NEW YORK (AP) — Love her or loathe her, Barbie has been transformed again, this time into a version for children as young as 3.

Gone is the contentious hourglass figure for My First Barbie, which launched Thursday ahead of July's live-action film about the icon starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

The slightly softer-bodied Barbie follows on the high heels of tall, petite and curvy iterations that were released five years ago in a massive makeover.

My First Barbie is 13.5 inches tall, 2 inches taller than traditional Babs, with a larger waist that de-emphasizes the bust line (it remains in place, however), and flesh-tone modesty undergarments permanently attached.

Her fashion is more kid-like, with playful heart, star and flower designs on jammies and flouncy preschool-friendly dresses and swim gear. Her accessories are larger for littler hands, and her hair is extra long for easier brushing.

My First Barbie's limbs are moveable, like some past versions of the doll, and her facial features remain recognizable. A huge milestone: Her fingers and thumbs are connected, eliminating a frequent complaint that Barbie's hands get caught in her clothes when children try to put them on.

Lisa McKnight, a Mattel executive vice president and global head of Barbie and dolls, told The Associated Press the company created the new version in response to feedback from parents.

“We talk to parents and kids almost 365 days a year,” she said. “We started hearing a theme around younger kids wanting to play with Barbie. Parents were concerned that their children at the preschool age didn’t have the fine motor skills to have a positive play experience with our traditional fashion doll.”

The first rollout of the new doll includes four diverse skin tones and hair textures.

Critics of 63-year-old Barbie, intended to symbolize a girl in her late teens, have long cited her dimensions as promoting unattainable, sexualized body standards for girls. My First Barbie, at a price point of $19.99, goes a long way in eliminating that issue.

McKnight wouldn’t directly address the criticism or whether My First Barbie has a place in turning around that negative view.

Research is mixed on whether Barbie's bad rap on body issues and her adult-leaning fashion sense have any impact on children, said Jody LeVos, once a leader of Mattel's child development and learning team and now chief learning officer for Begin, a company that creates learning apps and other educational fare for kids.

Among parents, she said, “there's a big nostalgia factor” when it comes to Barbie.

“I don’t think there's one specific doll that’s most appropriate. I think doll play allows children to really practice storytelling skills, perspective taking and social interactions,” LeVos said.

The Barbie line’s overall sales have soared in recent years after a period of decline in 2013.

Joaniko Kohchi, director for Adelphi University’s Institute for Parenting, questioned Mattel's motives.

“If we’re going to think about Mattel guiding our choices then we have already kind of limited them,” she said.

McKnight made it clear that My First Barbie will not be a separate, parallel Barbie universe. She said new content featuring the doll will hit Barbie's YouTube channel later this month, with an animated special about the planning of a surprise party.

Andrea Werner, a pediatric occupational therapist in West Hartford, Connecticut, and mother of a preschooler and an infant, supports doll play as developmentally valuable.

“There are plenty of dolls on the market,” she said. “Companies will always be trying to sell consumers the next best thing.”

Kohchi isn't entirely sold on My First Barbie as appropriate.

“We know that if you’re going to hand a child an image and say, this is beauty or this is wonderful or look how pretty that is, it should resemble the child a little bit more closely,” she said. “It’s certainly still a little older than a preschooler.”

There are some privacy concerns around certain toys kids may have gotten for the holidays, specifically those that incorporate smart tech and ask for specific pieces of information.

Consumer watchdogs with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) say parents should keep an eye on toys or gadgets with a camera or microphone. They also say to watch out for toys that connect to a mobile app or allow children to interact with other users and toys that require a personalized account that stores data.

The USPIRG says one of the most important things parents can do to protect a child's privacy is to help them with the startup process from start to finish.

"Having a strong password for an account is really important, and that's something a child wouldn't think about, so being there from the setup of a smart toy all the way through the process, just so you know what information is given, but also to make sure that you have those safeguards in place is really important," said Hannah Rhodes with USPIRG.

Experts believe more of these smart toys could be on the market soon. Transparency Market Research forecasts that the global smart toy industry will reach nearly $70 billion by 2026.

Many of those toys include some of the same technology used on our smartphones. For instance, Amazon has started creating toys that are Alexa-enabled.

Just with anything that collects information, there is the possibility of a data breach. In some instances, those breaches have already begun.

Cloud Pets, a line of internet-connected toys, has already suffered data breaches because the USPIRG says the company's website wasn't appropriately secured.

However, there are laws in place to protect the online profiles of children.

"The law of the land is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires toy manufacturers to contact parents for consent before collecting any information on a child under the age of 13," Rhodes said. "They also are supposed to allow parents to delete any information if that child is under 13 as well."

Market analysts expect demand for smart toys to be driven mostly by younger parents.

While some were shopping for their Christmas gifts this year, others were stealing.

In fact, you could say this is the story of a real-life Grinch.

Les Fetrow and his wife, Margaret, have been making handmade wooden toys for nearly 20 years.

Their creations are sturdily constructed, beautifully crafted and some of them are even signed.

But what remains in their Wasilla, Alaska, workshop is just a tiny fraction of their inventory. Most of it was stolen last weekend.

"That darn Grinch stole our Christmas," Margaret said.

The couple had finished their sales at a craft fair in Anchorage. They packed everything up into a rented U-Haul and stayed overnight in an Anchorage hotel.

"Monday morning when I got up to go out there and get the truck started... that's when I discovered it was gone, just like that," Les said.

About $17,000 worth of toys were stolen, and that doesn't include the tools or display items that were taken as well. Sadly, it's put an early end to the Fetrow's craft fair season.

"They like our toys, and they want us to be there. But we can't," Margaret said.

The couple says it could be a year or even two before they can replace all their toys.

They have a plea for the person who took their truck.

"Please bring them back, it's our livelihood," Margaret said.

They say the loss isn't their's alone. On Christmas morning, there will be lots of children who are missing out on the toys as well.

The Fetrows say all they want is to get their toys and their tools back, and they're hoping the police will come up with some leads.

But they are also asking people to keep their eyes open in case any of their prized toys turn up for sale.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand —

An emergency call made by a 4-year-old New Zealand boy asking for police to come over and check out his toys prompted a real-life callout and confirmation from an officer that the toys were, indeed, pretty cool.

Police shared audio of the call on social media this week along with a photo of the smiling boy sitting on the hood of a patrol cruiser, noting that while they don't encourage children to call the emergency number, the incident was "too cute not to share.”

The call begins all business: “This is police, where is the emergency?”

There's a pause as the unidentified boy hesitantly says, “Hi," and then “Police lady?”

“Yes," the dispatcher says, switching to a friendlier, singsong tone. "What’s going on?”

“Um, can I tell you something?” the boy asks, and after being told he can, says “I've got some toys for you.”

“You've got some toys for me?” says the dispatcher.

“Yep. Come over and see them,” the boy replies.

A man then gets on the phone confirming the call was a mistake, saying the 4-year-old had been helping out while his mother was sick.

A police dispatch call then goes out, giving the address: “There is a 4-year-old there who is wanting to show police his toys, over.”

“Yeah, I'm one-up, I'll attend to,” responds an officer.

Video below: 9-year-old aspiring cop gets visit from SWAT members, surprise shopping spree

Police said the officer, who they identified only as Constable Kurt, was shown an array of toys at the boy's house in the South Island city of Invercargill.

They said the officer was also able to have a “good, educational chat” about the proper use of the emergency number, which is 111 in New Zealand.

“He did have cool toys,” Constable Kurt reported back after attending the callout, according to police. They added that: “The lucky kid also got to see the patrol car and the officer put the lights on for him, too."

HAMILTON, Ohio — In what has been a difficult year for most people, a Hamilton barbershop is working to put smiles on the faces of kids and their families.

Plush Cuts Barbershop, located in the 800 block of Central Avenue, hosted its sixth annual Christmas toy drive Wednesday. A steady stream of people came into the shop and picked out toys.

Owner Shawn Jarrett said this is the barbershop's biggest toy drive yet.

“We’ve seen a need in the community and the pandemic doesn’t help,” he said.

Jarrett, who grew up in Hamilton and has been in business since 1996, said he feels a deep connection to every kid who walks through his door.

The barbershop collected more than 500 toys, and more than 90 people showed up before noon to pick one.

“I see how hard it is for people," Jarrett said. "Some people can’t afford a haircut, so we want to give people a break.”

Fellow business owners Slim Life Ministries and Singletary Construction helped Jarrett make the toy drive a success. Dozens of Plush Cuts customers also donated to the total as the shop adopted three families this year who had special needs and requests.

“Many families asked for shoes. We even got a bike and other toys with the money," Jarrett said. "This year is bigger than last year. It grows every year and it gets better.”

The makers of some of the most popular toys in the United States sounded the alarm this week about the global shipping crisis and labor shortages limiting their ability to keep stores stocked throughout the fall holiday shopping season.

Two leading toy company CEOs who recently spoke with CNN Business said they fear their supply chain woes and the resulting inflated prices will mean many children won't get the toys they want for Christmas. That's why they're warning parents to get their holiday shopping done early.

"There is going to be a major shortage of toy products this year," MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian told CNN Business. "The demand is going to be there. What is not going to be there is the product to fill the demand."

Larian's privately held company owns and distributes Little Tikes, Rainbow High dolls, Bratz dolls and LOL Surprise!, one of the hottest toy brands of the last few years and the top toy of 2020, according to NPD Group, a leading market research company.

He admitted to being "very frustrated" this week with shipping container companies such as Maersk, who he and other toy industry insiders accused of taking advantage of the global shortage on freight containers by dramatically raising their prices.

"The container that cost $3,200 last year is now $22,000," Larian said. "The installation of raw material and labor has gone up exponentially. We've seen a 23% increase in cost of product in China without the logistics. That is going to translate to higher prices with retail."

Even after paying more to get his products to U.S. shores, Larian said a trucker shortage is preventing him from getting his toys into warehouses and ultimately onto store shelves.

"We've had hundreds of containers on 46 ships sitting in the ocean at the port of LA and Long Beach for the past 30 days," he said. "There are people to unload it, but there are not enough trucks to pick it up."

Basic Fun CEO Jay Foreman expressed a similar frustration this week. Foreman's privately held company owns and distributes Fisher Price toys, Tonka trucks, K'nex and Care Bears among other brands. He said some of his products have been stuck on shipping containers "when those containers can be found." Other Basic Fun toys, he said, are "stacking up" in factories in China, making it harder for him to keep stores stocked in the coming weeks.

"You're going to find various times during the holiday season where the store shelves are going to have empty holes in them," Foreman told CNN Business. "You're going to see constant outages of the key products that consumers are looking for."

A problem, big and small

Executives at Hasbro and Mattel, two of the three largest toymakers in the world along with Lego, told analysts in late July that their companies have secured enough shipping containers to keep up with demand this holiday season, even though they'll have to raise prices to compensate for higher shipping costs.

Consumers can expect price increases of 5% to 10%, according to Jim Silver, CEO of trade publication "Toys, Tots, Pets & More."

"We have the inventories to meet the demand that we need for the second half of the year," Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said during the company's latest earnings call. "It's a little different than past years where direct import could play a bigger role than it has in the past. But again, working with our retailers around the world, we feel, most importantly, we want to meet the high demand."

The toy industry landscape is yet another example of the largest companies winning big and smaller companies losing out during the pandemic recovery, according to industry analyst Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail segment for GlobalData. Saunders said shipping companies cater more to their largest clients, including toymakers Hasbro and Mattel and retail giants Walmart, Target and Amazon.

"The bigger companies that have more money, more economic clout because they place more orders, definitely have more scope to mitigate [supply chain constraints]," Saunders told CNN Business. "Smaller chains just don't have that economic power."

Both Foreman and Larian expressed doubt that even the largest toy makers can keep up with holiday season demand this year due to supply chain limitations.

"Whoever is telling you it's only the small toy companies' problem is full of it," Larian said. "MGA is the fourth-largest toy company. We are not small. The beauty of MGA is we are private, so I can talk to you openly."

Toy sales have continued to flourish throughout the pandemic as parents turn to dolls, Legos and board games to keep their kids entertained while many have been forced to spend more time at home. Pandemic conditions and stimulus money from the federal government resulted in a holiday sales boom last year. James Zahn, senior editor of "Toy Insider," a leading trade publication, said he expects similar success this year provided the Delta variant doesn't force retailers to shutter and stores can keep toys stocked.

"Families have money to spend, and if the toys are available, they're going to buy them," Zahn told CNN Business. "No matter what, kids will still play and parents will do whatever they can to do right by their kids."

Editor’s note: With our coronavirus coverage, our goal is not to alarm you but to equip you with the information you need. We will try to keep things in context and focus on helping you make decisions. See a list of resources and frequently asked questions here.

You've likely noticed items like hand sanitizer, toilet paper and pasta flying off of grocery store shelves, but what are people buying while they’re quarantined at home?

Not surprisingly, online sales during the coronavirus pandemic jumped 25% in just two days (March 13–15) compared to the first 11 days of the month. According to Adobe Analytics research on over a trillion web visits, that spike was driven by online grocery shopping, which saw a more than 100% increase in daily sales. States like California, New Hampshire and Oregon saw the biggest boost in web sales.

The other most popular items people shop for: health products, gym equipment and home supplies.

Retail experts say people are buying to fulfill three main needs - protection, entertainment and connection.

For virus protection, sales of gloves, masks and hand sanitizer surged a staggering 817%. Over the last two months, over-the-counter drug purchases increased by 198% for cold and flu medications and 152% for pain relievers.

Online sales of toilet paper spiked by 186%, and canned foods and shelf-stable food sales increased 69%, according to Adobe.

And after gyms and fitness clubs across the country shut down last month, online orders for workout gear saw a 55% boost, an increase higher than those typically seen after New Year’s Day or just before swimsuit season.

As stay-at-home orders have been issued across the country, people are also shelling out money for easy entertainment like board games, puzzles and video games.

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner says demand for classic board games like Clue, Monopoly, Sorry and Operation have been particularly strong.

Other Hasbro products like Jenga, Connect Four and Play-Doh are also seeing sales soar, Goldner said. The toy-making titan is also planning to launch new products as more people stay inside.

And yes, data also shows that adults are looking for fun during quarantine, too. According to Rolling Stone, sales of certain intimacy items have risen since the pandemic started. But there are pages of articles about that topic elsewhere, so we’ll let you research that trend on your own.