The 96th Academy Awards are fast approaching, but the ceremony’s host has caught the grief of movie fans with the new Oscars teaser.
Film fans will have had March 10 marked on their calendars for months. The 96th Academy Awards will celebrate the best of what 2023 had to offer, with notable movies like Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and Killers of the Flower Moon leading the pack with multiple nominations.
But not everybody is focused on the nominees. Many viewers tune into the Oscars to keep an eye out for record-breaking wins, awkward moments, and opening monologues. This year, Jimmy Kimmel is back to host, returning for the fourth time.
However, in the first official promo released by Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Oppenheimer and Poor Things were pushed aside to focus on another major cinematic legend that came our way last year. And needless to say, it didn’t really hit the right note.
Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars teaser mocked
The promo, released on February 13, showed Jimmy Kimmel lost in the Barbie movie, hoping to get to the Oscars.
In the video, Jimmy Kimmel meets Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie, who helps him get back to Hollywood. To get there, he has to travel through the nominated movies including, strangely, The Zone of Interest. He also meets America Ferrera (who gives an alternate rendition of her feminist monologue from the Barbie movie) and Ryan Gosling.
Clearly, this was meant to be a lighthearted tribute to the nominated movies while confirming Kimmel’s return as host. However, some movie fans didn’t take too kindly to this promo.
In fact, when posted online, the video was quickly dubbed as “bulls*t” and “corny”.
Reactions to Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscar teaser
Mostly, the criticism revolved around Kimmel’s return as host and his performance in the teaser. He’ll have led the ceremony four times after this year’s awards, with his most infamous round taking place during the Moonlight-La La Land mix-up of 2017.
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Oscar viewers are bored of seeing Kimmel again. At least, that’s how it seems from reading the comments.
“Not Kimmel again… America lacks of good host for sure… I’m tiredddd,” wrote one.
“When will we as a society and the lame ass academy decide to move on from Jimmy Kimmel,” said another. “Surely even the actors are sick of the same shtick every year.”
A few commentators were annoyed by the joke that poked fun at Greta Gerwig’s lack of a spot on the Best Director list, a “snub” that caused a big stir when the nominations were announced.
“So they use Barbie for the advertising etc. but they don’t nominate Greta or Margot in their respectful categories… this is some bullsh*t,” wrote one.
“Nah, can’t be using Barbie for promo when you didn’t nominate the director or lead. Nope, throw it away,” said another.
Realistically, it’s not surprising that Kimmel and his team opted for a Barbie-themed promo. As the highest-grossing movie of 2023 and one of the biggest pop cultural phenomenons of (likely) the last decade, it makes sense. Oscar viewership just isn’t what it used to be, with 18.7 million Americans tuning into last year’s awards compared to 2017’s 32.9 million (the first year Kimmel hosted).
With $1.446 billion in the bank, it’s no wonder the powers that be are hoping she can bring a little of her magic to the 96th Academy Awards.
