Barbie is a perfect mash-up of comedy and drama, making for a groundbreaking and touching movie. The film created immense buzz for months and, after its second weekend in theaters, looks like it's really living up to it, as it shattered the box office record with a massive collection of $550 million worldwide, surpassing its competition, Oppenheimer, in the race.
From the mind of excellent director, Greta Gerwig, the film is a masterfully crafted tale about Barbie, who has to leave her dreamland behind to find her true purpose, and gets reality-struck by how she is perceived in the real world. While Barbie is naturally filled with references to Mattel as a brand and nostalgic Barbie moments, we also get to see some other popular movie references and inspiration throughout the film that we'll discuss in this article.
10 The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Many films have served an inspiration for Barbie, but The Wizard of Oz remains the main one. In a recent conversation with Letterboxd, Gerwig revealed that she wanted to imitate the Victor Fleming movie's aesthetics, as she loved its pretty skies, sound stages, and painted backdrop, and how they were able to achieve all this in an "authentically artificial" way, which made it "beautiful and emotional."
When it comes to storyline, both films see their main characters (Barbie and Dorothy) traveling from their world to a completely strange one. Barbie's pink gingham dress and the pink aesthetic road to the real world seem similar to Dorothy's blue gingham dress and the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, respectively. One of the Easter eggs that eagle-eyed fans were quick to find out was Dorothy, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion's posters, along with the sign of The Wizard of Oz playing in the Barbie Land theaters.
9 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Considered one of the greatest and most visually-striking movies, 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is about a spacecraft being transported to Jupiter to find the origin of the newly discovered monolith. One of the scenes from the 1968 movie inspired the opening scene of Barbie.
During the start of the movie, the narrator explains how previously, the young girls used to play with baby dolls and portray motherly roles until the creation of Barbie. Ruth Handler, the inventor of the Mattel doll, discovered adult-like dolls for girls to spread the message of how a girl can be anything she wants to be. The initial scene is similar to the 1968 movie where the apes come across the monolith.
8 The Truman Show (1998)
If one looks closely, Barbie Land looks a bit similar to The Truman Show's TV set town because Gerwig took advice from Peter Weir, who was successful in creating a fake world for Truman Burbank. According to her, she reached out to Weir, who told her about the film being shot in Seaside Florida by hanging lights to give a studio-like feel, but it made the sets hot, so he didn't recommend that to her (via The Messenger).
Further, Gerwig also drew inspiration from Palm Springs mid-century modernism. Barbie and The Truman Show endings also share commonality as the Mattel doll chooses to leave her perfect life in Barbie Land behind to become a human, and Truman Burbank is encouraged to stay in the artificial world but decides to go to the real world eventually.
7 Clueless (1995)
Throughout Clueless, Cher wears outfits that definitely make a fashion statement, all thanks to her virtual wardrobe, which helps her choose the dress for the day and helps her organize her clothes too. When we think about Barbie, the first thing that comes to our mind is her beautiful closet, and for the Gerwig-helmed film, they took inspiration from Cher's closet in Clueless.
Margot Robbie explained that the idea was to have Barbie's outfit magically appear in her wardrobe for each day. In the first Barbie Land scene too, when Barbie changes into her gingham dress, a hot pink suit and skirt are sitting in her closet for her to wear it on the next day (via The Hollywood Reporter).
6 Rocky
The Barbiecore fashion became a sensation ever since Warner Bros. dropped the first stills of the movie. But did you ever look at Ken's long fur coat and wonder if it looked familiar? Well, it's inspired by the ultimate fashion icon of the 70s and 80s, Sylvester Stallone. When the Mattel dolls enter the real world, the system of patriarchy comes as a shock to Barbie, whereas Ken takes it as inspiration to convert the Barbie Land rule into Kendom.
The faux fur long coat he wears is inspired by the Rocky actor, who also features in a random video that Ken watches in the real world. The posters of Rocky movies starring Stallone can be seen on the walls of gym in the real world, too, when Ken passes by, noticing that men are capable of doing anything. Jacqueline Durran, the costume designer, gave the coat a horse print lining due to Ken's obsession with horses.
5 The Matrix (1999)
Known for its compelling storyline, outstanding CGI, and action sequences, The Matrix is one of the most famous franchises to exist. One of the popular scenes that comes to our mind when we hear the film's name is the red and blue pill scene. In the scene, the main lead, Neo, gets to make a choice between the two pills, each leading to a different outcome.
Likewise, when Barbie suffers malfunction and becomes flat-footed, she visits the weird Barbie, who gives her two options to heal her distress: one is normal footwear and other her heels. Even though, at the end, she had no option but to choose normal footwear, which means the real world, this scene was a fun reference to The Matrix.
4 Pride and Prejudice (1995)
When Barbie comes back to her perfect land, she gets to know that Ken is now ruling her world. Even after convincing him, he isn't ready to give up his rule, which makes the already-sad Barbie even more depressed. She is seen lying on the floor, and that's when a depressed Barbie Mattel commercial pops in, referencing one of the famous Jane Austen novel adaptation show named Pride and Prejudice.
It gives an introduction to how this depressed Barbie wears sweatpants, scrolls Instagram throughout the day watching the happening lives of friends, and binge-watches the BBC show until she falls asleep, and no wonder many fans were having "a literally me" moment after watching this scene.
3 The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Recently, Greta Gerwig shared a list of her Barbie-inspired movies, which included The Philadelphia Story too. Released in 1940, Tracy Lord is a newly divorced socialite woman who gets entangled in feelings for three men and has to decide whom she actually loves. According to Gerwig, she recommended Robbie to watch this film because Barbie goes into a self-exploration mode just like Katherine Hepburn's character in the 1940 movie.
Initially, Hepburn's character is showcased as a beautiful, calm, and strong woman until her emotions break down, and she finds her true calling. Similarly, even Barbie faces mortality and imperfection issues and goes to the real world to rediscover herself. Robbie already loved this movie, so it was always on her radar.
2 The Shining (1980)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is one of the most renowned psychological horror films of all time. When Will Ferrell wants to get the life-sized Barbie back into the box in Barbie, she runs away and is rescued by Gloria (America Ferrera) and her daughter. During a conversation in the car, Gloria reveals that she started playing with her daughter's Barbie, transferring her own existential crisis to the doll.
While the scene shows glimpses of memories between Gloria and the doll, Sasha asks her mom if she is shining with Barbie. Here, the word shining refers to the 1980 film, which means having telepathic abilities.
1 The Godfather (1972)
Barbie made a big reference to the timeless movie, The Godfather. From the brilliant mind of Francis Ford Coppola, the film is about Michael, played by Al Pacino, who initially wasn't interested in the mafia business, but his father's bad health leads to him rising as a ruthless gangster. In Barbie, the dolls plan to take back their rule from Kens by manipulating them one by one.
In one of the scenes, Kingsley Ben-Adir's Ken is seen watching The Godfather's opening scene, starring Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone. A Barbie asks him to explain the movie in order to distract him so that the Barbie can take away Sharon Rooney's Barbie to free her from brainwash.
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