After months of speculation and head-scratching, we finally have our first Barbie teaser trailer! The Greta Gerwig-directed movie will feature the first live-action look at the fictional character who has a multimedia empire. Barbie is famously a ‘girl’s doll’ that has stood the test of time and been around since 1959. Despite countless iterations in animated form, the Barbie teaser trailer gives us the first glimpse at the character in live-action. But it’s the trailer’s tone and approach that is the most interesting thing, thus far.
The Barbie Teaser Trailer Gives Us Glimpses Of Its Main Cast
Image via Warner Bros.
First of all, it’s weird enough that we’re somehow getting a live-action Barbie movie. What’s even more outrageous, is the insane talent both on and off camera of this Barbie movie. It’s just ridiculous, to be very honest. But in a good way.
Leading the cast as the titular character of Barbie is Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad). Ryan Gosling joins Robbie as Ken, the male counterpart to Barbie. But in an interesting twist, there are other actors also playing Barbie and Ken. Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa are also playing a version of Ben. While Issa Rae and Hair Nef play another version of Barbie. How these different iterations play into the story is going to be interesting to see.
The movie also stars a hoard of other A-list stars like Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Rhea Perlman, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera America Ferrera and so many more. Only a few of these stars are in the Barbie teaser trailer.
Why Is Barbie Getting A Live-Action Movie?
Barbie is a Mattel toy line from the late 50s. The doll became hugely popular and basically became synonymous with children’s dolls throughout the years. People would just refer to ‘Barbie’ to mean a doll, instead of whatever specific doll they were referring to. Over the decades, Barbie has survived a lot of criticism for its depiction of Barbie in typical female stereotypes. Barbies usually came with accessories with clothing and items portraying them as nurses, models, homemakers, etc.
Given that a Barbie was usually a young girl’s first toy, critics felt that Barbie should be a better role model. The criticism spawned new toy lines of Barbie, ones where the character is showcased as a lawyer, doctor, astronaut and more. Barbies have gone from begin a ‘girl’s toy’, so a classic collectible of old-school Americana.
There have also been many other non-live-action iterations of Barbie. Netflix boasts a few different shows featuring Barbie and her additional cast of characters. The Netflix shows are very fun because they actually lean into Barbie’s status as a decades-old toy line and feature some very self deprecating jokes and storylines. And it looks like the movie will follow suit, given the trailer homages 2001: A Space Odyssey in its tone and style. It’s actually pretty hilarious once you understand what’s going on.
If Greta Gerwig’s Barbie teaser trailer is anything to go by, this one should be a hoot!
Barbie releases in theatres on July 21, 2023.
What did you think of the Barbie teaser trailer? Let us know in the comments below.
