'Child-like drawing' not 9-dash line: Warner Bros explains controversial map on 'Barbie' movie

MANILA, Philippines — Warner Bros explained the controversial map that has led to its upcoming live-action adaptation of "Barbie" being banned in Vietnam. 

In an exclusive interview with Variety, a spokesperson from the film studio spoke about the controversial scene in the film. 

“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing. The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement,” the Warner Bros Film Group spokesperson told Variety. 

"Barbie" stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. It also stars Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon. Greta Gerwig directs. It was initially scheduled for release in the Philippines on July 19. 

Earlier this week, Vietnam’s National Film Evaluation Council banned the screening of the film due to the alleged inclusion of China's nine-dash line claim. 

Several Philippine senators also moved to have the movie reviewed, with Sen. Francis Tolentino saying that if indeed the nine-dash line was depicted in the movie, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) should ban it as it "denigrates Philippine sovereignty."

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, took a cautious stance, stressing that the movie is fiction and "so is the nine-dash line."

Hontiveros suggested that instead of the ban, Philippine cinemas should include an explicit disclaimer that the nine-dash-line is a "figment of China's imagination." 

The MTRCB on Tuesday, July 4, said that it has reviewed "Barbie" and will post its decision on its official website. As of this writing, there is no update from the review board posted on the website. 

The international tribunal at The Hague ruled in 2016 that China has no legal basis for its nine-dash line claim on the South China Sea. 

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