#i'll probably never fully rewatch most of these (for various reasons) except for “remember me” and maybe “santa's slay” x))

[notonlymice]

the best girls (my opinion) (movies only)

[crisp-sweet-pink-lady]

Summer of Strawberry Shortcake: The World of Strawberry Shortcake

Ever since Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City season one was fully released on Netflix, I've been wanting to go back and rewatch all the various SSC cartoons in order, starting with the specials from the 80s, and share my thoughts on them as I go. Some of these I've watched relatively recently, some I haven't seen in a while, and some I only ever watched the one time, so it'll be interesting to see what stuck with me over the years, and what I completely forgot about.

I decided to start in June, mostly because my hometown always had a strawberry festival in June, so I've come to associate that month with strawberries. And I didn't plan this at all, but apparently today is National Strawberry Shortcake Day, so it's the perfect day to get started.

Without further ado, here are some thoughts on The World of Strawberry Shortcake, the very first Strawberry Shortcake special from back in 1980.

Growing up, I had all the SSC specials taped off of TV (except for the last one), but not in order (Housewarming Surprise was actually the first one on the tape), so I didn't even realize it was the first one until many years later. Not that it truly makes a difference which special is first or last when you get right down to it. This plot (The Peculiar Purple Pieman taking advantage of Strawberry Shortcake's birthday to get his hands on all the berries in Strawberyland) could have happened at any point in the 80s specials timeline, really, though if it happened later Sour Grapes would have had to be added to the mix.

That said, it's interesting to see how many things were introduced here that never came back again (as far as I recall, and I may be proved wrong): the Peculiar Purple Pieman just straight up having magic powers, Lucky Bug, Apple Dumpling's writing only being understood by Blueberry Muffin, and of course, all the rhyming! I was originally going to wait until after I rewatched the first special to make a post connecting the fact that The Peculiar Purple Pieman in BitBC is voiced by the same VA as Johnnycake Cobbler, who speaks exclusively in rhyme, just like The Peculiar Purple Pieman did in his first appearance in the 80s, and I'm glad I waited because it turns out almost everyone speaks in rhyme in this special. Definitely did not remember that.

Storywise, the plot has always felt a little disjointed to me, even as a kid, and I never understand surprise party plots that hinge on the other characters straight up abandoning the person the party is for while they set up the party. It's not even particularly relevant to this plot, as even the narrator gets tired of seeing Strawberry so distraught for no real reason and just tells her what to do. Ah well, at least it's only a very short portion of the special.

The songs are catchier than they have any right to be, probably because most of them are by actual pop musicians, Flo & Eddie (originally from The Turtles), who did the music for the next two specials, too.

Being so short, we don't learn too much about any of the characters, but the interactions we do get to see are fun. I'll comment more on the characters after the third special, since I have something I want to say, but want to wait to make sure I'm not misremembering (like with the rhyming).

Overall, an enjoyable special, especially as a first outing for Strawberry Shortcake and her friends.