Jimmy Kimmel is preparing to host the 2024 Oscars by taking a quick trip to Barbieland.
In a promo for the 96th Academy Awards, which airs March 10 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC, the late-night host is shown reading an Oscars road map before he gets some help from “Barbie” stars Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera and Kate McKinnon.
Helen Mirren, who narrated the blockbuster film, also voiced the clip.
“Since the dawn of time, men have been getting lost,” she says in a voiceover. “This is the story of one such dumb dumb.”
Kate McKinnon reprises Weird Barbie
The clip shows Kimmel ringing the doorbell of one Barbie dream house before McKinnon, who portrayed Weird Barbie in the movie and the promo, answers the door … while standing on one foot.
McKinnon invites him in and makes a few jokes about Kimmel being a “Mid-Life Crisis Ken” or a “Lost Everything in the Divorce Ken.”
Kimmel explains that he is lost and needs someone to give him directions to Hollywood.
“Behold! This is how you get to Oscarsland,” McKinnon says after a large map containing all 10 best picture nominees appears.
She maps out the route and playfully slaps Kimmel’s face before the unlikely duo hop in the “weird wagon” and begin their journey to “Oscarsland.”
A colorful travel montage, similar to a scene from “Barbie,” pops up, featuring characters from “Poor Things,” “Maestro,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Oppenheimer.” When Kimmel spots Matt Damon, who starred in the Christopher Nolan flick, he continues his long-running bit of poking fun at the actor.
“Oh, my God! What happened to that guy’s face?” he asks after noticing Damon.
McKinnon bluntly replies, “Born that way.”
They put on goggles and crash land at the Oscars, which will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
America Ferrera spoofs her ‘Barbie’ monologue
A nervous Kimmel starts to doubt his hosting skills when Ferrera, who played a Mattel employee named Gloria in “Barbie,” suddenly sits up from the back seat of the “weird wagon.”
Ferrera spoofs the grand “Barbie” monologue that helped her land an Oscar nod for best supporting actress to inspire Kimmel.
“It’s literally impossible to host the Oscars,” she says. “You have to be extraordinary, but somehow you’re always doing it wrong. Like, you have to make fun of people, but you can’t make too much fun of people.”
Kimmel jokes, “Yes! I think what you’re saying is (that) hosting the Oscars is even harder than being a woman.”
Ryan Gosling suddenly appears
Gosling, the perfect Ken, also appears in the weird wagon and announces he brought In-N-Out Burger.
Kimmel informs Gosling, who is nominated for best supporting actor, that he isn’t supposed to buy food from the fast food chain until after he wins the Academy Award.
“Well, that’s not gonna happen,” he retorts. Gosling quips that thankfully “Barbie” director and co-writer Greta Gerwig will likely win — a reference to those who thought Gerwig was snubbed after being left out of the best director category.
Ferrera tells him Gerwig wasn’t nominated and he screams. Soon, all four of them are screaming as Mirren says in a voiceover, “Girls grow into women, but not all boys grow into men. Some remain hopelessly stuck in a loop of infantile foolishness. One of them will host the Oscars.”
This is the fourth time Kimmel has been selected to emcee one of the biggest nights in Hollywood. He previously hosted in 2017, 2018 and 2023.
His collaboration with the “Barbie” stars comes after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was called out on social media for not nominating Gerwig for best director or “Barbie” star Margot Robbie for best actress.
“Barbie” received eight nominations, including best picture and best adapted screenplay, which means Gerwig and Robbie, who produced the film, could still win.
But the widely popular movie faces tough competition in multiple categories that include other critically-acclaimed movies, like “Oppenheimer” and “Poor Things.”
Viewers will have to watch the ceremony in a couple weeks to see if Kimmel includes the “Barbie” team in any more Oscars skits. They could also see Gosling take the stage to perform “I’m Just Ken,” which is nominated for best original song.
