Strawberry Shortcake

**Strawberry Shortcake** is a doll and pop culture character. Before she was a doll and animated character, she was a drawing on greeting cards. The doll has red hair and smells like strawberries. Kenner products created the first Strawberry Shortcake doll in 1979. At that time she resembled a typical rag doll, complete with freckles, a mop of red yarn hair, and a strawberry printed bonnet and a dress with apron, but the unique selling point was that, she smelt of strawberries. The Strawberry Shortcake line of characters each had their own fruit 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.

There was Apple Dumpling, the baby and Raspberry Tart who, in the television programs, was capable of the odd cutting remark. This is what Apple Dumpling looked like back in the 1980s.

She first appeared on cards by American Greetings, and there soon were a series of dolls (each that smell like a different fruit and had a pet) and several TV specials produced by DIC and Nelvana. The characters in the collection from the 1980s were:

*Strawberry Shortcake (with Custard the cat)
*Huckleberry Pie (with Pupcake the dog)
*Apple Dumplin' (with Teatime Turtle)
*Blueberry Muffin (with Cheesecake mouse)
*Raspberry Tart (with Rhubarb monkey)
*Orange Blossom (with Marmalade the butterfly)
*Lemon Meringue (with Frappe the frog)
*Apricot (with Hopsalot the bunny)
*Lime Chiffon (with Parfait Parrot)
*Cherry Cuddler (with Gooseberry the goose)
*Butter Cookie (with Jelly Bear)
*Angel Cake (with Souffle' the skunk)
*Mint Tulip (International friend from the Netherlands, with Marsh Mallard, the duck)
*Crepe Suzette (International friend from France, with Eclair the poodle)
*Cafe Ole (International friend from Mexico, with Burrito the burro)
*Almond Tea (International friend China, with Marza Panda)
*Lem 'n Ada (Twin International friends from the United Kingdom, with Sugar Woofer the dog)
*Plum Puddin' (with Elderberry Owl) - formerly a boy, became a girl
*Peach Blush (with Melonie Belle the lamb)
*Banana Twirl (She always likes to exercise)
*T N' Honey - An English inventor girl
*Purple Pie Man (with Captain Cackle the berry bird) villain man
*Sour Grapes (with snake Dregs) villain woman
*The Berry Princess- a magical woman who helps berries grow and gives them scent

## 2000s revival
In 2003, after other 1980s toys (Care Bears, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, etc.) were brought back for kids and parents who played with them and new line of dolls was released and along with several direct-to-DVD specials. To make her look more modern, she has jeans and a striped sweater. The first season debuted on HBO Family and later, CBS's Saturday Morning cartoon children's block (Kewlopolis). 
The new characters are:
 
*Strawberry Shortcake - with pets Custard and Pupcake; A positive redhead girl who loves taking care of her friends and gardening.
*Apple Dumplin'- with pet Apple Ducklin'; only one or two years old, a toddler who wishes to be independent. 
*Ginger Snap - with pet Chocolate Chipmunk; a cheerful, hyper inventor girl, made a machine to make cookies and gingerbread. She is good at many fields of science.
*Angel Cake - with pet Vanilla Icing the lamb; a picky and bratty artist, who decorates cakes. She doesn't always play fair but still tries to be with her friends.
*Orange Blossom - with pet Marmalade butterfly; Gentle, playful, and always kind, she runs an orange orchard and makes juice. Sometimes she is shy but always brave.
*Huckleberry Pie - with pet Shoofly frog; He acts like a typical boy, he's always outside and skateboarding. He lives in a tree fort he built. 
*Honey Pie Pony; A talking horse Strawberry met. Never stops talking and tells travel stories that are sometimes lies. Strawberry can ride her. 
*Blueberry Muffin - with pet Cheesecake mouse;  A mysterious brunette girl who is imaginative, dramatic and fun. Loves plays, costumes, books and anything pretend play.
*Rainbow Sherbet - with pet Triple Ripple Toucan; A new girl who came in on a houseboat. She plays instruments and sails the sea, she loves adventures. 
*Seaberry Delight - with pet Kiwi Sea Turtle; A very shy human girl who everyone thought was a mermaid. She talks to fish and lives in an ocean cave. 
*Coco Calypso - with pet Papaya Parrot; Strawberry's old friend who moved to an island and is now lonely, loves Seaberry once she met her.
*Peppermint Fizz - with Cola Chameleon; A tough girl who finds it hard to make friends, sometimes rude but likes Strawberry. She plays trumpet
*Lemon Meringue; She is sweet but a little dumb and clueless. She runs a salon in her home. Raspberry is her best friend.
*Raspberry Torte; A sporty tomboy who runs a gym and loves sports, games and fitness. She is sometimes awkward around the other girls because she needs help learning manners since she is usually rowdy and loud.
*Plum Puddin'; A shy and nerdy girl who wears glasses. She clumsy and falls a lot. She likes photography, and science.
*Apricot - with Hopsalot Bunny; She is younger than the other girls and made up stories and lied to seem cool. 
*Crepes Suzette - With Eclair the puppy; A fashion designer girl who lives in Paris, France. She has a pet poodle. Her hair is pink.
*Tea Blossom with Marzipanda the panda; A sensitive Chinese girl who comes to visit Strawberry. She has a pet panda. She likes brewed tea and has an antique shop.
*Tangerina Torta - with Banana Bongo the monkey; An energetic girl with orange hair, who comes from Brazil. She lives in a jungle treehouse. She loves to travel and likes monkeys.
*Frosty Puff - with Freezer Pop the penguin; A friendly girl from a Iceland who loves the snow but doesn't talk much. She can ice skate.
*Lime Light; Strawberry's childhood friend who moved away. She became a rich movie star in Hollywood. She is selfish but Strawberry helps her learn the right behavior.
*Purple Pie Man - with pet crows and Dobbin the Horse; An older man who is the villian. He'll do what he can to get his way, but in the series finale "Lights... Camera...", he can be good if given the chance.
*Sour Grapes - with Dregs the snake; A middle aged woman who is a villain but can sometimes be caring to the children. She likes to teach things when she isn't doing evil things the Pie Man wants.
*Licorice Whip; An evil villian who kidnaps horses and is cruel to the horses.

## 2009 series 
In 2009 a 3D animated series was created. It was more simplistic, and girly, with many of the characters having the same hair and a simple dress. The girls were only a few inches tall and lived in a tiny town in a meadow. Each one ran a business. Strawberry kept her cat and dog from the last series, Pupcake and Custard. Apple Dumpling still had Tea Time Turtle. Every other girl got a dog.

* Strawberry Shortcake - with Pupcake and Custard. Owns a bakery and cafe. Always helps solve conflict.
* Orange Blossom - her skin was lightened a lot, causing controversy. Runs a general store
* Lemon Meringue - cute diva girl who cuts hair in her salon.
* Raspberry Torte - meek and generous fashion designer and tailor
* Blueberry Muffin - clueless and awkward girl who has a book store.
* Plum Pudding - energetic dance teacher. She likes ballet and hiphop and any type of dance.
* Cherry Jam - a brand new character, a j-pop singing celebrity.
* Huckleberry Pie - the only boy, a simple boy who helps get dogs adopted.
* Apple Dumpling - She is Stawberry's cousin, not sister. She likes to take travel photos and knows about technology.
* Sour Grapes - has a twin, Sweet Grapes. Likes to cook spicy and nutritious food. Very tough and cool.
* Sweet Grapes - the second twin. Wears glasses, dresses in kawaii hipster or lolita fashion, and of course, is very sweet. Likes to make sugary desserts.
* Raisin Cane - Sour and Sweet's mean cousin who likes posting videos to the internet and making business scams.

## 2021 TV series 
Strawberry Shortcake: Berry In The Big City Is A Canadian animated television series produced by Wildbrain Studios Which airs on Youtube for free, Netflix (United States) and Family Jr. (Canada).

* Strawberry Shortcake - with cat Custard Runs a food truck in this show and wants to be the best baker ever. She moved from the country so doesn't know much about the big city.
* Aunt Praline Strawberry's motherly type aunt who lets Strawberry live with her. She is always encouraging and motivational.
* Orange Blossom - with dog Pupcake Orange has a smoothie cart. She is a tomboy and loves sports and is energetic and competitive. Strawberry's best friend.
* Lemon Meringue A fun loving inventor. She is very smart but is awkward with her social skills. Her best friend is Lime Chiffon.
* Lime Chiffon - with Parfait Parrot A very smart girl who loves reading and fashion. She has two dads, one is a fashion designer. She owns a frozen drink cart with Lemon Meringue. She is also close friends with Bread Pudding
* Blueberry Muffin - with Cheesecake Mouse An odd girl who is a hippie, she likes to go with the flow and do things her way. She cares about the environment. She runs an ice cream cart.
* Raspberry Tart  A fashionable girly girl who wants to be the best baker, just like Strawberry. She was a rival of Strawberry but the two girls learned to get along. They are now close friends. Raspberry is also in a friend group with Sour, and Bread.
* Bread Pudding A snooty, flamboyant boy who is the manager of all the food trucks. He takes pride in keeping things organized. He is fashionable and knows the new trends.
* Sour Grapes  A quiet goth girl who is best friends with Raspberry. She has trouble fitting in.
* Huckleberry Pie - with Red Hot the ferret An energetic street musician. He plays guitar. He knows a lot about the city so he helped his potential lover Strawberry learn. He is the opposite but did become good friends with Bread Pudding.
* Cherry Jam A pop star and singer. She was almost too shy to go on stage.
* Peppermint Fizz A bold and brave girl who is Cherry's best friend, and is a guitarist while Cherry sings.
* Raisin Cane In Cherry Jam's band, a nonbinary kid who plays drums.
* The Purple Pie Man A celebrity chef who is the villain of Season 2. He has a large company where he sells frozen pies.

## References