Hey, Barbie historian here… Allan got discontinued because he knocked Midge up. They got married in the 80’s and had a family together in the early 2000’s. Allan was never actually done away with until the Happy Family controversy. He just wasn’t popular because he wasn’t Ken, and even Ken’s popularity has been piss poor for decades. They just used the original Allan for the movie without mentioning his relationship with Midge
Barbie Historian, eh? Sounds like a real dream job *slaps knee*
But in all seriousness, that's fascinating! I'll admit I was more of a Littlest Pet Shop girlie when I was a kid, so all I knew was Barbie and Ken.
I think it's funny that they paired Allan and Midge together and got them pregnant. I can totally see why that would be controversial, cause like. They're toys. The implication that they had sex is... not fun.
The only thing I knew about Allan going into the movie was that he was initially marketed as Ken's 'buddy', and that also had some unintended implications. I fully believe that Greta Gerwig exploited his perceived queerness in the movie. Maybe if she explored Midge's character a little more, they would've touched on this.
Either way, I had no idea. Thank you so much for sharing!
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