barbie film plot

This easter egg from the Barbie trailer basically reveals the whole plot of the film

Greta Gerwig is a genius


The trailer for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was released yesterday and oh my god is there anybody not in this film? Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Ncuti Gatwa, America Ferrera, Sharon Rooney, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, DUA LIPA?! It’s, literally, half of Hollywood.

Pink, kitschy, and lasting one minute and 44 seconds, the Barbie trailer initially appeared to give us a lot more neon and glittering style than any actual movie substance – but fans on TikTok think they’ve figured out what the entire plot of the film using a few key Easter eggs. And it’s wild:

Barbie is going on a Wizard of Oz style adventure

In the trailer, Barbie is wearing a pink gingham dress that seems to nod towards Dorothy’s outfit in the Wizard of Oz. Then, when Barbie drives past a movie theatre in her dream car there are Wizard of Oz characters plastered along the wall. And she’s driving on a pink version of the yellow brick road!

barbie film plot

“I think we’re looking at a journey to another world, filled with people she helps on the way,” user Cat Quinn theorised on TikTok. “When [Barbie] gets there she realises that this seemingly gilded place is actually pretty wicked,” she says. “Will she ultimately realise there’s no place like home and tap her Barbie pink slippers together three times? We’ll just have to wait until July to find out.”

barbie film plot

Barbie has lived her whole life in one heart

Cat’s trailer theory could be correct as the opening aerial shot of the trailer shows that Barbie’s world, and the magic that protects it, only exists within the parameters of one pink heart. It could be that Barbie gets curious about what exists outside of her magical kingdom (sort of like in Elf or The Little Mermaid) and goes looking for answers and adventure in the Real World past the pink brick road with Ken.

barbie film plot

So, when is the Barbie movie actually out?

We won’t have to wait too much longer to find out what Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is actually about as the film will be released in the UK on 21 July. “I had what felt like vertigo when starting to write it, like, where do you even begin?” Greta revealed of the film to Grazia during post-production. “What would be the story?” 

Meanwhile, Margot Robbie told The Hollywood Reporter:  “Whatever you’re thinking, we’re going to give you something totally different — the thing you didn’t know you wanted.”

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Featured image via Warner Bros on YouTube and TikTok.