With a promising cast and an even more promising premise, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is ready to take the world by storm. Here are 7 reasons to be excited for the film!
July 21st is a date most film lovers will most likely remember, as both Barbie and Nolan’s Oppenheimer are coming out on the same day. Both releases are surrounded by anticipation and excitement as the two are set up to be some of the most interesting 2023 releases. Personally, ever since I heard Greta Gerwig was directing a movie based on the iconic Barbie dolls, I could barely contain my excitement. Naturally, the more the Barbie release date approaches, the more thrilled I am to finally see one of my most anticipated films of 2023. As July promises to be a month of fascinating new releases, there are multiple reasons to be excited for Barbie, as it may very well be one of the most thrilling releases of the year and certainly one to look forward to.
1. Greta Gerwig
Undeniably, one of the most thrilling aspects of Barbie is that it is directed by Greta Gerwig. With her previous movies, such as Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), Gerwig established a unique directorial style, which often features feminist themes and callbacks to her personal experience. Therefore, these distinctive elements will bring a new and fresh take to this Barbie adaptation. For example, it is already evident from the plot and teaser trailer of the movie that Barbie will present to its viewers a film that will subvert our expectations and what we may envision the fairytale Barbie world to be like. Similarly, it was revealed that one of the inspirations behind the movie was the need to analyse the effects of societal pressures on American adolescent girls.
2. The Cast
Another key aspect of a film is its cast. Margot Robbie, who plays the titular character, is the perfect choice for the protagonist of the film. It is not just a question of aesthetics, even if Robbie looks like a real-life Barbie in the film, but the actress has also proven her range with her previous films, thus making her ideal for a role that seems to be a lot more complex and layered that what we may initially expect. The same goes for Ryan Gosling. Although his casting as Ken has been met with some criticism online, his excitement for the film and commitment to the role definitely speak for themselves.
3. The Concept
Moreover, Gerwig and Baumbach, who co-wrote the script with his wife, had full creative freedom over the film, which makes the movie even more exciting. In fact, it looks like Barbie won’t be a movie for kids but, instead, for the children who grew up with Barbie dolls, as established by the first teaser trailer for the movie, which recalls and pays homage to one of the most praised sequences in film history, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. This suggests that the movie will have a reflecting tone but also a satirical and ironic element to it.
4. The Ensemble
Another reason to be excited for the film is the presence of multiple Barbies and multiple Kens. First of all, this allows the movie to thoroughly represent the various types of Barbie dolls available to children. It also allows for further representation within the Barbie world, as the variations of Barbie all look different and have different jobs and interests. For example, we have Journalist Barbie (Ritu Arya), Physics Barbie (Emma Mackey), and even President Barbie (Issa Rae), thus allowing different ethnicities and people to see themselves – and their favourite Barbie dolls – represented on the screen. Moreover, Greta Gerwig has proven that she can work very well with an ensemble cast, as evident in her latest directorial endeavour, Little Women.
5. The Soundtrack
Just like the music was an important aspect of the animated Barbie movie, music will also play a key role in the live-action film. The soundtrack will include music by various artists, most of whom are women singers and songwriters, such as Ava Max, Charli XCX, Gayle, and Lizzo to mention a few. Most notably, the iconic “Barbie Girl” song by the band Aqua will not be featured. However, the movie will feature a new version of the song called “Barbie World,” by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, and Aqua, which creates even more excitement around Barbie.
6. Barbieland Coming to Life
While multiple animated films are have been made on Barbie, this will be the first live-action Barbie movie, and it feels like it was a long time coming. The concept was first optioned in 2009 before going through various changes in directing, producing, and cast. Seeing it finally come to life is already incredibly satisfying, especially thanks to its surreal colour palette both in the set design and the costumes that make the Barbie setting look like a fairytale land, coming straight out of everyone’s childhood dreams. Interestingly, the costumes in the movie are by Jacqueline Durran, the designer behind unforgettable costumes, like the ones we have seen in Anna Karenina (2021) or Little Women, who was nominated for eight Academy Awards.
7. All the Pink!
There is also nothing more exciting than the fact that the world actually almost ran out of pink during the production of Barbie, and what is more Barbie than the colour pink? The set design of the movie will re-create everything we know and love from the Barbie toys. In terms of set and atmosphere, Barbie will aim to recreate the 1950s soundstage musical with aesthetically fake but emotionally authentic spaces. In fact, the set itself looks like a Mattel product, including Barbie’s iconic dreamhouse: not only is it pink, but it’s also artificial and beautiful, like everything in Barbieland.
All in all, the promotional material released for the film so far has managed to make most of its audience look forward to various aspects of the movie. With most of the elements of the film, such as the music, costume design, and directing, are all reasons to be excited about the film, it definitely looks like Barbie is going to live up to its hype once it finally comes out at the end of July.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was released globally in theaters on July 21, 2023. Read our review of Barbie and our list of 5 movies to watch after Barbie (2023)!
