Full disclosure: I am kind of fond of the Bratz. I once made a career chronicling Mattel's desperate attempts to compete with them and whichever southern Chinese children Bratz manufacturer MGA Entertainment finds to sew their little belts and handbags are a lot more talented than the ones who made my crappy Barbie stilettos. Which is good, because according to this segment from the television today about the Bratz movie, American children are falling behind on the whole "skills to arm us for the global economy" front because they are all so occupied "finding themselves" and "dealing with real girl problems." Like going shopping and trying on makeup!

The Today Show [MSNBC]