Barbie: It Takes Two

Barbie: It Takes Two is a Mattel Television series based on the Barbie franchise that came out on Netflix on April 8, 2022. It's set in the same continuity as Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures and follows up on the movie Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams. This series follows Barbie Malibu Roberts as she moves to New York with Barbie Brooklyn Roberts so that the two of them can pursue a music career together. To do that, they must create a demo for music mogul Otto Phoenix.

Tropes Associated With The Show:

• Aborted Arc: The ending of the show has Brooklyn be offered a chance by Bertram Livsey to go to his acting school, but she doesn't bring it up to Malibu. The series finale has Otto Phoenix say that he'll look at the girls' demo and say what he thinks. Barbie and Ken are also still up in the air regarding their feelings for each other. Nothing related to the first 2 points get brought up in projects that came out after the end of this show, meaning that they don't get a resolution.
• Aesop Amnesia: "Cut It Out" ends with The Dash forgetting his lessons on humility and honesty immediately after he gives his speech.
• All Just a Dream: "Two Stars Are Born" reveals that everything that involved the girls being famous was just a dream.
• Alpha Bitch: Otto's secretary Pandora really hates the girls.
• Babysitting Episode: "Triple Threat" has Malibu and Brooklyn babysit some kids in order to raise more money for their demo.
• Big Eater: Jackson is known for eating a lot of food. In the first episode, he immediately goes to Brooklyn's house for more food despite already eating dinner. In "We Are Family", he's really into eating snacks while waiting for the girls to record their demo.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: While Epiphany is a bit strange given how often she mentions auras, she's otherwise pretty friendly and very excellent at her job.
• Camping Episode: The 2 part special "The Great Outdoors" has Brooklyn join the West Coast Roberts, Daisy, and Ken for a camping trip. The special mainly focuses on Malibu and Brooklyn trying to write their next song while trying to do everything together.
• Covers Always Lie: Teresa is shown with the main cast as part of the promotional art even though she only appears in 2 episodes. On the flip side, Rafa is a main character that appears in most of the episodes, yet he's not on the poster.
• Creator Cameo: "To Dye For" has voice director Collette Sunderman voice the in universe casting director.
• A Day in the Limelight: "Buddy's Is Blooming" specifically focuses on Rafa, and wondering if he feels that he's worthy of being a good manager to the girls.
• Deadpan Snarker: Lyla (an employee at Blown Speaker Studio) and Chuck (the sound engineer at the same studio) are often prone to expressing their annoyance with sarcastic comments.
• Demoted to Comic Relief: The episodes where Ken appears turn him into this, where he's mainly just there to crack jokes and fail in his persistence when going after Barbie.
• Denser and Wackier: In comparison to Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, which kept things mostly grounded, this series amps up the slapstick, silliness, and cutaway gags. Something like "Triple Threat" is a good example of this. It starts out innocent enough before eventually becoming a story about aliens possibly being real.
• First Day of School Episode: "First Day Frenzy" has Malibu and Brooklyn deal with their first day at Handler, and struggling in different ways.
• Flanderization :
  • While Barbie had moments of impulse and making dumb choices in Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, this series makes her much more nonsensical and makes her act more on whatever suits her, with any sense of regret usually being tacked on.
  • While Ken had a crush on Barbie in the previous show, this series makes it his defining character trait due to how he often tries to insert himself into her activities.
  • Rafa in Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams did say some weird stuff, but he was still a relatively normal person. This series dials up his weird dialogue to the point that he basically has to act like an oddball in every other scene that never stops.
• Happily Adopted: Jackson and Jayla have 2 dads.
• Here We Go Again!: Both part 1 and part 2 of "The Great Outdoors" ends with an ominous monster sound scaring everyone.
• Hiccup Hijinks: "Costumed Capers" has a running gag of a guy named Blaine getting hiccups when he's scared by a pigeon.
• Lost Voice Plot: The second half of "First Day Frenzy" has Brooklyn lose her voice when she keeps rehearsing for her audition all night.
• Mystery Episode: "Studio Sleuths" has Malibu and Brooklyn attempt to find Brooklyn's phone when it goes missing. This eventually spirals into more items from other singers being stolen. Rafa's cat Gato took it.
• New Job as the Plot Demands: Every episode that involves Malibu and Brooklyn trying to make money for their demo has them taking up new jobs that are only done for that specific episode.
• Out of Focus:
  • Jackson and Jayla only make cameos during the last third of the series despite being prominent recurring characters early on.
  • Episodes that entirely/mostly take place in California either don't feature Rafa, or only give him small cameos.
• Reused Character Design:
  • The designs of Jackson and Jayla's dads look oddly similar to that of Ned and Ted , who are brothers. They just wear different clothes and look slightly darker.
  • Otto Phoenix looks like Emmie's abusive dad , just with a different hairstyle and slightly different design.
• The Rival: "Start Small" formally introduces Skipper's rival Jessica, who does what she can to best her at cleaning the beach.
• Static Character: Malibu and Brooklyn have the same personalities at the beginning and end of the series. Malibu is still impulsive and overly goofy and Brooklyn is still stubborn and hotheaded, with the lessons they supposedly learn never sticking.
• Story Arc: This show has Malibu and Brooklyn attempt to make it big as musicians by making a demo for Otto Phoenix, a story that drives almost every episode of the whole show.
• Thanksgiving Episode: "Turkey Trouble" has 2 Thanksgiving themed stories. The main plot is about Brooklyn trying to impress her Granny Vi with the perfect Thanksgiving when she visits New York. The subplot, back in California, has Malibu and her family deal with a live turkey that was accidentally delivered to their house.
• Took a Level in Dumbass: While Barbie in Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures made mistakes and had selfish moments, there would usually be buildup for why she acted this way, and she'd learn her lesson. In this series, her impulse is dialed up, and always acts first before thinking, with lessons never really sticking.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Much like with the later episodes of Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, Skipper still retains her sarcasm and edge, but is more open and caring towards others. In particular, she seems to act like a more lovable big sister similar to Barbie in the previous show.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Rafa's younger cousin Izzy is 12 years old, yet she has a level head on her shoulders when negotiating with adults and knowing how to appeal to them.
• Woken Up at an Ungodly Hour: In "First Day Frenzy", Malibu calls up her parents as she tells them how she's off to her first day at school in New York. Unfortunately, she accidentally calls them up at 4:00 am California time due to the three hour time difference.