I want my Nostalgia back..........

When I was a little girl, growing up in the 8o's, I was obsessed with having a different lunch box every day highlighting some of my favorite cartoon and toy icons! Strawberry Shortcake, My little pony, Cabbage Patch Kids, Dukes of Hazzard were just a few of the now collectors boxes that I own. Every morning my mom would ask me which one I wanted, would pack my metal lunch box and off to school I went!

Brooke Barnes with The New York Times reports,"Strawberry Shortcake was having an identity crisis. The "it" doll and cartoon star of the 1980s was just not connecting with modern girls. Too candy-obsessed. Too ditzy. Too fond of wearing culottes."

So, according to Barnes, her owner, American Greetings Properties, worked for a year on what it calls a "fruit-forward" makeover. Strawberry Shortcake, part of a line of scented dolls, now prefers fresh fruit to gumdrops, appears to wear just a dab of lipstick (but no rouge), and spends her time chatting on a cellphone instead of brushing her calico cat, Custard. Unveiled last week, the new look is part of a new line of toys from Hasbro.

What!! Are you kidding me? My favorite childhood character is losing her pet to an electronic device?? What are we doing? I can understand giving a character a refresher but a cell phone? Who does a five-eight year old have to talk to on a cell phone? I do not have children, but I can't even begin to conceive the need for a phone? I didn't even buy myself one till I was 21.

She is not the only aging fictional star to get a face-lift, Barnes Reports. An unusually large number of classic characters for children are being freshened up and reintroduced on store shelves, on the Internet and on television screens as their corporate owners try to cater to parents' nostalgia and children's YouTube-era sensibilities.

Warner Brothers hopes to "reinvigorate and reimagine" Bugs Bunny and Scooby-Doo through a new virtual world on the Internet.

American Greetings is also giving the Care Bears, another one of my favorites some liposuction and lash extensions! Wasn't the whole point of them bing big and cuddly so as a child you had something to squeeze when you wanted to give your toy a hug or cry with???
Even Mickey Mouse is getting an update, although the Walt Disney Co. is still mulling what tweaks to make. "I love classic Mickey, but he needs to evolve to be relevant to new generations of kids," Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive, said in an interview.

There have been some noteworthy misfires, reports Barnes.. "Earring Magic Ken" is the industry's nightmare. Mattel's 1993 character, who had a purple mesh T-shirt, a pierced ear and a leather vest, drew howls from consumers, who did not see him as a realistic boyfriend for Barbie."

Brooks Barnes, The New York Times

TV.com offers some other good shows for kids:

If you like Strawberry Shortcake, you may also like these shows:
My Little Pony Tales
Welcome to the My Little Pony Tales guide at TV Tome. An attempt by Hasbro to revive the "My Little Pony" craze in the early 90s, the show aired on the Disney channel (and later, syndicated... more
My Little Pony and Friends
My Little Pony 'n Friends was a showcase for the popular My Little Pony series, which began life as a handful of animated specials that eventually spawned a fondly remembered movie. In this... more
Bananas In Pajamas
This television series, Bananas in Pajamas, is about two giant, child-like bananas, B1 and B2. They are good friends and companions. Together they live on Cuddles Lane, with their friends, the... more
My Little Pony
Based on one of the most beloved toylines of the 1980's, My Little Pony started out as a couple of animated specials and a feature film before finally becoming a cartoon series. Its various... more
The Smurfs
The Smurfs are a group of over 100 bluish, three-apple tall creatures who live in the mushroom homes of Smurf Village. They are led by 543-year-old Papa Smurf (who doesn't look a day over 530).... more
Care Bears
The Care Bears keep watch over the earth to keep bad feelings at bay. Whenever a kid is feeling down, they are there to help bring a smile to the child's face. They live in a city in the sky, named... more