The New Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake has undergone a makeover. The beloved, albeit frumpy, '80s cartoon character shed pounds, gained a hipper wardrobe and swapped her kitten for a cell phone last week.

Sound scary? American Greetings Properties, who owns the character, is making the change (what it terms a "fruit-forward makeover," according to the New York Times) in order to connect with a new tech-savvy generation of girls. The Times also reports that facelifts and an increased web presence for other characters aren't far off, including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bugs Bunny and the Care Bears. But such bold moves can be tricky when you're dealing with nostalgia.

Jezebel.com writer Sadie Stein's criticism: "What I find bizarre about all this is the implicit assumption that kids can't relate to a character who's not exactly like themselves. Strawberry Shortcake wasn't popular twenty years ago because we all wore bloomers and lolled around in a berry patch; it was cute and fun and the dolls smelled good."

And just in case you were wondering, Mainstreet.com offers a thorough analysis of what the total cost of revamping the Shortcake would be in real life: The damage: $23,675.19.