Real-Life Mattel CEO Reacts to Will Ferrell’s Portrayal in ‘Barbie’ Film

The actual current CEO of Mattel shared his reaction to Will Ferrell portraying him in the new Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie film.

In a new interview with Variety, Ynon Kreiz, who became the toy company's CEO in 2018, shared his thoughts about Ferrell and the role. In the film, Ferrell's character is entitled "Mattel CEO," without Kreiz's name or any other name being mentioned throughout the film, only that he essentially represents corporate America.

“I’m a big fan of Will, ever since the ‘Zoolander’ days,” Kreiz told the outlet. “There are so many elements of humor and self-deprecation in the movie. And we embrace that. We take our brands very seriously. We take what we do very seriously. But we don’tbtake ourselves too seriously.”

When Kreiz became the CEO, one of his first actions as the new leader was to once again regain control of the Barbie film rights when Sony's option to create a movie based on the iconic doll, expired.

“It is, in my humble opinion, the ultimate example of high art and low art,” Ferrell told The Wall Street Journal about the project. “It’s a loving homage to the brand and, at the same time, couldn’t be more satirical — just an amazing comment on male patriarchy and women in society and why Barbie’s criticized and yet why every little girl still wants to play with Barbie. Boy, when I read it, I was like, ‘This is fantastic.'”