Barbie is consistently hilarious, but it might not have been the case if Greta Gerwig snuck in a joke that she thought was “really funny” – and no one else agreed.
Speaking to IndieWire, the director revealed early test screenings for the smash hit included a "fart opera" halfway through.
"We’ve always tried to get in a proper fart joke and we’ve never done it. We had like a fart opera in the middle. I thought it was really funny. And that was not the consensus," Gerwig said.
The film’s editor Nick Houy joked, "It was in the wrong place, too. We need to work it into a more significant narrative moment next time."
Not to dismiss fart jokes entirely – not all of them go down like wet farts with audiences, after all – but we’re just not really feeling the Kenergy with this one. For a movie that deals in a surprising amount of existentialism and dread, a "fart opera" doesn’t quite fit the tone. We’ll stick with a soundtrack that includes the likes of Dua Lipa, Lizzo, and Ryan Gosling stealing the show on ‘Push.’
Maybe it was for the best. Barbie has already grossed over $500m inside its first week, with the likes of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling also receiving Oscars shouts from an adoring public.
Mattel has reacted in turn by revealing plans for multiple new movies, including Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, and UNO.
For more on Barbie, check out our guide to Barbie Easter eggs, as well as a snippet from the Total Film interview with Greta Gerwig.
