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Topics: News, TV and Film, Barbie, Ebay, Shopping
Matell's discontinued Allan dolls are having a huge resurgence on selling websites following the release of the Barbie movie.
While Allan may have always been in the shadow of his longtime friend Ken, it seems he’s having his moment right now.
In the film, the obscure, lesser-known doll is played by Michael Cera, who the Barbies enlist to help restore peace in their world after the Kens turn it into their ‘Kendom’.
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Despite the doll being discontinued in the 1990s, fans of the film are sweeping the internet, trying to get their hands on second-hand Allan dolls.
According to TMZ, most Allans were retailing for $35-$76 last week online.
However, one Barbie collector decided to sell the toy for $300 on eBay.
Huffington Post says there's an 'untouched' version of Allan asking for more than $600 at the moment.
The Daily Mail reported that another seller in Texas had even attracted a bid for $202.50 so far.
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“Fair warning. I don’t know much about Barbie dolls and am not familiar with grading these dolls,” the ad read.
“Doll seems to be in good shape but is missing shoes. It does appear to have original outfit and stand.”
Even with missing shoes, Allan is still all the rage right now.
Allan was created in 1964 and was named after Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler’s son in law.
Initially, he was introduced as Ken’s best friend and marketed as fitting into Ken’s clothes.
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However, as the doll struggled to break free and form an identity of his own, he was discontinued, only to be rebranded as Midge’s husband in the late '90s.
Florence Theriault, a doll expert and owner of Theriault’s auction house, told Huffington Post that the sidekick was never a big draw for Barbie fans, hence why his shelf life was so short.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Cera described the doll as kind of a ‘loner’.
“Allan is sort of like a person without a group that he belongs to, he’s kind of a loner, in a way,” the Superbad actor said.
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“I think the joke about that, at least how I interpret it, is that Allan the doll ... didn’t have a very successful run.
"[He’s] sort of this marginalized person in this world of Kens.”
Cera also told Screen Rant that the running gag with Allan is that he’s ‘kind of in love with Ken'.
“I love that he just wants the best for Ken, even if that means Ken not being near him,” Cera added.
“He wants Ken’s happiness. I thought that was sort of a life of servitude in a way. Distant yearning.”
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Allan is the best friend we all need.