Strawberry Shortcake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article refers to the character; for the dessert, see shortcake.
Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in greeting cards and expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products. The Strawberry Shortcake properties also include a toy line of the character's friends and pets.
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[edit] History
The original design of Strawberry Shortcake and her cat Custard was done in 1977 by Muriel Fahrion during her time as a greeting card illustrator at American Greetings' Juvenile & Humorous card department. After the idea was presented to Bernie Loomis of General Mills and became a licensing entity, Fahrion designed a subsequent thirty-two characters for Those Characters From Cleveland (American Greetings' toy & licensing design division).
Cindy Moyer Patton and Janet Jones designed other later characters of the classic Strawberry Shortcake line. Lyn Edwards was the editor of the line and along with brainstorm group developed the personality profiles and the story line and philosophy. The first doll was a rag doll directed by Muriel Fahrion and created by Susan Trentel, Fahrion's sister.
The Strawberry Shortcake line of characters each had their own fruity or dessert-themed name with clothing to match, and they each had a dessert- or fruit-named pet. Like the Strawberry Shortcake doll, all the other characters' dolls had hair scented to match their dessert theme. The characters lived and played in a magical world known as Strawberryland.
During the 1980s, Strawberry Shortcake became a huge fad. At the time, there were several related products, such as sticker albums, clothes, a videogame for the Atari 2600 [1], and several other products. Several videos were made featuring the characters, one each year between 1980 and 1985, when the fad had apparently waned. Kenner produced no new dolls or toys thereafter.
In 1991, THQ tried reviving the franchise by producing an updated line of Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Strawberry and five of her classic friends each got a makeover, with new clothes, hair, and eyes. However, the line enjoyed at best a modest success, lasting just the one year.
In 2002, the franchise was revived again, this time with a revamped look by a different designer. Also, for the first time ever, a television series with new DVD and VHS (and in certain markets, Video CD) releases was made, along with many strong licensing deals. Bandai (along with KellyToy) was granted the rights to manufacturing the dolls and toys. DiC Entertainment was granted rights in producing the TV series, who sub-licensed the production of videos, DVDs and Video CDs of the series to 20th Century Fox Home Videos (who subsequently licenses the production of the video outside the US to various other licensees). For the first time in almost two decades, new videogames were launched, produced by The American Game Factory for the Nintendo GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS. Educational CD-ROMs for the PC were also produced. The current revival is still running, with the most recent activity being the release of a CGI-animated feature film into the US market as well as games based on the feature film for various different gaming platforms.
In 2006, Playmates Toys picked up the rights to make Strawberry Shortcake figures. The line is named "A World Of Friends". The doll Frosty Puff was new to this line, but, although a good deal of shuffling and re-distribution was made concerning the pets of the re-launched characters, very few of the new dolls were actually merchandised with pets.
[edit] 1980s Friends
The following is a list of the original Strawberry Shortcake's friends and villains with their pets and release dates. There is a bit of "wiggle room" in a few cases, between the introduction of a character, and their release as a toy. For instance, Raspberry Tart (the character) was introduced in 1980, with the first Strawberry Shortcake TV Special, alongside Huckleberry Pie, Apple Dumplin', etc., but wasn't released as a Doll until the next year. The same is true of Strawberry Shortcake's nemesis, The Peculiar Purple Pie Man. Plum Puddin' also debuted in 1980, but would not get a doll until 1984, by which time the character had apparently switched genders, and was now a girl! Moreover, with the exception of Apple Dumplin', Apricot, and The Purple Pie Man, none of the other characters would come packaged with pets (nor indeed, would most of them even be known to HAVE pets) until the 1982 releases, when all the earlier-released characters were re-issued with their animal friends. A couple of the below-listed characters weren't produced as dolls at all, namely T.N. Honey, Raisin Cane, and Baby Needs-A-Name, who was only made as a larger-sized "Blow-Kiss" baby doll. Raisin Cane was introduced as the niece of villainess Sour Grapes in Issue #1 of Star Comics' (an imprint of Marvel Comics) short-lived Strawberry Shortcake Comic Book, and, as far as is known, was never considered for any kind of commercial merchandising.
| Friend | Introduction | Pet |
|---|---|---|
| Huckleberry Pie | 1980 | Pupcake the dog |
| Blueberry Muffin | 1980 | Cheesecake the mouse |
| Apple Dumplin' | 1980 | Tea Time Turtle |
| Raspberry Tart | 1980 | Rhubarb the monkey |
| Orange Blossom | 1981 | Marmalade the butterfly |
| Lemon Meringue | 1981 | Frappe the frog |
| Apricot | 1981 | Hopsalot Bunny |
| T. N. Honey | 1981 | No known pet |
| Butter Cookie | 1982 | Jelly Bear |
| Lime Chiffon | 1982 | Parfait the parrot |
| Cherry Cuddler | 1982 | Gooseberry |
| Angel Cake | 1982 | Souffle' the skunk |
| Almond Tea | 1983 | Marza Panda |
| Café Ole’ | 1983 | Burrito the burro |
| Crêpe Suzette | 1983 | Éclair the poodle |
| Mint Tulip | 1983 | Marsh Mallard the duck |
| Lem n' Ada(twins) | 1983 | Sugar Woofer |
| Peach Blush | 1984 | Melonie Belle the lamb |
| Plum Puddin' | 1984 | Elderberry Owl |
| Baby Needs-A-Name | 1984 | Fig Boot |
| Banana Twirl | 1985 | No known pet[1] |
- ^ Prototype toys of a line of "Baby Pets", from a projected (but unproduced) line of Strawberry Shortcake "Babies" dolls, apparently planned for release in 1986, are known to exist. Included in this line-up are infant versions of Custard, Marmalade, Marsh Mallard, Elderberry, Melonie Belle, Cheesecake, Frappe', and an otherwise unheard-of yellow baby elephant. Since five of these eight pets correspond to the girls featured in 1985 "Berrykins" Assortment of dolls (Strawberry, Orange Blossom, Mint Tulip, Plum Puddin' and Peach Blush), it appears that the unknown pet may be associated with the sixth Berrykins Doll, Banana Twirl.
| Villain | Introduction | Pet |
|---|---|---|
| The Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak | 1980 | Berry Bird |
| Sour Grapes | 1982 | Dregs the snake |
| Raisin Cane | 1985 | Durt the worm |
[edit] 1980s toys
- Berry Bake Shoppe
- Garden House Gazebo
- Berry Cycle
- Carrousel
- Big Berry Trolley
- Flitterbit the Butterfly
- Berry Merry Worm
- Berry Happy Home
- Maple Stirrup and the Oatsmobile
- Snail Cart
[edit] 2002-current relaunched characters and DVD voice actors
| Character | Voice Actor |
|---|---|
| Strawberry Shortcake | Sarah Heinke |
| Custard the cat | Sarah Koslosky Anna Jordan |
| Pupcake the dog | Nils Haaland |
| Apple Dumplin' | Katie Labosky |
| Angel Cake | Rachel Ware |
| Ginger Snap | Samantha Triba |
| Huckleberry Pie | Daniel Canfield James Street |
| Blueberry Muffin | Bianca Heyward |
| Peppermint Fizz | Rebecca Noodle |
| Orange Blossom | Dejare Barfield |
| Coco Calypso | Melissa Deni |
| Rainbow Sherbet | Laura Grimm |
| Seaberry Delight | Abigail Leib |
| Crepes Suzette | Caroline Iliff |
| Tea Blossom | Marissa Maliani |
| Frosty Puff | Samantha Triba |
| Tangerina Torta | Caroline Iliff Dana Donlan |
| Raspberry Torte | Haley Hyden-Soffer |
| Lemon Meringue | Mary Waltman |
| Peculiar Purple Pie Man (villain) | Cork Ramer |
| Licorice Whip (villain) | Jerry Longe |
| Sour Grapes (villain) | Bridget Robbins |
[edit] Relaunched characters and their pets, and homes
A little revamping took place at the characters' relaunch. Both Pupcake and Custard now belong to Strawberry Shortcake. In Pupcake's place, a new pet, Shoofly Frog, was introduced as Huckleberry Pie's pet. And Apple Dumplin' was relaunched as Strawberry Shortcake's sister. Also, Strawberryland is now divided into "districts" like Cakewalk, Orange Blossom Acres, Huckleberry Briar and Cookie Corners.
| Character | Pet(s) | Home | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strawberry Shortcake | Custard the cat and Pupcake the dog | Strawberryland | |
| Apple Dumplin' | Apple Ducklin' | Strawberryland | Re-introduced as Strawberry Shortcake's little sister |
| Ginger Snap | Chocolate Chipmunk | Cookie Corners | |
| Angel Cake | Vanilla Icing the lamb | Cakewalk | |
| Orange Blossom | Marmalade the butterfly | Orange Blossom Acres | |
| Huckleberry Pie | Shoofly the frog | Huckleberry Briar | |
| Peppermint Fizz | Cola Chameleon | Peppermint Place | |
| Coco Calypso | Papaya Parrot | Seaberry Beach | |
| Blueberry Muffin | Cheesecake the mouse | Blueberry Valley | |
| Rainbow Sherbet | Triple Ripple the toucan | Punch Bowl Pond | Pet also sometimes called Triple Dip or even Triple Treat |
| Seaberry Delight | Kiwi the sea turtle | Seaberry Sea | |
| Lemon Meringue | Sourball the skunk | Lemon Lane | |
| Raspberry Torte | Rhubarb the racoon | Raspberry Fields | |
| Crepes Suzette | Eclair the poodle | Chez Crepes in Pearis | |
| Tea Blossom | Marza Panda | Plum Blossom Province | |
| Tangerina Torta | Banana Bongo the monkey | Tangerine Bosque | |
| Frosty Puff | Freezer Pop the penguin | Niceland | |
| Apricot | Hopsalot the bunny | TBA | |
| Cherry Cuddler | Gooseberry (TBA, not yet finalized) | Pearis(tba, not yet finalized) |
| Villains | Pet(s) | Home | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licorice Whip | Raven | Traveling Horsey Hoedown Show | introduced in the Adventures on Ice Cream Island DVD/episode |
| Peculiar Purple Pie Man | Berry Bird | Porcupine Peak | re-introduced in the Sweet Dreams movie |
| Sour Grapes | Dregs the snake | Porcupine Peak | re-introduced in the Sweet Dreams movie as The Peculiar Purple Pie Man's sister. Dregs is re-introduced in the "Berry Blossom Festival" movie/dvd. |
[edit] Strawberryland Fillies
| Filly | Friend of | Home | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honey Pie Pony | Strawberry Shortcake | Honey Pie Pastures | Has a friend/pet named Honey Doodle the bee. |
| Cookie Dough | Ginger Snap | Ice Cream Island | |
| Milkshake | Angel Cake | Ice Cream Island | |
| Orange Twist | Orange Blossom | Ice Cream Island | |
| Huckleberry Hash | Huckleberry Pie | Ice Cream Island | |
| Cherry Vanilla | Peppermint Fizz | Ice Cream Island | |
| Spumoni | Coco Calypso | Ice Cream Island | |
| Blueberry Sundae | Blueberry Muffin | Ice Cream Island | |
| Pistachio | Seaberry Delight | Ice Cream Island | |
| Butter Pecan | Rainbow Sherbet | Ice Cream Island | |
| Lemon Ice | Lemon Meringue | Ice Cream Island | |
| Raspberry Ripple | Raspberry Torte | Ice Cream Island | |
| Ambrosia | Cinnamon Forest | a magical unicorn in some of the stories told by the friends |
[edit] Movies, the TV show and specials
[edit] 1980s television specials
In the early 1980s, there were six television specials starring Strawberry Shortcake. The first three were made by Romeo Muller and Fred Wolf, and the rest were produced by the Canadian company Nelvana. Russi Taylor provided the voice of Strawberry Shortcake for all six specials.
| Special | Release Year |
|---|---|
| The World of Strawberry Shortcake | 3/1/1980 |
| Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City | 10/10/1981 |
| Strawberry Shortcake: Pets on Parade | (1982) |
| Strawberry Shortcake: Housewarming Surprise | (1983) |
| Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name | (1984) |
| Strawberry Shortcake Meets the Berrykins | (1985) |
As of February 2007, it has been announced that The World of Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City and Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name will be re-released on DVD.
[edit] 2000s TV series
In 2003, almost two decades after the last special aired, Strawberry Shortcake finally got her own TV show, animated and produced by DIC Entertainment. At present, there are 20 episodes released[2]. They have been released by Fox on DVD and VHS (and on VideoCD in certain markets by various Fox Licensees) as well (see below), and currently air on select networks worldwide.
[edit] 2000s Episodes
| # | Episode | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | Meet Strawberry Shortcake | 3/11/2003 | 45 minutes length, broadcast version either edited to 22 minutes, or presented as a two-parter |
| 3/4 | Spring for Strawberry Shortcake | 3/11/2003 | 45 minutes length, broadcast version either edited to 22 minutes, or presented as a two-parter |
| 5/6 | Get Well Adventure | 10/14/2003 | 45 minutes length, broadcast version either edited to 22 minutes, or presented as a two-parter. Released in the UK as Horse Tales |
| 7/8 | Berry, Merry Christmas | 10/14/2003 | 45 minutes length, broadcast version either edited to 22 minutes, or presented as a two-parter |
| 9 | Horse of a Different Color | 8/31/2004 | New opening sequence from previous 4/8 episodes, shorter credit sequence. The voice of Huckleberry Pie has changed from Daniel Canfield to James Street for the rest of the series. Also, the voice of Custard the Cat has changed from Sarah Koslosky to Anna Jordan for the rest of the series. |
| 10 | Festival of the Fillies | 8/31/2004 | |
| 11 | Here Comes Pupcake | 8/31/2004 | |
| 12 | Peppermint’s Pet Peeve | 8/31/2004 | |
| 13 | Angel Cake in the Outfield | 2/15/2005 | |
| 14 | Win Some, Lose Some | 2/15/2005 | |
| 15 | The Mystery of Seaberry Shore | 2/15/2005 | |
| 16 | Legend of the Lost Treasure | 2/15/2005 | |
| 17 | Ginger Snap’s No-Light Night of Fright | 8/30/2005 | |
| 18 | The Blueberry Beast | 8/30/2005 | |
| 19 | The Play’s the Thing | 10/18/2005 | |
| 20 | The Costume Party | 10/18/2005 | |
| 21 | A Trip to Pearis, France | 2/7/2006 | Alternative title: The Friendship Club, New opening sequence from previous episodes, credit sequence no longer includes a thumbnail version of the opening theme sequence. |
| 22 | The Great Friendship Festival | 2/7/2006 | Alternative title: A Festival of Friends |
| 23 | When the Berry Fairy Came to Stay | 8/22/2006 | |
| 24 | The Legend of Sherry Bobbleberry | 8/22/2006 | |
| 25 | Baby Takes the Cake | 11/14/2006 | |
| 26 | Piece of Cake | 11/14/2006 |
[edit] 2000s Home Video releases
Shortly after the premiere of the TV series, 20th Century Fox has released Strawberry Shortcake episodes from the new show on DVD (the first few episodes were also released on VHS and bundled with certain toys). They are also released in VideoCD format by various fourth party licensees in certain markets.
The first four videos contains only one story but runs for twice the length of the broadcast version of the episode in some markets (other market shows the episode on the first four videos in two parts). It is thought that these episodes were initially created for video and then edited down (or split up) for broadcast. Subsequent videos in the series have two 22-minute episodes in one video.
| # | Video (VHS/DVD/VCD) | Release Date | Stories | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meet Strawberry Shortcake | 3/11/2003 | Meet Strawberry Shortcake | 45-minute story |
| 2 | Spring for Strawberry Shortcake | 3/11/2003 | Spring for Strawberry Shortcake | 45-minute story |
| 3 | Berry, Merry Christmas | 10/14/2003 | Berry, Merry Christmas | 45-minute story |
| 4 | Get Well Adventure | 10/14/2003 | Get Well Adventure | 45-minute story, Released in the UK as Horse Tales |
| 5 | Adventures on Ice Cream Island | 8/31/2004 | Horse of a Different Color / Festival of the Fillies |
Villain: Licorice Whip |
| 6 | Best Pets Yet | 8/31/2004 | Here Comes Pupcake / Peppermint’s Pet Peeve |
|
| 7 | Seaberry Beach Party | 2/15/2005 | The Mystery of Seaberry Shore / Legend of the Lost Treasure |
|
| 8 | Play Day Surprise | 2/15/2005 | Angel Cake in the Outfield / Win Some, Lose Some |
|
| 9 | Moonlight Mysteries | 8/30/2005 | Ginger Snap’s No-Light Night of Fright / The Blueberry Beast |
|
| 10 | Dress-up Days | 10/18/2005 | The Play’s the Thing / The Costume Party |
|
| 11 | World of Friends | 2/7/2006 | A Trip to Pearis, France / The Great Friendship Festival |
Alt titles: The Friendship Club / A Festival of Friends |
| 12 | Berry Fairy Tales | 8/22/2006 | When the Berry Fairy Came to Stay / The Legend of Sherry Bobbleberry |
|
| 13 | Cooking Up Fun | 11/14/2006 | Baby Takes the Cake / Piece of Cake |
|
| 14 | The Sweet Dreams Movie | 2/6/2007 | The Sweet Dreams Movie | Villains: The Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes |
| 15 | Berry Blossom Festival | 5/1/2007 | Previously announced to be released on DVD in Spring 2007, the DVD is revamped into an animated feature and is currently showing at selected cineplexes across the US. According to Amazon, it will eventually be released on DVD on May 1st, 2007. The Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes also appears in this feature. | |
| 16 | Let's Dance | Oct. 2007 | According to DIC, this latest dvd is slated for release in Oct. 2007 |
[edit] Short
A five-minute Strawberry Shortcake short, "Growing Better All The Time", is available exclusively in the Care Bears: Daydreams DVD (released September 27, 2005) as a bonus feature.
[edit] Game Boy Advance Video
Majesco has also released Strawberry Shortcake episodes as a Game Boy Advance Video cartridge:
- Strawberry Shortcake Volume 1
- Meet Strawberry Shortcake
- Spring for Strawberry Shortcake
- Note: The episodes released on GameBoy Advance Video are the 22-minute edited broadcast version of the episodes (some markets show these episodes as a two-parter without cutting off scenes instead), unlike the video versions which are 45 minutes in length each. Presumably this decision was made to keep the costs of producing the cartridges down (as the need for higher density memory chips would drive the cost of the cartridge up). As a result, two songs and a significant number of scenes from "Meet Strawberry Shortcake", as well as a song and half of the scenes from "Spring for Strawberry Shortcake" were missing from the GBA Video release if compared to the other videos.
[edit] Theatrically-released feature film
In October 2006, the first Strawberry Shortcake film, The Sweet Dreams Movie, was released in select cities by Kidtoon Films. The Peculiar Purple Pie-Man of Porcupine Peak and Sour Grapes, which were notably absent from the TV series, are re-introduced in the movie. However, Sour Grapes is re-introduced as Purple Pieman's sister in materials related to the Sweet Dreams Movie. The movie premiered on DVD on February 6, 2007.
[edit] Criticisms
[edit] Inconsistencies
A criticism from long-time fans is the inconsistency of characters, pets, scents, etc. that exists between the vintage franchise from the 1980s and the current franchise. Some examples are:
Character names - Raspberry Tart's name was changed to Raspberry Torte. Almond Tea's name was changed to Tea Blossom.
Pets - Pupcake now belongs to Strawberry instead of Huck (who now has Shoofly Frog). Angel Cake no longer has Souffle skunk, but instead Vanilla Icing. Lemon Meringue's pet frog, Frappe, is replaced by Sourball the skunk (possibly explained by the switching of Souffle skunk to Vanilla Icing for Angel Cake). Apple Dumplin's turtle, Teatime, is replaced by Apple Ducklin'. And maybe oddest of all is Rhubarb's (Raspberry's pet) change from a monkey to a raccoon. This might be explained by the existence of Banana Bongo (Tangerina Torta's monkey), although Banana Bongo himself was originally introduced as the leader of a monkey band on Seaberry Beach during the story introducing Coco Calypso and Seaberry Delight.
Relationships - Previously unmentioned sibling pairs keep popping up, such as Strawberry Shortcake and Apple Dumplin' and The Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes. There is also some confusion about the relationship between Crepes Suzette and the younger, recently-introduced Cherry Cuddler. Both have cherry scents and early promotional materials indicated that they are sisters. However, the box for the Playmates doll set indicates they are merely friends.
Scents - Playmates' introduction of the 2006 toy line is very loose with the linked scents that have been traditional in this franchise. Examples include cherry used for Crepes Suzette, Grape used for Tea Blossom, etc. While some consider the scent mixing and blending to be part of the fun, it is also criticized for taking some of the unique and distinct personalities and associations away from each individual character.
Fillies/Ponies - In early 2007, Playmates introduced three new ponies, but these are different from the previous Strawberryland Fillies. The ponies belong to Strawberry Shortcake, Angel Cake, and Crepes Suzette, and are aligned with the Berries to Blossoms doll line. The Honey Pie Pony and Milkshake names are not used and neither pony looks like the fillies previously linked to Strawberry and Angel. The new ponies are not given names of their own.
Character designs - Many feel that the Playmates line of dolls does not look anything like the characters on TV or the other materials at all. Likewise, some eBay-savvy fans recently found a line of Baby Strawberry Shortcake dolls from South America that not only look nothing like the other Baby Strawberry Shortcake materials or the episode "Baby Takes the Cake", but even remind some fans of Psygnosis' Lemmings games[3].
[edit] The TV show and the movie
Some people were disappointed with the absence of The Purple Pie Man in the TV series. However, others applauded the removal of villains from the series with the latter preferring that the series being kept in its current format: a real-life adventure type of edutainment program along the lines of Arthur and Caillou. Two camps clearly exist on this issue: There are fans (adults and children alike) that love the inclusion of antagonists such as Purple Pie Man, Sour Grapes and Licorice Whip. These fans want to continue to see more of them in movies, books, and toys. However, there are others (possibly either non-fans, people who're unfamiliar with the franchise, people who're real-life-adventure-type edutainment programming fans who've taken a liking to the new version of the franchise, people who're only familiar with the current version of the franchise and people who disliked the original franchise due to the villains or various other attributes but found redemption in the new version of the franchise) who feel that the inclusion (or in the latter case, re-inclusion) of villains in the show take away from the primary focus on Strawberry and her friends as well as erode the educational content of the show, and would prefer the show and franchise be kept villain-free.
[edit] American McGee's Strawberry Shortcake
In 2003, webcomic Penny Arcade posted an "advertisement" for an imaginary computer game, American McGee's Strawberry Shortcake, in reference to American McGee's Alice - a twisted and violent take on Lewis Carroll's works. American Greetings took offense to the parody and issued a cease-and-desist letter, to which the authors begrudgingly complied [4] - but not without making their indignation very clear [5].
Some argue that Penny Arcade's case was not covered under the fair use doctrine because the use of the characters in this case was for satire [6]; they claim that fair use only protects the unauthorized use of copyrighted characters in parodies of the original material, and that satire and parody are totally different concepts. Others, however, take the view that parody and satire are equally protected by law [7].
Regardless of the legality of either side's actions, this brief altercation is likely to have caused damage to American Greetings far beyond what the removed piece could have done by itself; given the webcomic's immense popularity (amplified by an article of the lawsuit appearing on Slashdot - a news site with a very large readership base and whose majority of readers are for fair use and against the likes of DRM and copy protection), American Greetings made itself look to many eyes as overzealous as Mattel in the protection of their properties, to the point of being capable of trampling artistic expression. [8] [9][10] [11]
[edit] External links
- Strawberry Shortcake - official site
- Mint Tulip's Garden Tea Party - fan site
- Huckleberry Briar - fan site
- Strawberry Shortcake Guide - fan site.
- Strawberry Shortcake Convention
- Points of Articulation - toy web site
- Strawberry Shortcake Paradise - fan site
- Pink Lemonade Sea - fan site
