Life in plastic ain’t so fantastic in this extravagantly entertaining live action take on Mattel’s most famous creation. It plunges Barbie into an existential crisis when the ludicrously leggy doll gets a mind-blowing dose of reality. That the film wears its satire and feminist smarts on its sleeve isn’t surprising given that this is the brainchild of triple Oscar nominee Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women), with the writer-director collaborating with her partner, and fellow indie cinema darling, Noah Baumbach on the script.

Beginning in the pink-hued, girl-boss paradise that is Barbieland, it follows Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) on a journey of self-discovery after she begins to malfunction and is sent to find the girl who is playing with her in the real world. On Barbie’s quest, she’s joined by Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling), a sidelined, incompetent and resentful character who is desperate to win her attention. In California, our heroine falls foul of Mattel’s CEO (Will Ferrell) and his sheep-esque underlings who race around like fools in their attempts to put Barbie back in her box.

Robbie brings the perfect blend of sweetness and sincerity to this increasingly flesh-and-blood figure. Meanwhile, Gosling is having such an outrageously good time as Ken that he sometimes looks close to corpsing (his show-stopping musical number is an unforgettable highlight).

Barbie fuses elements of The Lego Movie, Elf, Pinocchio and West Side Story whilst being distinctly and proudly its own thing. It’s not exactly subtle but routinely subverts expectations, sending up corporate culture and Barbie’s own creators with joyous aplomb, and keeping fans onside by revelling in the fun and often plain freaky details of Barbie’s world (Michael Cera’s anomalous Allan doll is a particular treat). That Gerwig has pulled off this balancing act so adeptly feels like something of a miracle. She really is a very special filmmaker.

Barbie is in cinemas from Friday 21 July.