Bratz pack

Don’t be fooled by preteen film’s PG rating: Bratz is insidious | John Dawson

Woe to young men in America. To the extent that the worldview espoused in the theatrical release of Bratz and the billion-dollar toy franchise introduced in 2001 takes hold among preteen girls, its target audience, young men looking to marry in the next two decades may be in for trouble.

Bratz earned a PG rating from the MPAA for "thematic elements"—the MPAA's catch-all phrase—but the rating doesn't give the full story on just how insidious Bratz can be. Boston Globe reviewer Ty Burr sarcastically advised parents to rent a copy of Midnight Cowboy as a less damaging alternative to the Sean McNamara film.

The Bratz story begins the first day of high school with four incoming freshman girls who video conference at 7 a.m. using iChat to coordinate important issues like what they will wear and how they will make a glorious entrance into school.