Barbie's Dreamhouse might be in Malibu, but she has Wisconsin roots

With the highly anticipated “Barbie” movie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, on the horizon for release July 21, some Wisconsinites might not know about the doll’s deep roots in the Badger State.

Here's some of what we know about the legendary doll's ties to Wisconsin.

Barbie's Wisconsin connections

Barbara Millicent Roberts is originally from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin, according to Mattel. But with a volume of content spanning nearly 65 years — including 42 films, and scores of television shows, video games, web series, board games, books and comic books that have made the multimedia franchise one of the highest grossing of all time — Barbie's origin story has conflicting details.

Her Wisconsin roots were first referenced in a series of books published by Random House in the 1960s. In these novels, and according to the official Barbie website, she graduated from Willows High School. In the 2018 "Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures" series, however, Barbie said she moved from Willows at age 8.

Across Barbie media, including films such as “Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures” and “Barbie & Her Sisters in The Great Puppy Adventure” released in the 2010s, there are references to family, including Barbie’s grandmother and an aunt, still residing in the Midwest. In 2015, Mattel even released the Willows, Wisconsin, collection, consisting of Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie, Homecoming Queen Barbie and Soda Shop Barbie, to celebrate her Wisconsin connections.

Where is Willows supposed to be?

Although there are no specific details pointing to where Willows is located in Wisconsin, an episode of “Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures” marks it in the central portion of the state on a map depicting Barbie’s road trip from the Dreamhouse in Malibu to America’s Dairyland.

When Barbie visits her grandmother in her hometown in “Barbie & Her Sisters in The Great Puppy Adventure,” viewers get a peek at Willows, which, surprisingly, looks like it has mountains in the distance in some scenes. Barbie and her sisters (and viewers by proxy) meet the mayor and learn about the town's founding fathers and the fact that it was named for its willow trees.

In the third episode of Season 3 of the Dreamhouse Adventures series, available on Netflix, Barbie and a friend road-trip to Willows (with foam cheeseheads, of course) to visit Barbie’s aunt's farmhouse during the infamous (and fictional) “Cheddarfest.” Upon Barbie’s arrival in the state, she is confronted with a life-size cow carved out of cheddar cheese and dinner menus consisting of schnitzel in a blanket and a choice of French-fried cheese curds, deep fried cheese curds or cheese curds in a cheese curd sauce.

In both animated productions, Willows is a portrayed as a backward town with telegrams and old-timey phones and no cellphones or computers. In the “Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse” series, there isn't even color back in humble Wisconsin — everything is in black and white.

More 'Barbie': The Barbie Truck is coming to the Milwaukee area this weekend on Dreamhouse Living Tour

Wait, so who is Barbie’s Wisconsinite friend?

Midge Hadley, introduced in 1963 in response to criticism about the sexualization of Barbie, is her childhood best friend and sidekick, and even makes an appearance in Gerwig’s forthcoming movie.

With a Midwestern-nice personality, Midge first arrives in Malibu from Willows in the "Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse" series and is portrayed in black-and-white and desperately confused by the Southern California vernacular. Throughout the series, Midge is depicted as old-fashioned yet energetic, a clumsy and quirky addition to Barbie’s chic friend group, suggesting the drive-in, malt shops and sock hops as fun activities.

Discontinued by Mattel in 1967, the Midge doll reappeared (temporarily) in the 1980s and 1990s before returning later in the 1990s and early aughts, according to reporting from BuzzFeed News.

In 2002, a pregnant Midge doll with a detachable stomach and fetus was released as a part of a “Happy Family” set with husband Allan Sherman. The doll was met with serious consumer complaints, and Walmart pulled the doll from its shelves due to claims that that it supposedly promoting teen pregnancy, CBS News reported.

In Gerwig’s Barbieland, Midge (Emerald Fennell) is pregnant, wearing the same purple smock as the Midge doll that was pulled from shelves two decades earlier. Midge’s husband Sherman (Michael Cera) is also set to make an appearance in the 2023 film. Although spotted just momentarily in a recent promotional video, Midge's exact role or whether there is mention of her Wisconsin roots remain unclear.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Barbie's Dreamhouse might be in Malibu, but she's from Wisconsin