I’ve loved Barbie for as long as I can remember. I had a rather large collection of dolls and houses and accessories as a child, and I can still remember how much I loved to play with them. I grew up in the 1980s when the slogan “We girls can do anything, right, Barbie?” was a staple of Saturday morning commercials. To me, Barbie is a feminist icon. Beautiful, independent, educated (she’s a nurse, an astronaut and a candidate for president), and (perhaps most shockingly) childfree! Her storylines (entirely created by me) usually involved dramatic romantic triangles that happened behind the scenes at her many homes and businesses (I was particularly fond of her fashion and beauty Dream Store and spent hours setting it up and rearranging the merchandise).
So, it should come as no surprise that I’m hyped to see the Barbie movie this week! I already got my tickets (and, yes, I’m also seeing Oppenheimer).
Barbie and View-Master are two of the most iconic toys and brands of the last century, eventually being owned by the same corporation when Barbie’s parent, Mattel, merged with Tyco (who was then the owner of View-Master) in 1997. However, it wasn’t their first mashup!
So, here’s everything I know about Barbie’s appearances in View-Master reels:
1960: Mattel’s Barbie Fashions (promo reel, never sold to the public)
Photographed by the Tri-Ads Fashion Company of Hollywood, Calif., it features seven photos of early Barbie dolls in fancy new outfits. It went along with an in-store display that let consumers see the new dolls and fashions via an attached viewer.
This item is highly coveted by collectors of both Barbie and View-Master, so it usually draws top dollar! If you have an extra, please note I am accepting donations to my collection!
If you just want to see a sample of this coveted reel, one of the photos was included in the View-Master 65th Anniversary Collector Set, issued in 2004 (pictured above).
1965: Barbie’s Around the World Trip (B500)
Scenes created by Lelia Heath Pearson.
Two cover variants (shown above), but the photos in each are identical.
Also issued as a Talking View-Master set in 1973.
Included a booklet.
1973: Barbie’s Great American Photo Race (B576)
Scenes created by Lelia Heath Pearson.
Also issued as a Talking View-Master set in 1974.
Included a booklet.
1978: SuperStar Barbie (J70)
Scenes created by Lelia Heath Pearson.
Included a booklet: “My Visit with Barbie, Skippers Scrapbook.”
1979-1980: Barbie Seven-Reel Pak (not pictured)
[Not pictured] Reel Paks were collections of related reels culled from previous releases. This one included all three SuperStar Barbie (J70) reels, all three Barbie’s Great American Photo Race (B576) reels, and reel one from Barbie’s Around the World Trip (B500).
1984: There was a packet planned but never issued
Could there be test reels in the world somewhere? Maybe!
1986: Barbie and The Rockers
Scenes created by Joe Liptak.
First Barbie packet issued in a hanging blisterpack (shown above).
1989: Barbie featuring Superstar Barbie
At this time I don’t know who created the scenes, but I’m asking around and trying to find out. Do you know?
This is a completely original set, and not a reissue of the earlier Superstar Barbie packet from 1978.
1998: Barbie: Prom Date
At this time I don’t know who created the scenes, but I’m asking around and trying to find out. Do you know?
Features stickers over the middle hole and a short blisterpack, which is a design feature I truly hate!
1999: Barbie Dolls of the World
At this time I don’t know who created the scenes, but I’m asking around and trying to find out. Do you know?
Named “Barbie International” when issued outside the USA
2007: Best of Barbie (not pictured)
A short blisterpack packet.
Not actually a “best of” set at all. It’s got images pulled from three Barbie cartoon movies released in the early 2000s:
Barbie and the Magic Pegasus
Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses
Barbie as The Island Princess
Other Crossovers
Mini Viewers
World’s Smallest View-Master, Barbie Edition. Several variations of this exist, with different viewers and/or packaging.
Barbie Dolls
Cool Collecting Barbie (1999)
Barbie’s sister Brietta and the Magic of Pegasus (2005) (unclear to me if there are multiple versions of this doll)
Do you know of any other Barbie appearances in View-Master reels? Tell me in the comments. And if you saw the movie, let me know what you thought.
Key sources for this post were my own collection and Harry Zur Kleinsmiede’s book View-Master Reels and Packets, a Collector’s Guide, Vol. 3, Showtime and Education.
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Oh to have the promo reel!! Im pretty sure the backgrounds are from other view master reels? One of the shots has a girl in larger blue dress in a garden that im positive is in the Cypress gardens set
Have you heard the Talking VM Barbie reels? Somebody should digitize those things! I wonder if it's some person reading booklet captions, or maybe Barbie actually speaks.