Greta Gerwig, a director of pink magic- “Barbie,” a massive hit movie, has showered audiences with epic movies. An incredible Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind “Lady Bird” and “Little Women” dreamt about the creation of Barbie when she had second thoughts about returning to movies.
“I wanted to channel something that had that ache in it, but also something so wild and unruly and something that was so just spilling out over the edges of it that you want to be in a group and see it big,” Gerwig told The Associated Press. “Because I thought we’ll never make any movies again, but if they’re going to, I’d like this.”
Gerwig’s Barbie is a fantasy comedy movie that revolves around a huge 60-year-old doll. It has glued the world along with Margot Robbie’s killer performance as Barbie with her trip of self-discovery.
Also, it emphasizes how to face the prejudices and inequalities over current explanations of them. It is a crossover of culture and politics.
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With Barbie’s release on July 21st, 2023, and $5.1 million, several viewers are considering what to watch next. In comparison, others are thinking about which ones to watch before Barbie.
Due to its hype, what’s more, exciting than to stream the movies that inspired this classic Barbie movie?
Below are the top 5 movies that influenced Greta Gerwig to infuse life into every girl’s favorite- Barbie doll and film it.
1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Image Source: BBC
This spectacular film has been an inspiration for every production for decades. So, it is not bizarre that it has grabbed Gerwig’s attention for Barbie.
The Wizard of Oz, a 1939 production, visualized L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel to the silver screen. It introduced singer and actress Judy Garland and Toto dog’s journey since they got lost in the delightful land of Oz.
Compared with the Barbie movie, The Wizard of Oz was the inspiration for the filmmaker for its spectacular colors.
“It does something that I wanted to emulate, which is these incredible sound stages, painted skies, and this sense of… I say, ‘authentically artificial,’ which I think is very beautiful and emotional,” Greta Gerwig said, adding that they implemented Barbie “like they would’ve done in the ’30s and ’40s and ’50s soundstage musicals. It was something that we kept returning to.”
2. The Truman Show (1998)
The Truman Show showcases a man called Jim Carrey who is naively staying in a simulation for three decades. He did not know that there was another parallel world.
Greta Gerwig said, “I had to include The Truman Show both because I watched it again before I made this movie and because Peter Weir very generously got on the phone with me before I started shooting, and he talked to me for a long time about how he shot it and how they made it work.”
Moreover, Greta got inspired by Palm Springs’s mid-century modernization. The Truman and Barbie endings are similar since the Matte doll decides to leave her miraculous life to become a human being. While Truman Burbank stayed in the artificial world but ultimately returned to the real world.
3. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg(1964)
Did you know where Barbie got the pastel-colored magic from? The movies of French director Jacques Demy.
This movie studies the separation of a young woman called Genevieve (Catherine Deneuve) from her lover when someone sends her to war and her life-changing decisions during their time away from each other. It is widely one of the best film musicals of all time with the 1948 classic The Red Shoes.
As we have watched in Barbie, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg also happened in an intensified reality. On top of that, many musicals generally have dancing and singing intervals between regular drama scenes, similar to Barbie movies.
4. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
One of the soothing movie musicals, “Singin’ in the Rain,” stars the incredible Gene Kelly and his marvelous role. Directed by Stanley Donen and Kelly, it has a quiet film star who ultimately falls for a chorus girl.
“I also picked Singin’ in the Rain, my favorite movie. There are so many great things in Singin’ in the Rain, but the dream ballet inside of the dream ballet is one of the most incredible, beautiful, completely unhinged things,” Gerwig told how the movie drew the inspiration for the dance sequences in the forthcoming movie.
“When he’s dancing with Cyd Charisse with the stairs, and she’s got that long white scarf that floats up — that was how we wanted to model a certain Ken ballet.”
5. An American in Paris(1951)
An Amerian in Paris, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Gene Kelly, had Leslie Carlon in her movie debut. This movie is the story of Jerry Mulligan, an American war veteran who shifts to Paris to become an artist.
Kelly, an actor, has changed Gerwig’s career, and she listed him as her favorite, according to The Dissolve.
Gerwig highlighted the movie’s opening and the fantastic elements that created a great imprint on Barbie.
“There was something so satisfying about watching him go through his morning routine — that was one of the morning routines I loved. Even though Barbie has much more of an expanse, I was like, ‘This is a great opening’”, the filmmaker said.
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