The New "Barbie" Trailer Is Filled With Amazing Details, Including Several Genius Nods To "The Wizard Of Oz"
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Yesterday, Warner Bros. dropped a brand-new teaser trailer for Barbie, which is easily the most anticipated movie of the summer.
Directed by Greta Gerwig and written by Greta and Noah Baumbach, Barbie follows Barbie (Margot Robbie) as she lives in Barbie Land with Ken (Ryan Gosling) and other Barbies and Kens. However, one day, Barbie decides to take a trip to the real world.
The official synopsis for the film, per Warner Bros., is literally: "To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken."
Alongside Margot and Ryan, the cast is HUGE and includes actors like Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Nicola Coughlan, Michael Cera, Dua Lipa, Kate McKinnon, Connor Swindells, Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, John Cena, and MANY more.
Anyway, the second trailer for Barbie finally gives us a look at these characters — as well as some of the plot — and people can't get enough of it. So much so that I really need to talk about every detail, Easter egg, and reference packed into this less-than-two-minute teaser.
Namely, how both this new trailer AND the first teaser trailer paid tribute to classic movies.
The first trailer was an homage to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), complete with narration by Helen Mirren, as Barbie enters a desolate landscape.
Now, the second trailer subtly pays tribute to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and by doing so, it literally reveals what appears to be the plot of Barbie.
TikToker Cat Quinn also pointed out The Wizard of Oz/Barbie theory in this now-viral video that has over 1 million views and counting.
For starters, when Barbie is driving through Barbie Land, she passes by a movie theater where you can spot a poster of Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in her signature outfit.
As she drives further down the road — waving at everyone — you can see posters featuring the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion.
Then, we get a clear view of the movie theater's marquee, which says that The Wizard of Oz is now playing.
Before this trailer, the plot for Barbie was pretty much kept a secret, but now we finally know that Barbie appears to be leaving Barbie Land for the real world, and Ken is tagging along.
Literally a reverse of The Wizard of Oz — instead of traveling to a fantasy world, Barbie ends up in the real world.
So, as Barbie drives away, you can see that she's traveling on a pink brick road...
...which is practically identical to the famous yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz.
And you can see there's a rainbow over Barbie Land, which if we're sticking with The Wizard of Oz theme, could be a nod to "Over the Rainbow."
Also, the absolutely perfect shot of Barbie taking off her shoes and standing on her tiptoes — just like the feet of a real Barbie doll — is similar to The Wizard of Oz focusing on Dorothy's ruby slippers.
Now, something else I noticed is both 2001: A Space Odyssey AND The Wizard of Oz are Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-produced movies.
And to celebrate 75 years of MGM in 1999, Mattel made an FAO Schwarz limited edition MGM Golden Hollywood Barbie.
The Golden Hollywood Barbie doll was a first edition in a series that paid homage to the classic films of MGM studios — like, yup, The Wizard of Oz.
This also isn't the first time Barbie has referenced actual Barbie dolls. In the first teaser, Barbie is wearing the same outfit the first Barbie wore when the toy was launched by Mattel in 1959.
Michael Cera's character Allan is literally the discontinued Barbie named Allan, who was introduced as a friend of Ken's in 1964. They marketed Allan as being able to share all of Ken's clothes.
Insert the "and they were roommates" meme here.
And Emerald Fennell's Midge is based on one of Barbie's best friends. A version of the Midge doll notably created controversy because she was pregnant, and some people claimed the doll was too mature for children.
Midge was part of a "Happy Family" set alongside her husband and first child.
Basically, I'm obsessed with the details in Barbie already, Greta is a genius, and I will be keeping an eye out for more old Hollywood movie references and some obscure/deep cut Barbie dolls too.
