship with Bo Peep. When Toy Story 2 starts, he's still in the same relationship. That's not the way it happens in a typical sequel. Usually, the guy gets the girl at the end of the movie and they live happily ever after...
Although Toy Story 3 did conclude the toys' time with Andy, all of the main characters were still together, with Bonnie's toys and Andy's toys all being together for the story of Toy Story 4.
Relationships. He and Barbie are shown to be friends, however, Ryan makes it apparent that he loves her and wants to be more then friends. He and Ken are enemies, always trying to win over barbie. Ryan never being able to win her over because ken and barbie are already dating.
Ken (short for Kenneth Carson) hit the toy aisle as Barbie's buyable boyfriend two years after her 1959 debut. He was available in two styles — blond or brunette hair, made of hard plastic — and came dressed in very short red swim trunks. He cost $3.50 and shared a name with the son of Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler.
It's kind of implied in the films that Buzz and Jessie have a romantic relationship, although as it's a kids film, they obviously don't go into it much.
Although the doll was part of a 'Happy Family' line of dolls, there was backlash at the time for endorsing 'teenage pregnancy', so the road towards endorsing a liberating world through Barbie dolls has admittedly not always been smooth. Regardless, for Ruth the idea was to keep Barbie single and child free.
Midge, full name Margaret Hadley Sherwood, who was first introduced as Barbie's best friend in 1963, and is Barbie's on-screen neighbor. Midge's run as the youthful, freckled sidekick has been sporadic and at times turbulent, with only a handful of releases in the '60s, before she resurfaced in the '80s and '90s.
Calculating Barbie's age from her manufacturing debut, the first Barbie doll is now over 64 years old. Considering that Barbie was created as a 19-year-old doll, she could technically be up to 83 years old. However, in the past, Mattel has reportedly said that Barbie is frozen in time at age 19.
Barbie went on to date a hip-hop-loving Australian boogie boarder named Blaine. Two years after calling it quits, Ken attempted to win Barbie back by getting a makeover.
Ken and Barbie were never officially engaged or married. I'm not sure if it was a matter of feminist influence, but I'm more certain it was to encourage creativity in play.
Ken and Barbie are friends. Ken is 2 years younger than his famous Barbie, his official birthday is on 11th March 1961. Looking pretty good for his age! Ken is exactly 12 inches tall, which makes him half an inch taller than Barbie.
By the late 1980s, Midge was back on shelves as part of the California Dream Barbie set. Then, she was re-released in the 1990s wearing a wedding dress, and again in 2002 with a detachable magnetic pregnant stomach, which allowed her to “deliver” a small plastic baby curled up inside, per CBS News.
Fans had no way of knowing that Barbie had an even more adult side: She was closely related to a German novelty toy. Barbie had a sister—Bild-Lilli, a racy doll marketed to men.
