Barbie movie craze drives up eBay bids on rare Allan doll
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He’s a lot more than “just Allan” now.
Much like the “Barbie” box office sales, eBay prices for Mattel’s Allan dolls have soared to the hundreds.
Played by Michael Cera in the Greta Gerwig plastic spectacular, Allan was manufactured as Ken’s best bud in 1964, inspired by Barbara Handler’s husband, Allan Handler.
But Allan’s selling point — that he could fit in all of Ken’s clothes — seemed to suggest to pearl-clutching parents that the plastic dolls had a queer relationship, according to Attitude.
Thus, he was discontinued.
Despite seemingly being revived in the ’90s as Alan — one “L” — the husband of Midge, Barbie’s pregnant BFF who was also discontinued in the early aughts, Allan’s character never really stuck.
That is, until “Barbie” hit theaters.
Despite Cera’s few scenes, self-deprecating one-liners and an intense fight scene, Allan — who has quickly achieved “icon” status and been crowned the “best character” — piqued the interest of Mattel fans and collectors everywhere, selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
One listing rings in at $300; another is asking for $275; and one vendor even priced a used Allan doll at a whopping $465.
According to TMZ, these price hikes are a far cry from the original listings, which sold the figurine for a meager $50 to $70.
While Allan dolls are few and far between, the Barbie collectibles market seems to be booming.
On eBay, the brunette 35th anniversary 1959 doll, fashioned in the iconic black and white striped swimsuit and still fresh in the box, is asking for a jaw-dropping $300,000 — thousands of dollars higher than most other listings.
Just this week, a diamond-encrusted Barbie was auctioned for $302,500 at Christie’s in Manhattan.
The original Barbie doll was created by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler in 1945 and inspired by her daughter, Barbara.
Gerwig’s flick, which raked in $70.5 million at the box office in its first two days, follows Stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, facing an existential crisis about her reality and life purpose.
Cera’s portrayal of Allan has been hailed by Vulture as the “unsung hero” in “Barbie,” which hit theaters everywhere on July 21.
Helen Mirren, who narrates the motion picture, described the extremely plain and awkward character as “just Allan” in a sea of numerous Kens and Barbies.
Appearing in his staple striped shirt, Allan is neither extraordinary nor suave — he’s, well, just Allan. One of a kind, yet often overlooked, at least in the film.
And the best part is, Allan has quickly become a fan-favorite.
“Shout out to the maybe 10-year-old boy behind me at Barbie who loudly said ‘obviously my favorite was Allan’ at the end of the movie,” one X — the platform formerly known as Twitter — user wrote.
“If Allan has 1 million fans, I am one of them. If Allan has only 10 fans, I am one of them. If Allan has only 1 fan, I am one of them. If Allan has 0 fans, then I no longer exist,” gushed another.
“Having Allan in the Barbie movie be canonically apart of the girls really just made the movie better for me idk yall it makes me so happy hes just an honorary girl,” quipped one person.
“#barbie is not anti-men, it’s definitely pro-alan,” argued someone else, referencing the “Barbie” backlash from critics.
The highly-anticipated Warner Bros. film elicited a fuchsia fever — fans flocked to the cinema drenched in bubblegum hues, while companies launched limited edition collectibles.
AMC Theaters sold a Barbie dream car — a Corvette, to be exact — that acted as a popcorn bucket. Complete with a matching doll, the bundle is advertised for $65 a pop. While some plastic fanatics fawned over toys, others were frustrated with the steep price.
The Barbiecore craze has ushered in a wave of pink, as toys, clothes, home decor and even weddings have been doused in magenta hues.
But with it, comes cybercriminals attempting to profit off the blockbuster’s success, distributing malicious links masquerading as movie downloads.
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