Top 10 Hidden Details in the Barbie Movie Trailer

Is life in plastic fantastic? Well, it sure looks like it from our first glimpse of Barbie Land! If you pay close attention, you’ll see that almost everything in Barbie’s world is plastic! That includes objects like mallets, and one hilariously oversized brush. On the beach - a locale that recalls 1971’s iconic Malibu Barbie - the waves are also plastic, standing still in the water. The band that summed up the sound of California surf culture in this era was the Beach Boys. And the title of the plastic record we see, “Barbie Sounds”, seems like a play on “Pet Sounds”, the name of a Beach Boys album. Fittingly, the song played over the trailer is the Beach Boys song “Fun, Fun, Fun”!

When Barbie made her debut in 1959, dolls made for girls were predominantly babies. Barbie represented a new, aspirational kind of doll: not something to nurture, but something to become. With her curves and swimsuit, she certainly made a splash, proving controversial among parents. The first teaser trailer for “Barbie”, which parodied “2001: A Space Odyssey”, touched on this history. However, in the second teaser trailer, the conversation between Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Ryan Gosling’s Ken about sleeping over delights in the innocence of childhood play - bringing us all back to those days of yore. Their exchange is perhaps also an allusion to the famously smooth and … featureless … nature of Barbie and Ken anatomy.

As Margot Robbie’s Barbie walks on screen and sheds her shoes, her bare feet remain pointed. It’s a humorous nod to Barbie’s famously pointed feet, designed to slip into high heels. Over the years, Barbie has changed with the times - gaining more mobility both in terms of her physical articulation and social roles. In 1966, the Twist n’ Turn Barbie featured bendable legs and a twist-and-turn waist. The 1970 Dramatic New Living Barbie could also bend her elbows and ankles to flatten and actually stand on her own two feet. However, these adjustable ankles have remained rare in subsequent models, and “Barbie Feet” even became an Instagram trend in 2018.

Since her debut, Barbie has had a dizzying number of occupations. Originally, she was a ‘Teenage Fashion Model’. However, as women took on more visible roles in the workforce, so too did Barbie. 1985’s Day-to-Night Barbie wore a pink power suit that transformed into a shirred skirt. This array of occupations is reflected by the movie Barbies. For example, Emma Mackey’s Barbie has a Nobel Prize in Physics; Alexandra Shipp’s is a celebrated author; and Ana Cruz Kayne’s is a Supreme Court Justice. Since 1992, Barbie has run for US President in almost every presidential election. Looks like she won, because Issa Rae’s Barbie wears a sash proudly proclaiming her role! Who says you can’t have it all?

The teaser trailer showcases Barbies and Kens of various ethnicities and body types. This represents where the toy line is at today - but it hasn’t always been that way. Mattel’s first doll with dark skin came in 1967. Named “Colored Francie”, it used the same head model as Caucasian dolls, so 1968’s “Christie” is considered Mattel’s first real African American doll. Only in 1980 did Mattel introduce Black and Hispanic Barbies. Mattel has also copped criticism for Barbie’s unrealistic proportions. Some Barbies in the 1960 came with a dieting book with the instructions “Don’t Eat”. In the 90s and 2000s, Mattel finally reduced Barbie’s bust and widened her waist. And in 2016, she got a variety of new body types. This progress is reflected in the trailer.

Barbie has come with some absolutely iconic accessories - like those pink cat-eye sunglasses worn by Ariana Greenblatt in the teaser. But among our own personal favorites, flooding us with nostalgia, are the rollerblades. In particular, we remember 1991’s Rollerblade Barbie, whose “Flicker 'n Flash” skates shot out sparks! There was a counterpart Ken doll too. Mmm, can still remember the smell of those sparks … talk about a fire hazard. Ken’s rollerblades feature in the trailer, but these yellow skates look like they’re from 1994’s Hot Skatin’ Barbie. In fact, on-set photos show Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling wearing outfits inspired by this model!

Chilling by the beach, cruising down the street in a convertible, slipping down a slide into a pool - life in Barbie Land has us wanting to step inside and live the dream. Mattel has sold various slides for Barbie and her friends, some connected to Barbie’s Dreamhouse - which, honestly, seems like a great idea to us! The spiral slide in the trailer actually kind of reminds us of the Barbie Puppy Water Park, released in 2011. What we think is easy to miss and absolutely hilarious here is how Barbie slides down it in the trailer - bent at the waist, sitting in a stiff upright posture, just like a doll. Note also the donut floatie on the side and the stylized B in the pool!

Just like Barbie herself, Barbie’s Dreamhouses have evolved with the times. And many of these can be spotted in the trailer! Barbie got her first home, a relatively simple affair made of foldable cardboard, in 1962. Her Dreamhouses gradually expanded into a range of styles, from Townhouses to Mansions and Castles. One distinguishing feature was their open concept lack of privacy, designed for ease of play - which appears to be the case also in the movie! You can see the A-frame Dreamhouse from 1979 while Margot Robbie’s Barbie is on the road. As she looks through her mirror, the house behind her recalls more recent Townhouse designs, including its slide, which was introduced in 2018.

The upcoming film features a stacked cast. Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu’s Kens are already stealing our hearts. We anticipate a lot of laughs from Will Ferrell’s Mattel CEO and Michael Cera as Ken’s friend Allan. But it was Kate McKinnon’s Barbie who had us immediately cracking up as soon as she appeared. A series of promotional posters has informed us that “This Barbie is always in the splits”. Perpetually performing this acrobatic pose, she’s dressed in a bewildering assortment of outfits, and has colored pencil lines all over her face. It also looks like someone has taken a giant pair of scissors to her hair. In other words, she’s the epitome of what we used to do to our poor Barbies! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Barbie Statue of Liberty A Welcoming Statue Poses on the Coastline Warner Bros. References That Iconic Water Tower Looks Familiar. And We Spy ‘Warner Bros. Discovery’ Behind Will Ferrell! Barbie Car It Isn’t Hidden, But This Pink Convertible, Introduced in 1988, Deserves a Shout Out!

Barbie has been with us for over six decades! And Barbie Land seems to draw from various eras in time. As Robbie’s Barbie drives down the main street, waving, she passes a salon promising “Perfect Hair”, a “Candie Store”, and a cinema. Currently playing at the cinema? “Wizard of Oz”, which was released in 1939, and again in 1949. Mattel actually released a Wizard of Oz Collection in 1995. But the cinema in the teaser trailer could be a reference to Dorothy’s journey into another world - from Kansas to Oz. With a roadside sign pointing to the “RealWorld”, and Ferrel’s role as Mattel’s CEO, this seems to suggest that Barbie is bound to experience a similar journey between worlds!