The first Barbie teaser's got it all: dancing, Kubrick references, and a giant Margot Robbie

The first Barbie teaser's got it all: dancing, Kubrick references, and a giant Margot Robbie
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Welcome to the dollhouse!

Warner Bros. has finally released the first teaser trailer for Greta Gerwig's upcoming Barbie film, and it's giving... Stanley Kubrick… with a dash of musical extravaganza? Watch the clip below.

Unveiled in previews ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water, the teaser satirizes 2001: A Space Odyssey with a monumental Margot Robbie as Barbie and a little girl smashing her dolls, prehistoric man style, before a montage of clips including what looks like several musical numbers.

A storyline has been kept sealed tight (perhaps in a pink acrylic Barbie display case), but the adaptation will feature multiple variations of Barbie and Ken. The star-studded cast includes Ryan Gosling as the Ken to Robbie's Barbie and Will Ferrell as CEO of toy company Mattel, plus America FerreraKate McKinnonSimu LiuIssa RaeNcuti Gatwa, Michael Cera, Alexandra Shipp, Hari Nef, Emerald Fennell, and Emma Mackey, among others.

Robbie, who also produced the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment banner, previously said to expect the unexpected.

"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,'" she told British Vogue last June.

Ferrell has teased it as a loving and satirical homage to the Barbie brand, telling The Wall Street Journal last month that the film will "comment on male patriarchy and women in society."

Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie
Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie

Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.(2) Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken

Gerwig, who co-wrote the script with partner Noah Baumbach, shared last month that she was at first petrified to bring the story to the screen. "It was terrifying," Gerwig said on Dua Lipa's At Your Service podcast. "I think there's something about starting from that place where it's like, 'Well, anything is possible!' It felt like vertigo starting to write it. Like, where do you even begin? What would be the story?"

Barbie movie
Barbie movie

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures Margot Robbie in 'Barbie'

She added that she had the full support of Mattel, which provided her full access to the Barbie archives. "They really gave us their trust," Gerwig said.

Barbie and her pink convertible will cruise into theaters July 21, 2023.

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