Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ caused an international shortage of pink paint

Margot Robbie in a scene from ‘Barbie’

The production of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie used up so much pink it caused a shortage in the international paint market.

For the film — a live-action take on the renowned Mattel doll and media franchise — Gerwig wanted to maintain the ‘kid-ness’ that was ‘paramount’ to shaping the Barbie universe, the 39-year-old filmmaker said in an interview with Architectural Digest.

“I wanted the pinks to be very bright, and everything to be almost too much,” Gerwig was quoted as saying.

The makers took inspiration from Palm Springs midcentury modernism to build the Barbie Dreamhouse. Production designer Sarah Greenwood confirmed the set constructions caused a shortage of the pink fluorescent shade of Rosco paint. “The world ran out of pink,” Greenwood said.

Gerwig explained she was going for “authentic artificiality” with the film’s design, which also meant hand-painting the backdrops of Barbie’s world instead of using CGI. “Everything needed to be tactile, because toys are, above all, things you touch,” the filmmaker said.

Barbie stars Margot Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as Ken. The film is set to release in theatres on July 21, 2023.