Warner Bros insists Barbie's world map is a 'child's drawing'

Margot Robbie as Barbie in front of a world map. Photo: Warner Bros Pictures

The world map depicted on the New Barbie Movie is a «childish» drawing with little meaning, insist Warner Bros after the second country threatened to ban the blockbuster because of it.

The Philippines is reportedly weighing whether to follow Vietnam's lead and outlaw the film for showing a «line of nine dots» on a map, a contested representation of Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

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A number of Asian countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, are involved in a diplomatic skirmish with Beijing over its attempts to militarize and control the islands in the region.

But Warner Bros said it considers the map from the film to be harmless.

«The map in Barbie Land is a whimsical child's crayon drawing,» the studio said in a statement.

Barbie's journey from Barbie Country to the real world. It was not intended to make any statements.”

0407 nine dotted lines

The studio's remarks come as Philippine lawmakers called on the country to ban the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling film ahead of its July 19 release.

“If the invalid nine-dash feature was indeed depicted in a Barbie movie, then the Motion Picture and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) must ban it as it denigrates Philippine sovereignty,” said Francis Tolentino, Philippine Senator and Vice Chairman. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. quoted by local media.

Vietnam, where the film was scheduled to air on July 21, the same day as in the United States, announced a ban on the film last Sunday.

The MTRCB in the Philippines is currently studying the film before making a decision on whether to follow suit.

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is due for release in the Philippines on July 19th. Photo: Warner Bros Pictures.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said «at a minimum» cinemas in the country should add a warning that the nine-dash line is «a figment of China's imagination.»

In 2022, the action thriller Uncharted was banned in the Philippines because of the U-shaped line used on Chinese charts.

In the Philippines, there are frequent collisions with Chinese ships posing as fishing boats. South China Sea, and claims the incidents are part of Beijing's attempts to intimidate it.

Vietnam has also reported similar complaints about Chinese ships operating near offshore oil installations in waters claimed by Vietnam.

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