Margot Robbie's Barbie Feet 'Secret' Is Officially Out

Are you wondering exactly how Margot Robbie pulled off that shot in the "Barbie" movie and trailer where she steps out of her heel onto a perfectly arched foot? Apparently, a lot of people were — so Robbie ended up having to address the whole shebang while promoting her upcoming film. How many takes was it? Was the shot created using movie magic? Did Robbie actually do it? Not that many, no, and yes.

As Robbie revealed in a behind-the-scenes interview that made the rounds on TikTok, "It was probably about eight takes. Wasn't that many. They are my feet. I walked up, we had little sticky bits on the floor for the double sided tape for the shoes, so they wouldn't come off, so that I could get my feet out of them. And I was holding onto a bar, but that's it. I wasn't in a harness or anything like that. I just walked up, kind of held onto the bar above the camera."

Asked if she was a dancer based on her high arch, Robbie said, "I did ballet when I was a kid." But still, her point was that she wanted to do the shot herself: "But I hate it— I always try and do my own inserts," she said, referring to close shots that focus on a specific detail or body part. "I don't like when I watch a movie and I know it's not my hands. I hate that so much. I always say to the director, 'please let me do all my own things.' I don't like knowing that I didn't do it."

If you're anyone who ever played with Barbies as a kid, you know exactly why this shot was so vital to the trailer and the overall film. Those who have played with a Barbie know that her plastic foot is always perfectly arched, ready to slip into whichever pair of shoes you decide to choose next — and the journey Robbie's Barbie takes in the movie is revealed through her lack of a sharp arch.

When Barbie's foot goes flat, she shows her Barbie friends, only to receive a horrified reaction as they realize she's less than perfect. Other strange happenings are going on too — her clothes don't dress her on their own anymore, she can't float off her roof without falling and injuring herself, and she can't stop thinking about dying. Perplexed, Barbie visits Weird Barbie, a Barbie erratically styled by her owners and played by Kate McKinnon, who presents... a shoe-related conundrum.

"You have to go to the real world," Weird Barbie says, when Barbie asks how she can return to her normal state of perfection. "You can go back to your regular life," she continues, holding up a bedazzled high heel, "or you can know the truth about the universe," also holding up a Birkenstock. Barbie, predictably, chooses wrong, going for the heel. "You have to want to know, okay?" Weird Barbie replies, exasperated. "Do it again." 

This isn't the first time audiences have honed in on Robbie's feet, apparently. In a conversation with CinemaBlend, the actress said that "feet" is usually paired with her name when you Google her. (It's best not to think about this for too long.) Still, Robbie's okay with it.

"The very first time I Googled myself, you know how when you type something into Google and it predicts what the rest of it is going to be? I'd started working and I was on some things and I hadn't Googled myself before, and so I wrote in 'Margot Robbie' and before I finished writing 'Robbie,' 'Margot Robbie feet' came up," Robbie told the outlet. Not only that, but Robbie said she found a full video compilation about her feet online, and again, she's fine with it. In fact, she thinks that thanks to her extensive film resume, people just... like seeing her feet onscreen. 

""I have to say, I'm really flattered that people are excited about my feet," Robbie said. "I think that's lovely. I am, genuinely. I don't feel weird about it. I am actually like, 'That's nice.'" Also genuinely, that's a good attitude to have about the whole thing!

Unsettling Google searches aside, Barbie's flattened feet are crucial to the film's overall plot — combined with intrusive thoughts about dying and fresh cellulite on her thighs, Barbie's flat feet tell her that she is, in fact, in the midst of a full-blown existential crisis. Spurred on by Weird Barbie, as we mentioned previously, Barbie heads to the real world, but even in the process of visiting Weird Barbie, she realizes how awful it is to wear heels when your feet are flat, making a crack about how she would never don such painful footwear if her feet weren't perfectly shaped to fit them.

Barbie's feet never return to their arched state, and that's because Barbie never fully returns to being Barbie. After the Kens take over the kingdom and install a hastily-built patriarchy, the Barbies reclaim it, but Robbie's Barbie is still unsatisfied. Being a doll isn't enough for her; she's ready to see what it's like to be a human. As she puts it, she wants to be the one who makes things, rather than a thing that's made.

Barbie joins the real world and heads off to her very first doctor's appointment, and Gerwig makes sure to give a spotlight to her new footwear: the Birkenstocks she didn't initially want. Barbie's heels are firmly on the ground now, and she's finally fulfilled.

"Barbie" is in theaters now.