doll: Mrs. Whatsit

In 2018, “A Wrinkle in Time,” as directed by Ava DuVernay and produced by Walt Disney Pictures premiered on the big screen. Based on Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel of the same name, “A Wrinkle in Time” was about Meg Murry, an adolescent who traveled across dimensions to rescue her physicist father. Meg was guided by a trio of guardian angles collectively called “the Mrs.” The Mrs. were played by stars Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling. The film took a feel-good take on being a source of light in a world in which darkness proliferates. Critic Matt Zoller Seitz noted “The film's tone is so radically earnest at certain points—particularly when it's dealing with loss and disappointment—that the movie's logo could be a gigantic ear of corn. In its multicultural casting, its child-centric story, and its emphasis on the validity of feelings, it's so different from every other recent big-budget live-action fantasy (superhero films included) that its very existence amounts to a contrarian statement.”

Mattel released three movie-related dolls under its Barbie Signature series, “the most ancient and wise,” Mrs. Which; the “quite eccentric,” Mrs. Who; and “the most youthful and free-spirited,” Mrs. Whatsit.