Barbie

Beginning with the release of an eponymous video game in 1984, Barbie, a fashion doll manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and debuted on March 9, 1959, has been featured in a media franchise predominantly consisting of a film series and media formats across technologies like television and the Internet. Since then, it has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time and has been referred to among fans as the "Barbie Cinematic Universe". The film series were released direct-to-video from 2001 and aired regularly on Nickelodeon as television specials in the United States from 2002, with both running until early 2017. Since mid-2017, beginning with Barbie Dolphin Magic, Mattel revamped them into streaming television films, branded or marketed them as animated "specials" with a reduced 1-hour video length as opposed to the feature films beforehand and move them to streaming media services, predominantly Netflix, but also including Amazon Prime Video, Google Play and Apple TV+. These films released from late 2017 onwards could still be released on home video formats, although locally, or get picked up for television broadcast in multiple countries and regions/territories. Aside the film series, Barbie has been featured in other media formats including two animated syndicated television specials in Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World and its sequel, Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth, both in 1987, web series like Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, Barbie: Vlogger, Barbie Dreamtopia, Barbie's Dreamworld and Barbie: Life in the City, television shows like Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, Barbie: It Takes Two and Barbie: A Touch of Magic, a live-action film and an interactive short film. Origins Barbie debuted on March 9, 1959, at the American International Toy Fair (now the North American International Toy Fair) and it was well received locally in the United States, sparking a revolution in the toy industry. Since then, numerous likenesses of the doll were released which later evolved into what is now considered as "Barbie's friends and family" and clothing and accessories to accompany them.