Things you may have missed in the Barbie trailer

The trailer for the highly-anticipated Greta Gerwig film, Barbie, recently dropped to much fanfare. The film features Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the lead as Barbie and Ken, and a star-studded ensemble comprising the likes of Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Michael Cera, and Will Ferrell. The trailer revealed very little about the premise of the film, but it did feature a few hidden references you may have missed. So, for today’s List hai toh hit hai we take a look at things you may have missed from the Barbie trailer.

Plastic Barbie

The Barbie doll is one of the most popular children’s toys ever made. Created by Mattel, these toys are made entirely of plastic – from the dolls, the accessories, and the various dollhouses. Oddly enough, even Greta Gerwig’s live-action features an abundance of plastic. The houses, the food, and even the ocean waves shown in the trailer are made of plastic. Guess we will have to watch the film to understand the context behind this very ‘plastic’ setting.

Childlike innocence

The toy company Mattel came under much scrutiny in the late 50s and early 60s when they first launched the Barbie doll. Parents were concerned about a children’s toy that had curves and wore a swimsuit. Most dolls at the time were only based on babies. The controversy soon faded away, and the doll became a symbol of childlike innocence. The new trailer for the film seems to indicate that Robbie’s Barbie and Gosling’s Ken are defined by their childlike innocence. In one particular scene, Barbie asks Ken what they would be doing during their sleepover, and Ken responds innocently, “I’m actually not sure.”

Barbie’s pointed feet

The Barbie doll's most popular feature is the ability for children to give their dolls a complete makeover with new clothes, hairstyles, and even accessories such as shoes and jewellery. And, anyone who is vaguely familiar with a Barbie doll knows that Barbie always wears heels, and since the doll does not have adjustable ankles, her feet always remain pointed so that she can easily slide her feet into various well-heeled footwear. While adjustable ankles were introduced as a feature in the dolls at one point, they were hardly ever used in future Barbie designs. The pointed feet are in fact shown in the trailer when Barbie steps out of her heels and continues to walk on her toes. The Barbie feet even became a social media trend recently where people would pose for pictures on their toes – just like a barefooted Barbie.

Office Barbie

Over decades, Barbie has evolved embracing contemporary socio-political turns and keeping up with the changing image of the modern young woman. The ‘office Barbie’, for instance, which became very popular in the US, had two outfits, the nine-to-five office outfit and an evening unwind outfit. Barbie also ran for the US Presidential elections in the 90s and had an outfit and accessories that complemented that avatar. In the film, Emma Mackey’s Barbie is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Anna Cruz Kayne’s Barbie is a Supreme Court Justice, Alexandra Shipp’s Barbie is a renowned author, and the trailer shows Issa Rae’s Barbie as the President of the United States. I guess there’s a Barbie for just about every overachiever.

Inclusive Barbie

For several years, the Barbie doll was always a white female, with blonde hair and blue eyes. It was only in 1980 when Mattel introduced the first Black and Hispanic Barbie. The company also faced criticism for projecting unrealistic ideals for body types through its dolls. However, Barbie and other dolls from ‘Barbie Land’ come in different shapes, sizes, and colours. The film’s trailer also reflects the company’s modern outlook as it shows Barbie Land as a diverse and inclusive space. Well, it better be, if it doesn’t want to be cancelled in today’s hyper-woke-uber-sensitive world.

Rollerblades

The rollerblade Barbie of the early 90s will feature in the film if the trailer and leaked set images are any indicators. The first leaked images and the teaser trailer show both Ken and Barbie with yellow rollerblades. These are in fact the same versions from the hit collection called the ‘Hot Skatin Barbie’ which were popular in the 1990s.

Barbie slide and Dreamhouses

Barbie’s accessories and dollhouses have become equally popular as the doll itself. These accessories and dollhouses called ‘dreamhouses’ have evolved drastically over the years, with new fancy features being added to keep up with changing designs. One of the most popular among them is the Barbie slide. The slides are featured in the trailer where Margot Robbie’s Barbie is seen sliding down the spiral slide. The film has also incorporated houses in Barbie Land with no walls just like the toy dreamhouses which were devoid of walls for easy access.

Wizard of Oz and the journey between two worlds

In 1995 Mattel released The Wizard of Oz Barbie collection with dolls of all major characters and Barbie that could say Dorothy’s iconic line from the film. “... we are not in Kansas anymore”. In the trailer, Margot Robbie’s titular character is seen driving past a cinema hall which is screening The Wizard of Oz. It is also hinted in the trailer that Barbie is leaving Barbie Land for the ‘real world’, similar to how Dorothy travelled between two worlds in The Wizard of Oz.

Well thats all the time we got for this episode, until the next one its your host Nikhil signing out.

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• Written by Ryan Gomez