Strawberry Shortcake Meets the Berrykins was the sixth and final made for TV Movie Special. It was released in 1985.
It was the last of Strawberry Shortcake until 1991 when DiC tried to revive the series.
Strawberry Shortcake Meets The Berrykins - 1985
Premise
When a horrible smelling cloud covers Strawberryland, Strawberry enlists the help of the Strawberry Princess and the Berrykins.
Summary
Mr. Sun greets the audience and takes in the scent of the berries as he reveals that Strawberry and all of her berry friends are preparing for their first annual garden party.
Strawberry goes over a checklist to make sure they have everything they need while everybody else works on setting up. She suddenly remembers something and introduces her new friend, Banana Twirl to the group. Seeing how lively Banana is, she asks how she can be so energetic- with Banana replying that she thinks of everything as a form exercise or a workout. She surprises Strawberry after admitting to have never heard of berry hunting before, and Strawberry explains that for this annual party, everyone searches for a special berry to use and they put it into the special object that holds each and every special berry they find. As everyone heads off, she reminds them to only bring back the berry best.
A while later everyone returns as Mr. Sun explains that they are almost finished. By now Strawberry has changed into a cute party dress and plays with her hair as she observes herself in a mirror. She thinks she looks nice, but she imagines how she would look when she's older, singing a song to herself.
After tying a ribbon in her hair she heads outside to find the berry best berry right in front of her. She is surprised, but when she goes back to retrieve it, she finds it missing. Upon reuniting with her friends, they reveal the same has happened to them, causing Peach Blush to point out the unlikelihood that several berries would just walk away by themselves. She then scolds Lime for laughing, but Lime insists it wasn't her.
In a flash of pink light, the berry children are surprised when the Strawberry Princess appears. She greets them and explains that the Berrykins have gone missing. Strawberry asks about them when they hear laughter again, and in this time they notice the berries they found earlier are transforming into small, strange people. The little fruits take shelter beneath the Princess, who gently calms them down and explains how it is her job to raise the fruits within the area, to make sure they grow up to be fragrant and healthy. The little berrykins all help with this; each with his or her own unique scented dust they spray on their specific fruit. The more fragrant the scent, the better the taste.
Before she can explain anything else, a storm breaks out and everyone takes shelter.
Meanwhile, the Peculiar Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes attempt to come up with the worlds best fragrance- with less-than desirable results. Sour Grapes assures the Pieman that by combining the best scents they will succeed. After failing though, the Pieman dumps the foul liquid into a big container that is releasing the foul smelling gasses into Strawberryland. He expresses doubt, wondering if they should keep doing this.
As the rain slows down to a stop the Princess picks up a strawberry and sniffs it, only to drop it in disgust. Confused, Strawberry does the same and remarks that it smells like pizza, and a group of raspberries smell like pretzels and chocolate, another Strawberry smells like popcorn. The Princess decides to locate the cause of this scent predicament and she promises to fix everything and make the fruits smell sweeter than ever before.
Plum points out that they don't have much time though, revealing that the large, smelly cloud that formed over Strawberryland will burst in an hour. It's then she sees Elderberry Owl eating lowers, and Banana Twirl sniffs one to claim it smells like marshmallows. The princess uses her magic to fix it while Strawberry pulls a lemon wedge away from Custard, identifying the scent as catnip.
With that, the princess realizes that the animals don't understand what is going on. In hopes of helping to keep them safe, Strawberry lines them up and tries to teach them by singing a song. Afterwards, the animals, Berrykin, and the girls rush off to get to work while the Princess, Strawberry, and the Strawberry Berrykin go to find the source of the changing scents.
As this is going on, a group of Berrykin come across a stinky crow and spray him with their various, fruity scents when they're unable to decide which one to use. The crow flies into the air before swooping down, grabbing them within its pouch under the assumption their scents would be perfect for the perfume Sour Grapes and the Pieman are working on.
Meanwhile, the trio arrive at the Pieman's window to speak to him; with him instantly being smitten by the Princess. Rather than respond, Strawberry accusingly states that she should have known the fowl smells were because of something he was doing. The Princess tries to calmly talk with the Purple Pieman about the problems the perfume caused in hopes of avoiding a dispute, and he explains that he was trying to come up with an amazing, new scent. He pulls a switch and instantly, the fumes being released into the air stop. The Princess thanks him as they float away on the cloud they used to reach him, and Sour Grapes insults him or being a dimwit. He snaps out of his daze when his crow arrives, releasing the berrykin.
The trio return to update the others, until they explain that a bird stole the berrykin away. Seeing how much darker the cloud and sky have become, they rush back to the Pie Tin home to once again speak to the Purple Pieman. Where it is revealed he has shoved the Berrykin into large salt and pepper shakers to sprinkle their scents in a mixing pot when suddenly he hears the Princess again and quickly gets up to answer. Before he can though, Sour Grapes stops him and she answers the window herself, telling them that they can have the berrykin back once they finish shaking them for all their worth.
By now the Princess isn't willing to play nice like before, and she asks Strawberry for help, saying she would do anything to get back the berrykin. It's then Strawberry gets an idea and sends her Strawberry berrykin into the nearby vent. It manages to find the device the others are being kept within, only to be chased around by the Pieman when he realizes her. She escapes by spraying her strawberry scent and lures him towards the vent, getting him stuck. Seeing the door, Strawberry gets inside and frees the Berrykin while Sour Grapes attempts to free the Pieman. As a result, they both fall into the cauldron of scent.
Everyone else escapes for safety, and the Princess uses her magic to summon strong winds to rid of the horrible scent. Rain begins to pour down on them, but everyone realizes their scents are returning- leaving them delighted as Mr. Sun remarks on how happy he is now that Strawberryland is smelling as sweet as ever. But by now it's getting late, and he yawns while slowly sinking down, allowing evening to wash over the land.
As thanks for their help, the Princess sings a lullaby for everyone, until she sees Strawberry is still awake. Strawberry compliments her song, and she thanks her for all of her help before revealing she must be leaving now. Her job is done, but she asks that Strawberry and her friends watch over the Berrykin while she is away. Strawberry agrees with no hesitation and says goodbye to her as she disappears.
Suddenly, Strawberry notices that her hair is beginning to grow long, and she delightfully takes it as a sign that she is growing up. She thanks the Princess and observes the evening sky as the special comes to an end.
Cast
- Strawberry Shortcake (voiced by Russi Taylor)
- Peculiar Purple Pieman (voiced by Bob Ridgely)
- Sour Grapes (voiced by Jeri Craden)
- Raspberry Tart (voiced by Susan Snooks)
- Blueberry Muffin (voiced by Susan Snooks)
- Lime Chiffon
- Peach Blush (voiced by Susan Roman)
- Orange Blossom (voiced by Laurie Waller)
- Lemon Meringue
- Berry Princess (voiced by Susan Roman)
- Berrykins
- Elderberry Owl
Quotes
Trivia
- Out of all the specials, this one featured the least voice actors used.
- For this special, there was a handful of characters who did not receive merchandise. However, Mint Tulip, who wasn't in the special did.
Goofs
- In the credit scene, Lime pulls out Parfait Parrot out of the lime tree and it's incorrectly colored dark purple.
- During the marching scene in the intro, Lime holds a lemon.
- Also note that while Lemon is present, she does not show up in the line.
- When all of the fruit are sat together, the Lemon turns pink after the orange lands in the pile.
- Lime's colors are inaccurate during the song When I Grow Up, instead of green, her colors appear a dark, dull yellow.
- After picking a plum, the object in Plum Puddin's hand turns into a peach. As they put their fruits on the table it turns into a plum again.
- When Strawberry says, "Well I guess I'll just have to teach them a quick lesson!", her hair clips through her shoulder.
Gallery
