I think part of my brain rejects this for being a feature-length toy commercial, but it's a very small part of my brain (and that really wasn't where my mind was for the majority of the movie).

Overall, it's probably about as good as an official live-action Barbie movie could ever be, with Greta Gerwig clearly given plenty of freedom to have fun with a property/movie like this. It's bigger in scale than her previous two films (Ladybird and Little Women, both of which I prefer to this by a little), and the scale and creativity of the film really kept the momentum going. It's very funny in parts, and though I guess it's sort of a kid-friendly movie, there are tons of jokes and references that'll go over the heads of younger kids. "What's a fascist?" is something I heard a four-year-old ask one of their parents halfway through the movie, and that in itself was kind of funny to hear.

Margot Robbie is good as always, and is given a surprising amount to do emotionally. It is Barbie's movie, but Ryan Gosling's Ken often steals the film whenever he's on-screen (as the film's wrapping up, there's a fairly awkward pivot to "oh yeah, this is Barbie's movie;" it's even addressed in dialogue). I don't think that's a problem, because he's hilarious - it might be one of the best performances he's ever given. I also don't think his character is used "just" to attack men, the way I imagine some people will read into it. Barbie does the most learning and has the biggest character arc, sure, but Ken goes through one too, and I thought they wrapped up that side of things nicely.

It's an enjoyable movie that deals with some hefty topics (namedropping plenty of words younger kids won't have even heard before) in a mostly consistent way. Some tonal shifts are jarring, and while the vast majority of jokes land, I don't think all did. It does also feel a bit too directly like a commercial at a couple of points, especially early on, but I did expect that. And it's a testament to the quality of the movie that me and all my anti-consumerist thoughts didn't overpower my mind throughout most of this.