By . Margot Peppers . Most of us remember My Little Pony as a candy-colored horse with a comb to brush its mane, but the modern incarnation is closer to a Barbie than a pony. With each new generation, the plastic toys seem to have longer and skinnier legs, bigger eyes and more human-like traits. In the latest version, as seen in an upcoming straight-to-DVD movie, the ponies morph fully into Equestria Girls - teenage girl versions of the animals in high school. Scroll down for video . Transformation: Applejack, one of the original My Little Ponies released in 1983 (left), gets a human, Barbie-like makeover as an Equestria Girl (right) in an upcoming DVD movie . The Equestria Girls sport the ponies' signature rainbow-colored manes, and they even have matching tails. But in their human form, they also all have tiny waists and Barbie-like proportions, with somewhat risque outfits that feature miniskirts, tight tops and knee-high boots. Some have criticized Hasbro, the . company that produces My Little Pony, for taking the toys' transformation to this extreme, morphing them into characters that . resemble Bratz. One commenter wrote on Twitter: 'My Little Pony is becoming human! Beyond creepy.' Another concerned fan of the classic . toys wrote: 'In the My Little Pony movie they turn into people - what . are you doing? I don't want my little human, I might as well watch 16 . and pregnant.' And Karen Lau, a mom from New York City, told the New York Daily News that the modern takes on My Little Pony are too hot to trot. Equestria Girls: Some have criticized Hasbro for taking the transformation of My Little Ponys to this extreme, morphing them into characters that resemble Bratz . 'They look like the Spice Girls,' she said. 'They're a little too sexy. It's an image I don't want my daughters to grow up with.' But John A Frascotti, the chief marketing . officer at Hasbro, has defended the make-over, explaining that humanizing the animals . was a necessary move from a business perspective. 'They look like Spice Girls, a little too sexy - not an image I want my daughters to grow up with' 'We . are responding to the desire by our fans to experience the brand in . more ways,' he told the New York Times. 'They imagined themselves as which pony they would . be or which pony they identified with the most.' The new movie will follow Twilight Sparkle, a princess pony, who travels to the human world through a magical mirror. At a human-inhabited high school, Twilight Sparkle runs for Fall Formal Princess - essentially a form of Prom Queen - so she can win back the magical crown that rightfully belongs to her. Longer and leaner: A 1990 version of Pina Colada (left), and Apple Pie in 2002 (right) Evolution: In 2008, Cheerilee has a unicorn horn and a flowing pink mane (left). Generation 4 Fluttersy (right), launched in 2010, has wings and a button nose that looks nothing like that of a horse . This isn't the first time the ponies have undergone a dramatic transformation. The first generation of My Little Pony was the most similar to a real horse, with haunches, hooves and a mane - albeit a baby pink one. In 1989, the ponies were given more human-like smiles, as well as longer legs and hair. TV series Friendship Is Magic debuted in 2010. This saw the animals with longer legs, skinnier builds and big, anime-style eyes. Equestria Girls will be released on DVD on August 24, and will be broadcast on the Hub Network on September 1. WATCH: Trailer for My Little Pony - Equestria Girls .
Some have criticized Hasbro for morphing the animals into 'sexualized' characters that resemble Barbies or Bratz .
By . Margot Peppers . Most of us remember My Little Pony as a candy-colored horse with a comb to brush its mane, but the modern incarnation is closer to a Barbie than a pony. With each new generation, the plastic toys seem to have longer and skinnier legs, bigger eyes and more human-like traits. In the latest version, as seen in an upcoming straight-to-DVD movie, the ponies morph fully into Equestria Girls - teenage girl versions of the animals in high school. Scroll down for video . Transformation: Applejack, one of the original My Little Ponies released in 1983 (left), gets a human, Barbie-like makeover as an Equestria Girl (right) in an upcoming DVD movie . The Equestria Girls sport the ponies' signature rainbow-colored manes, and they even have matching tails. But in their human form, they also all have tiny waists and Barbie-like proportions, with somewhat risque outfits that feature miniskirts, tight tops and knee-high boots. Some have criticized Hasbro, the . company that produces My Little Pony, for taking the toys' transformation to this extreme, morphing them into characters that . resemble Bratz. One commenter wrote on Twitter: 'My Little Pony is becoming human! Beyond creepy.' Another concerned fan of the classic . toys wrote: 'In the My Little Pony movie they turn into people - what . are you doing? I don't want my little human, I might as well watch 16 . and pregnant.' And Karen Lau, a mom from New York City, told the New York Daily News that the modern takes on My Little Pony are too hot to trot. Equestria Girls: Some have criticized Hasbro for taking the transformation of My Little Ponys to this extreme, morphing them into characters that resemble Bratz . 'They look like the Spice Girls,' she said. 'They're a little too sexy. It's an image I don't want my daughters to grow up with.' But John A Frascotti, the chief marketing . officer at Hasbro, has defended the make-over, explaining that humanizing the animals . was a necessary move from a business perspective. 'They look like Spice Girls, a little too sexy - not an image I want my daughters to grow up with' 'We . are responding to the desire by our fans to experience the brand in . more ways,' he told the New York Times. 'They imagined themselves as which pony they would . be or which pony they identified with the most.' The new movie will follow Twilight Sparkle, a princess pony, who travels to the human world through a magical mirror. At a human-inhabited high school, Twilight Sparkle runs for Fall Formal Princess - essentially a form of Prom Queen - so she can win back the magical crown that rightfully belongs to her. Longer and leaner: A 1990 version of Pina Colada (left), and Apple Pie in 2002 (right) Evolution: In 2008, Cheerilee has a unicorn horn and a flowing pink mane (left). Generation 4 Fluttersy (right), launched in 2010, has wings and a button nose that looks nothing like that of a horse . This isn't the first time the ponies have undergone a dramatic transformation. The first generation of My Little Pony was the most similar to a real horse, with haunches, hooves and a mane - albeit a baby pink one. In 1989, the ponies were given more human-like smiles, as well as longer legs and hair. TV series Friendship Is Magic debuted in 2010. This saw the animals with longer legs, skinnier builds and big, anime-style eyes. Equestria Girls will be released on DVD on August 24, and will be broadcast on the Hub Network on September 1. WATCH: Trailer for My Little Pony - Equestria Girls .
boots. Some have criticized Hasbro, the . company them into characters that . resemble Bratz. One have criticized Hasbro for taking the