Strawberry Shortcake
- This article refers to the doll; for the dessert, see shortcake.
Strawberry Shortcake is a female doll made by American Greetings. She is made to smell like strawberries. This also includes a toy line of the character's friends and pets.
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 also 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 and DVDs were made featuring the characters.
The Strawberry Shortcake line was relaunched in 1991 and again 2002 with a revamped look done by a different designer.
In 1991, THQ started producing dolls of Strawberry Shortcake and friends, along with their pets. All of the dolls got a makeover, with new clothes, hair, and eyes. Videos and computer games have also been produced, along with clothes, and school accessories.
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 inexplicably 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 (or indeed, were even 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' 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 | originally Pupcake the dog |
Blueberry Muffin | 1980 | Cheesecake the mouse |
Apple Dumplin' | 1980 | originally Tea Time Turtle |
Raspberry Tart | 1980 | Rhubarb the monkey |
Purple Pieman (villain) | 1980 | Berry Bird |
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 |
Sour Grapes (villain) | 1982 | Dregs the snake |
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 |
Raisin Cane (Sour Grapes' niece) | 1985 | Durt the worm |
2005-2006 relaunched characters and DVD voice actors
- Huckleberry Pie - Daniel Canfield and James Street
- Strawberry Shortcake - Sarah Heinke
- Angel Cake - Rachel Ware
- Apple Dumplin' - Katie Labosky
- Peppermint Fizz - Rebecca Noodle
- Orange Blossom - Dejare Barfield
- Ginger Snap - Samantha Triba
- Coco Calypso - Melissa Deni
- Blueberry Muffin - Bianca Heyward
- Rainbow Sherbet - Laura Grimm
- Licorice Whip - Jerry Longe (villain)
- Seaberry Delight - Abbey Lieb
- Crepes Suzette - Caroline Iliff
- Tea Blossom - Marissa Maliani
- Frosty Puff - Samantha Triba
- Tangerina Torta - Caroline Iliff
- Raspberry Torte - Haley Hyden-Soffer
- Lemon Meringue - Mary Waltman
- Purple Pie Man - Cork Ramer (villain)
- Sour Grapes - Bridget Robbins (villain)
Relaunched characters and their pets
- Apple Dumplin' with pet Apple Ducklin
- Strawberry Shortcake with pets Pupcake the dog and Custard the cat
- Ginger Snap with pet Chocolate Chipmunk
- Angel Cake with pet Vanilla Icing the lamb
- Orange Blossom with pet Marmalade the butterfly
- Huckleberry Pie with pet Shoofly the frog
- Peppermint Fizz with pet Cola Chameleon
- Coco Calypso with pet Papaya the parrot
- Licorice Whip with pet Raven - villain
- Blueberry Muffin with pet Cheesecake the mouse
- Seaberry Delight with pet Kiwi the sea turtle
- Rainbow Sherbet with pet Triple Dip the toucan (also called Triple Ripple)
- Lemon Meringue with pet Sourball the skunk
- Raspberry Torte with pet Rhubarb the racoon
- Crepes Suzette with pet Eclair the poodle
- Tea Blossom with pet Marza Panda
- Frosty Puff with pet Freezer Pop the penguin
- Tangerina Torta with pet Banana Bongo the monkey
- Purple Pie Man with pet Berry Bird - villain
- Sour Grapes - villain
- Apricot with pet Hopsalot the bunny (coming in 2007)
Relaunched characters and their homes
- Honey Pie - Honey Pie Pastures
- Strawberry Shortcake and Apple Dumplin' - Strawberryland
- Angel Cake - Cakewalk
- Ginger Snap - Cookie Corners
- Rainbow Sherbet - Punch Bowl Pond
- Coco Calypso - Seaberry Beach
- Seaberry Delight - Seaberry Sea
- Huckleberry Pie - Huckleberry Briar
- Orange Blossom - Orange Blossom Acres
- Peppermint Fizz - Peppermint Place
- Blueberry Muffin - Blueberry Valley
- Licorice Whip - Traveling Horsey Ho-Down Show
- Lemon Meringue - Lemon Lane
- Raspberry Torte - Raspberry Fields
- Crepes Suzette - Chez Crepes in Pearis
- Tea Blossom - Plum Blossom Province
- Frosty Puff - Niceland
- Tangerina Torta - Tangerine Bosque
- Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes - Porcupine Peak
Movies
The following is a list of the released Strawberry Shortcake movies:
- Meet Strawberry Shortcake
- Spring for Strawberry Shortcake
- Berry Merry Christmas
- Get Well Adventure
- Adventures on Ice Cream Island
- Best Pets Yet
- Seaberry Beach Party
- Play Day Surprise
- Moonlight Mysteries
- Dress-up Days
- World of Friends
- Berry Fairy Tales
- Cooking Up Fun (coming Nov. 2006)
- Berry Blossom Festival (coming in Spring 2007)
- The Strawberry Shortcake Sweet Dreams Movie (dvd release coming in February 2007)
Cinema movies
- The Strawberry Shortcake Sweet Dreams Movie (theatrical release in October, 2006)
External links
- Strawberry Shortcake - official site
- Mint Tulip's Garden Tea Party - fan site
- Huckleberry Briar - fan site
- Strawberry Shortcake Convention
- Points of Articulation - toy web site
- Strawberry Shortcake Paradise - fan site