Weird Barbie’s Dreamhouse was inspired by Psycho

Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer spilled the beans on early references used for Weird Barbie’s Dreamhouse. They also revealed that they scaled everything down 23%.

Greenwood’s favorite of the dreamhouses, though, was Weird Barbie’s, which we caught a glimpse of in promo material. Speaking with Variety, apparently, one of the early inspirations behind the home was none other than the Victorian-style Psycho house mixed with a mid-century modern look. It was also among the last things shot for the film.

“One of my early references is that you go up the stairs, and there’s the Psycho house, and we brought in other elements.” 

The Dreamhouse’s skewed design was also by choice, no doubt wanting to add to the “weirdness” of Kate McKinnon’s Barbie counterpart. Oh yeah, there was also a swimming pool like the rest of the Dreamhouses, but it’s at the front with a shark painted at the bottom, and we couldn’t see it.

To add to the character’s eccentricness, Greenwood also expressed the inspiration behind her ambulance, which was The Creepy Coupe from 1968’s Wacky Races. Its color pallet matches her house with bright pastels from pink to orange to yellow, and blue.

All this fun stuff led to a wildly successful film, paving the way for Mattel to branch its many other toy IPs into the cinematic space.