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Strawberry Shortcake

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This article refers to the doll; for the dessert, see shortcake.
An original Strawberry Shortcake poster

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

File:K-strawberry234.jpg
A contemporary Strawberry Shortcake poster called "Berry Best Friends"

Relaunched characters and their pets

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)