Is the 'Barbie' Movie Somehow Connected to 'The Wizard of Oz' ? Fans Say Yes!
Several videos speculating about the potential overlap between the two films have gone viral on TikTok
The plot of Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie has been kept largely under wraps ever since the project was first announced. With the movie mere months away, fans are taking it upon themselves to theorize what the comedy might actually be about.
Though initially led by Amy Schumer, Barbie sees Margot Robbie take on the lead role of the iconic Mattel doll, with Ryan Gosling as Ken, Simu Liu, and Will Ferrell also joining the star-studded cast. Aside from its impressive cast, details about Gerwig's film are few and far between.
Earlier this month, the second teaser trailer dropped, giving fans their first real peek at what kind of adventure Barbie has in store.
In the trailer, Robbie's Barbie and Gosling's Ken appear to embark on a journey that takes them out of Barbie Land and into the real world — they drive toward a sign that says "Real world this way" — and Barbie is also seen entering a meeting with Farrell, who plays the CEO of Mattel in the real world.
While the teaser trailer gave excited fans a better idea of what's to come in the film, which premieres in theaters in July, it also sparked some new theories as to how Barbie's story could potentially parallel that of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
TikTok user Cat Quinn, who has nearly 250,000 followers on the platform, uploaded a video on April 4 reacting to what she called a "major easter egg" in the teaser trailer.
She pointed out the several parallels she spotted in the teaser, including the opening shot of Barbie in a pink gingham dress, which she described as "not unlike Dorothy's iconic gingham dress in The Wizard of Oz."
While driving down a busy road in Barbie Land, Barbie passes by the local theater, which is decorated with three movie posters, each showing an iconic character from Oz: Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. The marquee for the theater also says that it's showing The Wizard of Oz.
When Barbie and Ken embark on an adventure that brings them out of Barbie Land and into the real world, they drive along a pink brick road — another possible nod to Oz, where the yellow brick road leads the way for Dorothy.
The many Wizard of Oz connections could reveal more of what the film's plot will be, Quinn said in the TikTok, which has been viewed over 2 million times.
"I think we're looking at an epic journey to another world, filled with people that she helps along the way," Quinn theorized in the video. "But when she gets there, she realizes that this seemingly gilded place is actually pretty wicked."
Related:Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling Go to the Real World in New Barbie Trailer: Watch
In a video with more than 3 million views, Bobbi, another user on TikTok who shares pop culture-related content, similarly pointed out The Wizard of Oz details that she spotted in the teaser trailer.
She noticed that a still from the 1939 film can be seen on the screen inside the theater that Barbie drives by in the trailer. The still is of a shot where the yellow brick road leads to the Emerald City, showing the path Dorothy and her friends have followed to their destination.
Hope Sloop shared a similar reaction to The Wizard of Oz details in the teaser.
In a video with more than 4 million views, Sloop broke down the preview, and shared her own take on the potential parallels, which she said she thinks "serve as a foil to Barbie's story."
"We get the feeling that Barbie is searching for a sense of something else, much like Dorothy, but instead of leaving and finding something exceptional and bright-colored like Dorothy does, I think Barbie's going to go out into the real world and find that things are not the same way," Sloop said in the video.
The overall imagery of the new film — the creation of a bright and colorful new world, similar to Oz — also lends itself to the emerging fan theories.
Between the matching gingham dress style, the rainbow imagery, and the moment where the car Barbie and Ken are riding in flips upside down in the air several times, it's possible that fans of both stories will see some parallels come to the screen.
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Despite the plethora of fan theories about Barbie's plot, it's unlikely that anything will be known for sure until the film's release on July 21, 2023.
The secrecy about the film has been purposeful, as many of the cast members have said.
"People don't have any idea what to expect, and I think that that's the right vibe," America Ferrera told PEOPLE of the film, in which she stars as one of the few non-Barbie characters. "Whatever you think it is, it's not that. It's something else."
Ferrell, 55, was similarly tight-lipped about his character. In November, he revealed that he plays the CEO of Mattel in conversation with the Wall Street Journal Magazine, but quickly stopped himself before saying anything else.
He did rave about the film, though, calling it, "the ultimate example of high art and low art."
"It's a loving homage to the brand and, at the same time, couldn't be more satirical," he said. "Just an amazing comment on male patriarchy and women in society and why Barbie's criticized and yet why every little girl still wants to play with Barbie."
Related:Every Photo From the Barbie Movie Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling
For Robbie, 32, the role came with "a lot of baggage," she told British Vogue last year, but also "a lot of nostalgic connections," and she had to figure out how to navigate the two.
"People generally hear Barbie and think, 'I know what that movie is going to be,' and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they're like, 'Oh, well, maybe I don't…'"
Barbie hits theaters July 21, 2023.
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