Russia's Bootleg Barbie
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hollywood stopped releasing movies in Russia. But unauthorised copies of Barbie are getting through and being dubbed into Russian... in secret.
Dozens of Russians have been queuing up to watch the Barbie film - despite Western sanctions. Join our Russia Editor in a Moscow shopping centre, where a giant pink house has been erected next to the food court. Inside: pink furniture, pink popcorn and life-size cardboard cut-outs of Barbie and Ken.
To avoid licensing issues, some cinemas in Russia have been selling tickets to Russian-made short films and showing the Barbie feature film as the preview. But Barbie has enemies... Russia's culture ministry says the film is "not in line with the aims and goals of traditional Russian moral and spiritual values."
So what do these secret cinemagoers say? In this episode of 5 Minutes On, Steve Rosenberg has been looking into reaction in Russia to the Barbie feature film... and asks... so is this Motherland, or Barbieland?
Producer: Owen TJ Smith
