'Stanley Kubrick' approves of 2001: A Space Odyssey homage in Barbie trailer

The first teaser trailer for the eagerly awaited live-action Barbie movie has finally been released and let's just say that its not what people were expecting but one of cinema's grandmasters approves.

The movie, starring Margot Robbie as the world-famous doll alongside Ryan Gosling as the equally famous Ken, is directed by Greta Gerwig and given her indie sensibilities, we should have known that this wouldn't be a standard story about a toy.

The trailer begins with a homage to Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. We see images of a sparse desert playing with baby dolls.

A voiceover then says: "Since the beginning of time, since the first little girl ever existed there have been dolls but the dolls were always and forever baby dolls. Until..."

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We then see the girls in awe of a gigantic Barbie as Robbie gives them a cheeky wink before one of the girls throws her doll up into the air in suggesting that she and her fellow children have now rejected their old toys in favour of Barbie.

It's an almost shot-for-shot remake of the opening scenes in Kubrick's 1968 film where a group of primitive apes discover an alien monolith and are given the knowledge and the capability to evolve beyond their rivals.

Given that they'll likely end up being completely different movies and have vastly different fanbases it was a bold choice for Gerwig to pay homage to Kubrick and for Warner Bros to put it in the trailer but thankfully its been given the thumbs up by the maestro.

As Kubrick died in 1999 his official social media accounts have acknowledged Barbie by sharing the trailer and adding: "They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Even Barbie is a Kubrick fan…"

So there you have it. If its good enough for Kubrick then its probably gonna be good enough for everyone else too.

We'll all have to wait a little while to see that Robbie, Gosling and Gerwig have cooked up for us as Barbie isn't released in cinemas unilt July 2023.

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