In case no one ever thought about it or posted it, I have a theory:
Raquelle in Barbie: Life in the dream house, is actually a rejected doll.
Allow me to elaborate:
Raquelle, despite being a total fashion icon, is still not seen as one by the other dolls in the Barbie universe. She doesn't function like Barbie (feet too big for Barbie's shoes, mean, can't do a quick change), that's why she's so jealous of Barbie, because she wasn't one
Movie Ken and TS3 Ken: angsting about being an accessory to barbie
LITD Ken while building Barbie another evil robot or something: Barbie is my goddess I worship how could I possibly want more out of life when she exists I live to serve her and it is a blessing
my favorite genre of thing is “product originally aimed at kids who gets reinvented for a slightly older audience by making it more meta while never losing the charm of the original” (ie, sonic boom, life in the dreamhouse). we need more of that, and less ‘dark and gritty’ reimaginings.
most annoying barbie take(s) you've seen? feel free to go off if you want to
Oh buckle up because I've got 2 major gripes.
1. People using Life in the Dreamhouse as the end-all-be-all of what Barbie media/content should be like. Yes it's fun and hilarious and I still love it to this day but I'm sick of everyone comparing every new idea to it.
For example, I'm not the biggest Dreamhouse Adventures fan but the fact that people are STILL comparing it to LitD is ludicrous. First of all, they are different KINDS of series, DA being a 22-min TV series aimed at teaching life lessons and LitD being a short form web series (with a couple exceptions) that spoofs reality shows and satires Barbie. They're also totally different in tone, setting, and characterizations of Barbie & co. Yet people treat DA like it's some inferior LitD reboot/successor. DA isn't TRYING to be LitD!!!
I think it's gotten even worse recently with the live-action Barbie coming out. Endless LitD comparisons are being made. I mean, at least it's a bit more understandable this time with Barbieland seeming similar to dollsize Malibu and an air of self-parody. But even so people are whining and crying about characters like Raquelle not being there. Again I love LitD and Raquelle is iconic but she's beloved BECAUSE of LitD. She didn't even exist before it, unlike Midge who was Barbie's first best friend. (Sidenote: Barbie Diaries Raquelle and Fairy Secret Raquelle do not count; they are completely different characters). (Sidenote #2 it's RAQUELLE not Raquel at least get it right if you're gonna whine). I mean the "Raquelle" entity has been around before LitD like characters such as Teresa, but again the one people always talk about is this one iteration of her. If anything you should be complaining about the lack of Christie and Teresa, who have been around for generations like Midge and used to be mainstays of Barbie.
I also want people to stop saying other versions of Barbie are "wrong" or that people outside the fandom don't understand what the characters are "really" like because of this ONE version of the characters that has been discounted since 2015.
2. People wanting Aqua's "Barbie Girl" in the new movie
Look we all loved this song as a kid, I get it. I did too because I thought it was a real Barbie song. But it's not. Yes Mattel sued and then made their own version and used the melody in commercials between 2009-201x whatever the date was BUT it's been abandoned since then.
The song depicts Barbie as a stereotype dumb bimbo blonde with a gross horndog version of Ken as her love interest. Even with lyrics like "imagination, life is your creation" & "if you say I'm always yours" it's surrounded by things like "you can touch/you can play" "kiss me here touch me there/hanky-panky". Like I'm not gonna stop others from making sexual/humorous depictions of Barbie. My problem is this fandom wanting "outsiders" to see another side of Barbie but still insisting this song be part of it. Why are you holding on to it so tightly? Maybe I just don't get it.
And going back for a sec, again Mattel SUED over this song. Like I don't think it's going into the movie just for that reason
I feel like I had another thing to say but this post is long enough so I'm just gonna stop here
the reason Raquelle died is bc she was a romantic rival for Barbie and Barbie's not allowed to have a boyfriend anymore lmao this is true for both FF/FS and LITD, plus Barbie Diaries if you want to count that proto version of the later Raquelle. like yes they were vying against each other for popularity but also Ken(/Todd) was a central point of their rivalry and with karbie dead on the floor, Raquelle goes with it. now shut the fuck up already