The film will center on a doll living in Barbieland, who is forced to leave due to her so-called imperfections—setting off on an adventure in the real world and discovering along the way that perfection can only truly be found within. If that sounds painfully clichéd, it is worth noting that feminist auteur Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) is both writing and directing the movie, with input from her partner Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story).

What makes Barbie allegedly subversive is how it self-consciously ridicules the blinkered feminism of its eponymous icon and Mattel’s own girlboss marketing. And so you have songs like Lizzo’s “Pink,” which, even with congas, horns, and jubilant backing vocals, scans as a more insipid iteration of her usual you-go-girl jams: “What you wearing? Dress or suit? The movie’s self-awareness is a great trick: The shallowness and frivolity of any generic selection can be justified as winkingly on-theme. Fifty Fifty’s “Barbie Dreams” is a pop jingle as cloyingly bright as Barbie and Ken’s Impala inline skates. Ava Max’s “Choose Your Fighter” is a light-up Eurodance banger that’s just her 2020 single “Kings and Queens” with different plastic accessories.