For over 60 years, Barbie has remained one of the most recognizable and, subsequently, profitable toy brands in history. Yet, for all the countless merchandise spun out from this familiar property, the blonde-haired fashion icon socialite has never made her way onto the silver screen. Well, that will soon change with next summer's Barbie, the third film from co-writer/director Greta Gerwig, which sees Margot Robbie taking on the eponymous doll character, along with Ryan Gosling playing her main squeeze, Ken. We have only heard rumors and murmurs about what's in store for this upcoming blockbuster, but if we can take co-star Will Ferrell at his word, Gerwig's film will represent "the ultimate example of high art and low art."

During a recent profile with the Wall Street Journal, where the Elf star promoted his latest Christmas movie, Spirited, Ferrell spilled a few vague but nevertheless enticing details about this forthcoming feature. He claimed that the movie will serve as a pointed satire on male patriarchy and the complicated role that Barbie plays in society, especially regarding women's social and beauty standards.

One would certainly expect Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach to bring some thematic heft to this property; Gerwig doesn't strike moviegoers as someone who would take on a project like this one just for the hell of it. But if Ferrell's comments are true, Barbie could serve as another outstanding example of critiquing consumer culture while also playing into everything that people love about the world-famous toy brand. Certainly, that balance was struck with 2014's The LEGO Movie, which Ferrell also starred in, and hopefully, that magic can be found here, too. Here's what the Saturday Night Live alum had to say:

It is, in my humble opinion, the ultimate example of high art and low art. It's a loving homage to the brand and, at the same time, couldn't be more satirical—just an amazing comment on male patriarchy and women in society and why Barbie's criticized and yet why every little girl still wants to play with Barbie.

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Likewise, Ferrell wasn't afraid to compliment Gerwig and Baumbach's fresh take on the material, noting that he was quite taken with where the story and characters go and found himself excited about what the script allowed his character to do. Playing the CEO of Mattel, Ferrell notes that his character is allowed to be a heightened but deliberately satirical character that plays well into his wheelhouse. The comic has made a career of taking on outsized man-child buffoons who don't have the highest intelligence or self-awareness, as made evident with Anchorman, Step Brothers, and Talledega Nights, to name only a few famous titles on his resume. As such, this new, still-mysterious role should fit that vibe pretty well:

Boy, when I read it, I was like, 'This is fantastic.' I get to play the CEO of Mattel and be that guy who's just insensitive but weird and then, not to spoil anything, but…. Anyway, that's what excites me.

There's still a lot left to learn about what's in store for Gerwig's Barbie, but we should hopefully know more about the movie in a matter of months. Slated to debut on July 21st, 2023, the Mattel movie will arrive in theaters sooner rather than later, and we should have a better idea of what's in store then. In the meantime, if you want to watch Ferrell do his thing, you can stream Spirited, which is now on Apple TV+.