TAIPEI: With hot pink sofas, high heels-shaped tables and chairs decorated with tutus, the first Barbie-themed restaurant opened in Taiwan yesterday catering to fans of the iconic doll.
US toymaker Mattel has licensed Taiwan’s restaurant group Sinlaku to operate the Barbie Cafe and hopes that the new establishment in a bustling shopping district in the capital Taipei will help promote Barbie as a fashion brand.
“We picked Taiwan because theme restaurants are very popular and successful here. We are very confident that the Barbie Cafe can promote our brand image,” said Iggy Yip, a senior manager in Mattel’s consumer products division in Greater China.
Besides dolls, Mattel retails garments, accessories and furniture in Taiwan and some select products will be available in the cafe, she said.
Yip is hopeful that the restaurant will also attract Barbie fans from China, Hong Kong and Japan, which are among the biggest sources of tourists to Taiwan.
Jessica Ho, an office worker in Taipei who has a five-year-old daughter, gave her thumbs-up to the Barbie Cafe.
“My child and I both love Barbie and this lovely and cute place is like a dream come true for us. I will take her here to celebrate her next birthday,” she said.
Taiwan has a long history with Barbie as it used to be a manufacturing center for the dolls until Mattel relocated its production lines to China and elsewhere to lower costs in the late 1980s.
Mattel had launched a Barbie concept store in China in 2009, as it celebrated the doll’s 50th birthday, but it was closed down after two years amid reports the outlet failed to get off the ground.
First Barbie-themed restaurant opens
First Barbie-themed restaurant opens
Who will triumph at the BAFTAs? ‘Hamnet’ has the home advantage
- ’Hamnet’ favored for BAFTA best film award
- ’One Battle After Another’ will pose strong challenge
LONDON:“Hamnet” could edge ahead of “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” to win the top prize at the BAFTAs, as the heartbreaker about Shakespeare, his wife Agnes and the death of their son is likely to win over British voters, experts said.
Action-packed dark comedy “One Battle After Another,” directed by US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, leads the field with 14 nominations ahead of Sunday’s ceremony, followed by vampire thriller “Sinners,” which has received the most nods for next month’s Oscars.
But “Hamnet,” directed by previous Oscar winner Chloe Zhao and based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, is the bookmakers’ favorite to take the best film award at the BAFTAs.
“I think it’s going to be about ‘Hamnet’,” said Tim Richards, founder and chief executive of Vue cinema group.
“’One Battle After Another’ is another extraordinary film, but ‘Hamnet’ ... just feels like the kind of movie that BAFTA will go for.”
The 79th British Academy Film Awards will be held in London on Sunday evening, hosted by Scottish actor, TV presenter and director Alan Cumming.
CHLOE ZHAO VERSUS PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
Ian Sandwell, movies editor at Digital Spy, said BAFTA loved to recognize its own.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised to see (’Hamnet’) walk away with best film and maybe even Chloe Zhao challenging Paul Thomas Anderson in director as well, and then the acting awards,” he said.
Richards said if “Hamnet” wins best film, Anderson could receive best director, or vice versa, as BAFTA divides the top awards between “two extraordinary films.”
For leading actress, Jessie Buckley is a shoo-in for her performance as Shakespeare’s wife, according to bookmakers.
Leading actor is harder to call, with Timothee Chalamet vying with Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan for their respective performances in “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.”
Sandwell said Chalamet had been picking up awards, including a Golden Globe, in the run-up to the BAFTAs for the table-tennis movie “Marty Supreme.” “It would be his first (BAFTA), so it probably will happen,” he said.
But Sandwell said he would love to see Robert Aramayo walk away with the prize for his acclaimed performance as Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson in “I Swear.”
“Sometimes BAFTAs throw out a surprise in these leading actor categories to give it to a local lad, and it would be absolutely brilliant to see him win on the night,” he said.
In the supporting acting categories, the race is open but bookmakers currently favor Stellan Skarsgard and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas from Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value.”
One notable movie — “KPop Demon Hunters” — is not nominated because it did not have a theatrical release in Britain before it was available to stream on Netflix.
But the singing stars of the animated feature will perform their global hit “Golden” at the awards.
