A couple of years ago, when news of a live action Barbie movie started making the rounds, people didn’t pay much attention. Obviously, it would be a movie for kids, so there was no reason for the general movie going public to care. Then there were rumblings that maybe it wasn’t going to be for kids. And the first teaser arrived, showing us they were serious about getting the look right, but not providing much in the way of details. Then the trailer arrived and we all started living in a Barbie world.

It was unexpected, but the marketing blitz was so well done. Little by little, people realized this was aimed at an adult audience – and they embraced it. A celebration in pink began that culminated in an opening weekend that grabbed the biggest box office of the year and the biggest ever for a female director. Even before the great reviews, I was curious about the movie, the plot… everything. So yes, I went to see Barbie.

Like a majority of women, I had Barbie dolls as a young girl (along with Star Wars figures and a Steve Austin… I was a “tom boy” geek, after all). There has not been a decade since her first appearance that she has not been popular. And she already has a lot of movies, though they’re all animated and aimed specifically at the plays-with-dolls age group. So how, exactly, would a live action movie about a doll appeal to an adult audience?

First, let me say that I did enjoy this movie. Second, it’s not what I expected it to be. Based on trailers and media talk, I knew going in that it wasn’t intended as a standard comedy or piece of fluff. Of course, the sets are bright and very pink, there are plenty of nods to Barbie dolls and culture, and there are some cool old-school effects used at times. But it’s surprisingly deep and addresses what it means to be female in the real world. It also gets pretty emotional at times, but with legitimately strong takeaways.

Don’t get me wrong – there is plenty of humor in this movie. There were even a couple of moments when I seriously burst out laughing. The creators know exactly how ridiculous the basic premise of the movie is and they go with it. The fact that almost every female resident of Barbie Land is named Barbie (except for Skipper and Midge) and all but one male resident is Ken (that one would be Allen). And Ken’s purpose in life is to get Barbie to pay attention to him – he’s a mix of himbo and toddler.

It’s when Barbie and Ken get to the real world that things get serious. They are both almost immediately objectified, with Barbie feeling insecure and not knowing how to deal with it, while Ken enjoys every bit of the attention. It’s a blatant statement about the difference between men and women when it comes to confidence. And it’s the beginning of a rude awakening for the iconic doll who believed she had done so much for the advancement of women in the real world.

Barbie goes through a lot of self-realization that simply overwhelms her. But there is a fantastic (and what is already becoming iconic) speech from one of the real-world characters about what women deal with every day to live their lives. It’s a moment of enlightenment not only for Barbie, but for a lot of viewers – I’m pretty sure the soccer moms I saw at the theater weren’t expecting to have something to think about when the movie ended. But it’s an effective message about being good enough and accepting yourself for who you are.

So yes, this Barbie world is funny, dramatic, capitalistic, inclusive, feminist, thought-provoking and an interesting, enjoyable place to spend a couple of hours.