Barbie has been in cinemas for over a week, but we’re still not over how good it is.
Greta Gerwig’s hit film more than lived up to its hype and managed to deliver more than a few surprises along the way.
The film is absolutely packed with easter eggs, in-jokes, references to other movies and surprise cameos.
Here are 13 of our favourites...
1. Uncle Bryn’s brief appearance
No, your eyes weren’t deceiving you. That really was Rob Brydon at Weird Barbie’s house.
Rob actually tweeted about his cameo after attending the Barbie premiere – but many fans assumed his post was a joke.
Most of Barbie was filmed at the Warner Bros. studios in Leavesden, just outside London, which meant anglophile Margot (who exec produced the movie as well as starring in it) and director Greta Gerwig could welcome plenty of British stars for cameos.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan UK, Margot said: “I am a huge fan of Gavin & Stacey so Rob Brydon being in it was an enormous priority for me.”
Rob and Margot had exchanged messages in the past too, as the Welsh actor told Virgin Radio: “I think this came about because I had a message a few years ago that Margot Robbie was a big fan of Uncle Bryn and would I record a message for her birthday.
“So I recorded a video for her. I think maybe this part is her way of saying thank you. I said, ‘Hello Margot. I’ve loved you in all your films and I’ll tell you for why...’ So when I met her on the set, she said, ‘Ah, thank you so much for that message…’ So that was quite nice.”
2. And yes, that was a Love Islander announcing the Nobel Prize winner
Rob wasn’t the only unexpected face to show up as the Kens took over Barbieland.
Love Island 2019 star Chris Taylor also landed himself a cameo thanks to Margot’s love of British TV.
Chris met Margot when she invited a group of Islanders to an afterparty following the Birds of Prey premiere in London in 2020.
At the bash, Margot approached Chris and it seems he made quite the impression, as he later got the call for the one-line part.
“I’m like ‘what the fuck is going on?’,” he recalled to LadBible on the Barbie premiere’s pink carpet. “I dunno, she must have just remembered me from then.”
3. The Wizard Of Oz nods
Director Greta squeezed in plenty of reference to her favourite films (remember the 2001 Space Odyssey-inspired trailer? Genius).
Prior to Barbie’s release, fans spent months theorising about the movie’s possible parallels with the Wizard Of Oz and TikTok user Cat Quinn practically nailed the overarching Barbie plot weeks before it came out:
While it’s not been confirmed if the dress Stereotypical Barbie wore was modelled on Dorothy’s iconic blue gingham ensemble, two other references are brief but clear to see.
As Margot’s character journeys to the real world, she travels along her very own Pink Brick Road and when she waves goodbye to Barbieland, the cinema behind has posters for Judy Garland’s 1939 classic.
4. And a Top Gun reference
The Wizard Of Oz is far from the only film referenced in Barbie and Greta also took inspiration from a Tom Cruise classic.
As the Kens take over, they play volleyball on the beach in a scene inspired by the original Top Gun’s famous sequence.
5. There even a homage to John Travolta
The dance sequence which takes place just a few minutes into the film is a tribute to the iconic film Saturday Night Fever.
6. There’s also a nod to the Sistine Chapel
Films aren’t the only art form Greta was inspired by. If the scene which saw Barbie creator Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman) touch hands with Margot’s Barbie felt instantly iconic then that’s because it already is.
Margot explained to Variety: “Our hands touch like ‘The Creation of Adam’ by Michelangelo, imitating the moment when God gives life to the first man.
“Greta snuck that in there.”
7. BAX Airport
The name of Barbieland’s airport is inspired by Los Angeles’ LAX.
8. The Kens’ favourite indie band is very much real
The Kens waste no time in starting to mansplain after taking over Barbieland,but their topics of choice aren’t fictional.
In scenes that cut deep for many women who have endured similar speeches, one Ken talks about The Godfather before Ncuti Gatwa’s character speaks about indie singer Stephen Malkmus.
Stephen is the real-life lead singer of California band Pavement, best-known for tracks including Debris Slide and Here.
It didn’t take long for Stephen to find out about the Barbie mention, but it seems he took it in his stride.
“We are aware of the Barbie Movie rumours and are awaiting guidance from legal but as a rule we are pro-Greta,” Pavement joked in an Instagram post.
9. Every doll in the film was sold by Mattel at some point
Apart from Weird Barbie – whose appearance and fate is the result of over-enthusiastic play – every single doll in the film was made for sale, at one point or another.
Midge, whose pregnancy made no sense for so many reasons, was released and swiftly discontinued in the ’60s, while Video Girl Barbie was pulled after a warning from the FBI.
Allan (an icon) was released and discontinued in the ’60s too while Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken really was on shelves in the ’90s.
10. Even Tanner the dog was actually manufactured
Yes, we mean the dog who pooped his way across Weird Barbie’s house.
Unfortunately, a recall for the Barbie and Tanner play set was issued because its poop scoop accessory contained a magnet that could come loose, and possibly be swallowed by a child.
11. The Barbie inventor’s tax scandal is real
The Ruth Handler character makes a number of hilarious quips about tax evasion – which is something the Barbie inventor really was charged with.
Ruth resigned as Mattel’s President in 1974 after multiple allegations of fraud. In 1978, she was charged with fraud and false reporting to US financial regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ruth pleaded no contest to the accusations and was subsequently ordered to pay a fine of $57,000 (£40,000) and complete 2,500 hours of community service.
12. Sasha and her friends appear to give a nod to the Bratz dolls
Released in 2001, Bratz dolls were a modern, noughties competitor for the classic Barbie. Their outfits were more fashion-forward (or so we thought at the time, anyway), they wore make-up and came with seemingly endless accessory options.
Some eagle-eyed Barbie viewers will have spotted how America Ferrara’s on-screen daughter and her pals appear to give a nod to the Bratz, with Sasha even sharing her name with one of the dolls.
13. The older lady Barbie meets is an Oscar winner
In one of the film’s most touching scenes, an emotional Barbie meets an older woman in the ‘real world’ and tells her she looks beautiful.
The lady she’s speaking to is costume designer Ann Roth, who has been nominated for five Best Costume Design Oscars, winning in 1996 and 2020 for The English Patient and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, respectively.
14. Weird Barbie’s house paid homage to a classic film
Production designer Sarah Greenwood revealed to Variety that the skewed stairs leading up to the door of Weird Barbie’s house were inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.
“One of my early references is that you go up the stairs, and there’s the ‘Psycho’ house, and we brought in other elements,” she told Variety, noting how its design was deliberately skewed with “everything pushed out of shape and out of order”.