Though Barbie is traditionally a toy meant for young children, Greta Gerwig's take on
the famous doll is anything but childish.
There's plenty that only the grown-ups in the audience will pick up on.
From the very first moments of "Barbie," the film features references to other famous films.
In the first scene, we see a group of little girls playing with baby dolls in a prehistoric landscape.
Helen Mirren provides a humorous voice-over that starts very dramatically.
"Since the first little girl ever existed, there have been dolls."
Then, out of nowhere, a giant Barbie appears.
The girls are stunned, and soon, they are tossing their baby dolls in the air and smashing
them with rocks.
Barbie, it seems, has taken over the doll industry for good.
While kids may find this scene funny, only adults are likely to get the reference.
The sequence mirrors the opening scene of the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film "2001: A Space
Odyssey," in which apes discover a giant monolith as it watches the proto-humans discover tools.
Greta Gerwig even uses the same song, Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra," in the
scene in "Barbie."
After the ironic Kubrick-esque opening of "Barbie," we are quickly swept away to Barbieland
where the dolls live.
Barbieland is a sea of candy-colored perfection.
While kids will instantly recognize the dreamhouses and Barbie clothes they have at home, adults
may spot a more mature reference within the color scheme.
It turns out, Greta Gerwig's inspiration for the Barbieland palette is Jacques Demy, a
French film director known for colorful films such as "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and "The
Young Girls of Rochefort."
In an interview with Letterboxd, Gerwig said,
"'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' ... that's an amazing movie and astonishingly beautiful.
I loved the use of color and the surrealness."
Gerwig explained that she and the director of photography were inspired by how the film
layered similar colors on top of each other, continuing,
"Everything feels painterly, and that was a big part of it.
They're just delicious.
His movies are delicious."
After Margot Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie begins to experience unusual things like uncontrollable
thoughts of death and cellulite, she is sent to "Weird Barbie," played by Kate McKinnon,
to figure out what's going on.
Weird Barbie explains that she'll have to go to the real world to find the person who
is playing with her to get everything in Barbieland back to normal.
She offers her either a heel or a Birkenstock as symbols revealing,
"You can go back to your regular life, or you can know the truth about the universe."
Barbie's response is immediate.
"The first one.
The high heel."
"You have to want to know, okay?
Do it again."
This joke will probably go over most kids' heads.
For one thing, only adults really know the difference between heels and Birkenstocks.
While heels may look nice, they are anything but comfortable, and a nice comfy pair of
Birkenstocks will almost always be the sensible option.
Plus, this scene is yet another reference, this time to the film "The Matrix" in which
Neo is given a choice between the blue pill, which will take him back to his version of
reality, or the red pill, which will show him the whole truth.
As Barbie sets off for the real world, there's yet another hidden film reference.
You may have spotted that she leaves driving on a bright pink road.
This is a direct reference to the Yellow Brick Road in "The Wizard of Oz."
In her interview with Letterboxd, Gerwig said,
"In our movie, we have the Pink Brick Road instead of the Yellow Brick Road.
We also have beautiful painted backdrops of horizons.
We executed it like they would've done in the '30s and '40s and '50s soundstage musicals.
It was something that we kept returning to.
I always love the ending where there's a ceremonial quality."
But the aesthetics aren't the only nod to "The Wizard of Oz."
Barbie's journey also mirrors that of Dorothy in the 1939 film.
After all, Dorothy travels down the Yellow Brick Road to discover the truth about the
Man Behind the Curtain and find her way back home.
Similarly, Barbie travels down the Pink Brick Road to discover the truth about the men at
Mattel and, by extension, the entire patriarchy, and she too finds her way back home.
When Barbie finally arrives in the real world, she soon finds herself at Mattel's headquarters,
where the C-suite is trying to contain her to avoid any trouble.
While Will Ferrell's over-the-top acting as the CEO of Mattel will be pretty delightful
for most children, there are plenty of little details in the office that are meant for adult viewers.
For one thing, the entire C-suite is made up of men because, well, of course, it is.
Don't worry, there was one female CEO once, Ferrell's character assures us.
Plus, the lower floors of the building contain some of the most depressing cubicles we've ever seen.
Honestly, it looks like something out of a horror movie.
And for anyone who has ever stepped into an office building, the sense of doom and ennui
will be all too familiar.
One of the highlights of "Barbie" for adults and children alike is the epic musical number.
Sung by Ryan Gosling, "I'm Just Ken" is an indisputable banger.
"But it's 'Barbie and Ken.'
There is no just 'Ken.'"
Plus, the dreamlike staging of the number makes it a huge crowd-pleaser.
But while children will love this colorful musical interlude, they may not pick up on
all of the little jokes and references within.
For one thing, the song itself features a few clever musical references.
For instance, there's a riff on A-ha's "Take on Me."
As for the choreography, there are references to the T-Birds of "Grease," the dance fight
of "West Side Story," and even to the dream ballets of films like "Oklahoma!"
and "An American in Paris."
While this may look like a scene out of a children's movie, only adults will get all
of the little references.
There's one joke in "Barbie" that is sure to get almost all of the adults in the cinema laughing.
When the Barbies are plotting how to distract the Kens by conforming to what they expect
the Barbies to be, they use the tactic of asking about the Godfather.
It's a way to get their Kens mansplaining so they are too distracted to notice the Barbies
taking back Barbieland.
It's a hilarious line that speaks to the male obsession with "The Godfather" and with talking
their way through films as they mansplain each scene to whichever females may be present
in the room.
As Meg Ryan's character Kathleen Kelly says in "You've Got Mail,"
"What is it with men and 'The Godfather?'"
"Oh, come on.
Hello."
While kids are sure to understand the basic plot of "Barbie": Barbie goes to the real
world to meet the person who is playing with her and then restores order in Barbieland,
they may not understand the nuances.
After all, the real villain of this movie isn't Mattel or Ken, it's the patriarchy.
"Can I talk to a doctor?"
"You are talking to a doctor."
"And I need a clicky pen."
"No."
"A sharp thing."
"No."
"There he is.
Doctor!"
"Somebody get security."
After discovering that men essentially rule the real world, Ken returns to Barbieland
where the gender power dynamic is flipped to take over from the Barbies.
He takes ownership of Barbie's Dream House, turning it into his "Mojo Dojo Casa House."
He and the Kens even introduce a bill that will see the Barbies lose their power in the Supreme Court.
The Barbies go on to play on the Kens' masculine insecurities to take back Barbieland.
However, after realizing how awful it is to have no power, they decide to let the Kens
keep some of the control they've taken, but not as much as women have in the real world.
It's pretty complex stuff and we're guessing that only adults will understand all of the complexities.
From Lizzo's "Pink" to Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night," the soundtrack to "Barbie" is full
of absolute bangers.
What some younger people may not notice is that many of these songs include nostalgic
references to older songs.
Lizzo's "Pink" starts things off by introducing us to a day in the life of "Barbie."
According to Off The Record Press, it's a musical nod to other famous film opening numbers
like The Muffs' "Kids In America" from "Clueless" and Hoku's "Perfect Day" from "Legally Blonde."
The soundtrack also features "Barbie World," sung by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice.
Listen closely and you'll notice a sample from the infamous "Barbie Girl" by Aqua.
Then, Charlie XCX's "Speed Drive" includes a musical nod to Baby Tate's "Hey, Mickey!,"
which famously featured in "Bring It On."
In the final song on the soundtrack, "Barbie Dreams," there's yet another subtle sample.
Listen closely and you'll hear that the chorus is the same tune as Janet Jackson's "Together Again."
The soundtrack is packed full of musical references to some golden oldies, and adults will love it.
If you're still not convinced that "Barbie" is a movie for the grown-ups in the room,
the final line will definitely convince you.
After becoming a real woman and leaving Barbieland behind, Stereotypical Barbie is dropped off
for an important meeting by Gloria and her family.
Where is she going?
A job interview?
University?
Nope, it turns out, Barbie is heading to her first meeting with her gynecologist.
As she says proudly to the receptionist in her final line,
"I'm here to see my gynecologist."
As director Greta Gerwig explained to USA Today, the line is all about Barbie becoming a woman.
She said,
"I knew I wanted to end on a mic drop kind of joke, but I also find it very emotional.
When I was a teenage girl, I remember growing up and being embarrassed about my body, and
just feeling ashamed in a way that I couldn't even describe."
However, by giving Barbie a sense of pride about her new, very real body, Gerwig wanted
to end on a note that was both funny and empowering, saying,
"I was like — if I can give girls that feeling of, 'Barbie does it, too' — that's both
funny and emotional.
There are so many things like that throughout the movie.
It was always about looking for the levity and the heart."