Barbie is ready to party to reflect on her own mortality. A new trailer for Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated Barbie movie has been released, and it features the titular doll, played by Margot Robbie, coming into being.
In the trailer, Barbie is asking about everything after taking a cold shower, falling off her roof, and losing her fully amputated legs. Soon, Robbie’s Barbie encounters Kate McKinnon’s more seasoned Barbie doll and is given a choice: She can stay in Barbieland, or throw on a pair of Birkenstocks and “learn the truth about the universe.” can venture into the real world for
In her Vogue cover story, Robbie reveals that Gerwig is taking Barbie very seriously, sending Robbie episodes of This American Life and writing abstract poetry about the doll. The film is partly inspired by the 1994 bestseller Reviving Ophelia, a book about a transformation that occurs as American girls hit puberty. Gerwig asked Vogue, “How is this trip like what a teenage girl feels?” “All of a sudden, she thinks, Oh, I’m not good enough.”
From the looks of the trailer, Barbie is in for her own rude awakening as Ryan Gosling’s Ken tags along with her in the real world. Once landed in Venice, California, Barbie becomes the last fish out of water, discovering the male gaze for the first time—before a man sniffs her butt without her consent. Naturally, Barbie punches him in the face and lands him and Ken in jail. However, his mugshot is predictably adorable.
Unwanted boyfriends aren’t the only obstacle facing Barbie in the trailer. “Nobody rests until this doll goes back in a box,” shouts Will Ferrell’s toy exec. Will Barbie find herself in the real world, or will she be forced to pack it up and return to her dream home? You’ll have to wait and see when Barbie hits theaters on July 21, 2023. You can start preparing by Barbie by listening to artists featured on Barbie’s recently released soundtrack list, which includes Charli XCX, Ice Spice, and Dua Lipa. Those who made it to the end of the trailer may have noticed a snippet of what sounds like a possible Nicki Minaj remix of “Barbie Girl,” the iconic song that was rumored not to be included on the Barbie soundtrack. This summer, we’re all just barbs in a Barbie world.
