Bratz' boss sees sales up on film, rebuffs critics

Isaac Larian, Chief Executive Officer of MGA Entertainment speaks during the Reuters Retail and Apparel Summit at the Reuters building in New York in this September 26, 2005 file photo. The reputation of MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls for sass and sexiness is undeserved, Larian told Reuters, and ''Bratz: The Movie'' will cast them in a ''wholesome'' light through themes like friendship and education.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The reputation of MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls for sass and sexiness is undeserved, Chief Executive Isaac Larian told Reuters, and "Bratz: The Movie" will cast them in a "wholesome" light through themes like friendship and education.

Bratz, launched in 2001, is a line of skinny, big-headed dolls that sometimes wear belly shirts, short skirts and fishnet stockings.

In less than a decade, the dolls have become popular enough to engage Mattel's Co.'s MAT.N 48-year-old Barbie in a fierce battle for young girls' loyalties -- along with their parents' money.

Privately held MGA says it has sold more than 150 million of the dolls so far, and Larian said he sees the movie -- which premieres on August 3 -- boosting demand, sending yearly sales up from anywhere between 50 and 100 percent.

Bratz is currently seeing "double-digit" sales growth, Larian told Reuters in an interview.

But the dolls have frequently been mentioned as a culprit in recent campaigns to limit young girls' exposure to sexual imagery.

Earlier this year, the American Psychological Association cited Bratz for "sexualized clothing" in its report on the effect inappropriate marketing has on the minds of young girls.

And last year, a survey of more than 1,000 mothers with daughters aged 4 to 9 commissioned by AG Properties -- which owns the Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and Holly Hobby properties -- found that 80 percent thought today's dolls are too provocative for young girls.

But Larian refutes such criticism and said the movie, a live-action film about four teenage girls from different backgrounds, should clarify widespread misperceptions about his toy line.

"Bratz are about teaching and education. If you go on our Web site you see they talk about doing homework and getting your education," Larian said. "Bratz have always been wholesome and they have always promoted diversity, which frankly, a lot of other toy companies were afraid to do."