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Turns out Barbie trailer’s amazing 2001: A Space Odyssey parody opens the movie

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By Fay Watson published 24 May 2023

Come on Barbie, let’s go… to space?

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Barbie
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
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When the teaser trailer for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie first dropped, everyone went wild for its unexpected 2001: A Space Odyssey parody. Well, now we know that the Dawn of Man spoof comes at a key moment of the upcoming movie: its opening sequence. 

If you recall, the first trailer begins in a desert as the iconic theme of the 1968 space classic plays. Margot Robbie’s gigantic Barbie is the focal point as a little girl looks up at her in awe (echoing the apes looking at an alien monolith in Kubrick’s version). Realizing the inferiority of all other dolls in comparison, a group of little girls smashes their toys as Barbie lowers her sunglasses and winks at the camera.

In Vogue’s huge cover story on the movie, writer Abby Aguirre shared its place in the movie as well as some other intriguing tidbits about the film. After being invited to watch sections of it on the Warner Bros. lot, she explained that after the parody, the narrative heads to Barbieland as Barbie wakes up in her Dreamhouse and begins a perfect day. 

However, she soon notices that everything is a bit off – her shower has no water, she’s too big for her car, and her feet are arched, rather than flat. As seen in the Barbie trailer – and revealed in the first clips shown at CinemaCon – these disconcerting circumstances take her to the "real world."

We can’t wait to see what this entails, but hopefully, it’s a lot of roller-skating as those set pictures implied… Barbie arrives in cinemas on July 21, 2023. For more upcoming movies, here are all the 2023 movie release dates you need to know about.

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Fay Watson
Fay Watson
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Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.

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