Last week, Warner Bros. dropped what might be one of the most anticipated trailers of the summer movie season when it released the trailer for Greta Gerwig’s and gave fans their best look yet at Margot Robbie’s Barbie, Ryan Gosling’s Ken and a host of other Barbies and Kens that populate the candy colored Barbieland as well as hinted at some of the character dynamics between these various living dolls. But while fans loved the trailer, there was one thing they felt was just not quite right. Many fans were disappointed that Aqua’s hit song “Barbie Girl” wasn’t used in the trailer. Now, a new fan edit from HYTT Films on. YouTube has “fixed” that, releasing their version of the Barbie movie trailer with the iconic song and, well, it’s pretty fantastic.
Fan response to the edit has been very positive. Comments on the video have all praised the edit, with some even remarking that this is the version fans deserve and should be “official.” However, fans holding out hope that we’ll get a trailer with “Barbie Girl” or that the song will somehow find its way into the film are likely to be very disappointed. For the song’s 25th anniversary in 2022, Aqua’s Lene Nystrøm revealed to Variety that the song would not be used in the soundtrack, though the group did note that they anticipated that the film would bring quite a bit of attention to the song — which has obviously been the case.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It’s also potentially a little bit of a stretch that the song would be included in the soundtrack generally. In September 1997 — just six months after the release of the song — Mattel actually sued MCA Records, Aqua’s North American record label, claiming that “Barbie Girl” violated the company’s trademark. The lawsuit also stated that the song had turned Barbie into a sex object with its lyrics, which had ruined the doll’s popularity and trademark’s reputation. There were also claims that the song impinged on Mattel’s marketing plan. The lawsuit was dismissed by the lower court and while Mattel took their case to the Supreme Court, the appeal was rejected and in 2002, a Court of Appeals ultimately ruled that the song was protected by the First Amendment as a parody. Interestingly, Aqua’s record company had also sued Mattel for defamation and the court threw that case out as well with a simple conclusion to both rulings: “The parties are advised to chill.”
While Mattel ultimately went on to use “Barbie Girl” — albeit with modified lyrics — in advertising and promotions in 2009, it’s possible that the past lawsuit and controversy played into the decision to not include it in the upcoming film it’s also possible that, while the song is iconic, it may not fit the overall vibe of the film.
What do we know about the Barbie movie?
Warner Bros. Pictures has a synopsis for the movie: “To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig (“Little Women,” “Lady Bird”) comes “Barbie,” starring Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie (“Bombshell,” “I, Tonya”) and Ryan Gosling (“La La Land,” “Half Nelson”) as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera (“End of Watch,” the “How to Train Your Dragon” films), Kate McKinnon (“Bombshell,” “Yesterday”), Michael Cera (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Juno”), Ariana Greenblatt (“Avengers: Infinity War,” “65”), Issa Rae (“The Photograph,” “Insecure”), Rhea Perlman (“I’ll See You in My Dreams,” “Matilda”), and Will Ferrell (the “Anchorman” films, “Talladega Nights”).”
“The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne (“Little Women”), Emma Mackey (“Emily,” “Sex Education”), Hari Nef (“Assassination Nation,” “Transparent”), Alexandra Shipp (the “X-Men” films), Kingsley Ben-Adir (“One Night in Miami,” “Peaky Blinders”), Simu Liu (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), Ncuti Gatwa (“Sex Education”), Scott Evans (“Grace and Frankie”), Jamie Demetriou (“Cruella”), Connor Swindells (“Sex Education,” “Emma.”), Sharon Rooney (“Dumbo,” “Jerk”), Nicola Coughlan (“Bridgerton,” “Derry Girls”), Ritu Arya (“The Umbrella Academy”), Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren (“The Queen”).”
Barbie will be released exclusively in theaters on July 21st.
