The Barbie movie is teaching us about all her discontinued friends

polygon.com:

In some twisted, alternate universe, Barbie and Ken are not the center of a billion dollar franchise. It’s Midge and Allan who rule toy land as the it couple. Meanwhile, in our universe, Mattel relegated the red-headed couple to the background. Midge was a safer version of Barbie, and Allan… well, he was marketed as being able to fit into Ken’s clothes. Both Midge and Allan have basically been discontinued, and neither have been seen for years. Where were they? Prepping for the new Barbie movie, it seems.

Eyes are once again on Midge and Allan after Barbie’s new trailer dropped Tuesday alongside character posters of the star-studded cast. Barbie, Barbie, Barbie, and Barbie’s bestie Midge, and Allan — the BFF of countless Kens — are both ready to step back into the spotlight. But when their character posters dropped, plenty of people asked: Who the heck are Midge and Allan? Barbie aficionados are thankfully here to school us on Barbie’s discontinued friends.

Mattel introduced Midge Hadley as Barbie’s best friend in 1963, allegedly as a way to dismiss criticisms that Barbie was too sexy, according to Barbie experts. They made her a little more “mature”-looking than Barbie. The only real difference was her head; she had bangs and a red bob with big blue eyes and a rounder face, whereas Barbie’s eyes looked more sultry, adorned with makeup. Midge, Barbie, and Ken spent all their time together. Is Midge a third wheel, or is the relationship a threesome? Who can tell?

Allan was introduced and designated as Midge’s boyfriend in 1964, wearing the bright-striped shirt that Michael Cera wears in the Barbie trailer. His big marketing message was that he could fit into Ken’s clothes, just like how Midge could wear Barbie’s clothes.