By: Ada Xin

The makers of the highly anticipated ‘Barbie’ movie know life in plastic is fantastic and very pink… So much so that the designers say they wiped out an entire company’s supply of the color.

Sarah Greenwood, the production designer of the movie, said the spacious, pink Barbieland at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England used up a lot of the Rosco Paint. Rosco is a company that makes paint, color filters, and other equipment for the entertainment industry.

However, Lauren Proud, the vice president of Rosco’s global marketing, says there was a shortage of pink paint to start with.

The company had been dealing with supply-related issues, starting with the 2021 Texas freeze that damaged the crucial raw materials. Stockpile, or a large accumulated amount of materials, was damaged in the process, as were the materials to restore it.

“There was this shortage, and then we gave them everything we could — I don’t know if they can claim credit,” Proud said. “They did clean us out on paint” (NPR, June 5, 2023).

Greta Gerwig, director of the ‘Barbie’ movie aimed for everything to be authentic artificially, maintaining the kid-ness of the whole movie. “I wanted the pinks to be very bright, and everything to be almost too much,” she said (NPR, June 5, 2023).

Viewers will be able to see for themselves when the movie is released in theaters on July 21, 2023.

Sources: https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1687116732800x172859986885894660/Did%20the%20%27Barbie%27%20movie%20really%20cause%20a%20global%20run%20on%20pink%20paint_%20_%20NPR.pdf