Pop Culture Retrospective #39 - Strawberry Shortcake : American Greeting Card's sweetheart from the 1980s.

To create the most delicious Strawberry shortcake dessert, you will need the following items:

2 pints of ripe strawberries

½ cup sugar

4 cups of flower

Wait, what?  We’re doing a show about Strawberry Shortcake, the greeting card and cartoon character, not the dessert?  Gosh, I feel like such an idiot now.  Would have been nice if someone clarified that for me before I sat down to record.  Ugh, my apologies.  

So, I guess we will be discussing Strawberry Shortcake today, the much loved cartoon character that was inspired by a greeting card company if you can believe that! We will discuss her early days, her rise to fame and what she is up to today.  So, grab your strawberry covered bonnet, your baking supplies and your favorite pet named after a dessert, here we go! 

Hello and thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, a show inspired by, and in memory of, my big sister Rebecca and her love for all things pop-culture, especially the people, places and things of the 80s, 90s and early 00s.  My name is Amy Lewis and I am your captain aboard this pop culture time machine. You are tuning in to episode #39, Strawberry Shortcake, the bright-eyed and bushy tailed animated character that warmed the hearts of millions of children in the 1980s.  My sister and I absolutely loved Strawberry Shortcake growing up so it seemed only appropriate to devote a show completely to her.  

The history of Strawberry Shortcake, who became very popular in the early 1980s, actually dates back to 1973.  A freelance artist, named Barbi Sargent, worked with American Greetings beginning after she graduated from high school and later as a freelance artist.  American Greetings is one of the most well-known greeting card companies in the United States.  As a matter of fact, they come in a close second behind Hallmark who is the largest producer of greeting cards.  Back to Barbi though, she created a greeting card character in the 1970s called “A Girl with a Daisy” who first appeared in 1973.  The character was wearing a dark red dress, with small white polka dots, a white, puffy sleeved shirt and she also wore a dark orange bonnet on top of her dark brown hair.  On said bonnet there were a bunch of white flowers, a ladybug and, strawberries.  She was, of course, holding a daisy.  The card ended up being extremely popular and higher up folks at American Greetings thought much of that had to do with the strawberries on the girl’s hat.  So, the company decided to continue the development of this character with a strong emphasis on the infamous strawberry.  In July of 1977, Sargent was asked to create 4 designs to test out some characters and to further gauge popularity.  She created one called “Strawberry Girl” and test runs indicated that this one in particular was very popular.  Another woman named Muriel Fahrion, who also worked for American Greetings, also helped mold this female character. In 1978 she created a picture of Strawberry Shortcake with Custard, her cat.  This depiction is how most remember what she would looked like during the late 1970s and through the 1980s.  In this 1978 version, we see SS in green and white striped socks, a bright red dress with darker red polka dots, a white apron with colorful stitching and a pink hat with strawberries on top.  At this point, SS was truly ready for prime time.   

In 1979, a company called Kenner Products created the first Strawberry Shortcake doll which was designed by Muriel Fahrion and were made by her sister, Susan Trental.  She was sort of made in the rag doll style that was popular at the time, but, she smelled like strawberries which was a unique (and ultimately HUGE) selling point. In the spring of 1980, a full collection of Strawberry Shortcake merchandise launched, this included stickers (one of my sister’s very favorite things as a kid), posters, puzzles and the like.  The products were incredibly popular and eventually there were 1200 various SS themed items released for sale and sales reached at least 500 million dollars within the first year.  I don’t remember this but apparently at one point you could buy an Atari game called Strawberry Musical Matchups.  

My sister and I were no strangers to the SS merch, let me just tell you.  We for sure had Strawberry shortcake rollerskates AND I’m pretty sure we had a SS bicycle, complete with a strawberry covered seat.  There was really no end to the SS themed merchandise.  As I get older, the memory of a comfortable banana seat becomes more and more appealing.  Get it, banana seat, appealing?  That was stupid.  And also, true.  On another note, at one time you could adorn your Christmas tree with SS ornaments.  

Additional characters were added to SS’s entourage, including Apple Dumplin’ who was her sister, Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Tart and Huckleberry Pie.  They all lived together in a magical place called Strawberryland.  Each character had a pet, Custard was SS’s cat like we talked about.  He was also her best friend and often found himself getting into trouble.   Each character’s doll or figurines, just like SS, smelled like the respective fruit they were named after.  

Between 1980-1985, several  SS TV specials were released.  The first, called “The World of Strawberry Shortcake” was released on March 28, 1980 in syndication across more than 90 cities all over the United States.  It would later be released on 16mm film, Beta, VHS and eventually DVD.  Wow, 16mm film, as in, you could view it with the help of a film projector.  I guess SS really is, well, old.  In the special we meet SS and all of her friends and learn that they are planning for her 6th birthday party.  The group’s plan for a fun birthday party is foiled by the Peculiar Pieman of Porcupine Peak who tries to steal Strawberry Shortcake’s berries and who also kidnaps one of SS’s friends.  Well, one thing leads to another and thanks to some trees who come to life, the Pieman’s palace collapses and happiness is restored.  This plot is just as asinine as Rainbow Brite’s TV special which we talked about in episode # 8 of the PCRP, all the way back in July of 2020.  In each subsequent television special we saw a recurring theme of SS having a kind demeanor and she always wanted to do the right thing despite often being interrupted by evil villains.  However, kindness always prevailed.  

As the popularity of SS grew exponentially in the early 1980s, so too did concerns over the income that her likeness was leading to.  Barbi Sargent, who we talked about earlier, actually sued American Greetings for the rights to SS.  She felt like she was owed a lot of earnings from this unique character, after all, she played a significant role in her creation.  So, after a bit of court battle, Sargent won the rights to SS in 1983.  Despite her efforts to be recognized and compensated for the creation of the beloved character, she would actually give back the rights at a later date.  This wouldn’t be the last time the rights to SS would shift but more on that later.  

Her popularity was further solidified as there was a SS balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and at one point you could buy SS cereal at your local grocery store.  COMMERCIAL CLIP. I love how in breakfast commercials from the 1980s they always mention how this super sugary cereal is part of this nutritious breakfast and then they show a whole spread.  The spread includes the cereal of course as well as pieces of toast with butter, a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice. Of course there are never any fruit or vegetables present.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve always had a decent appetite, but never in my life, even when I was a little kid, did I have the stomach or bladder capacity I might add, for a full bowl of cereal, toast and two drinks to start the day.  It’s never happened and will never happen.  But I digress.  

I made a big mistake and I looked up the SS float online and remarkably, someone posted photos of it.  Once again, much like the live-action version of Rainbow Brite and the Rockafire Explosion from Showbiz Pizza, these characters, intended for children, were incredibly terrifying.  All of the costumed characters look like something out of a horror movie where the characters who are seemingly nice, also appear to be on the brink of an enraged and violent episode.   The float was of course a HUGE strawberry with whipped cream on the back and featured a bridge leading out of the strawberry and a giant sunshine.  There were face characters of course but there were also walk around costumed SS characters.  These characters all had huge shoes, and oversized clothing as well as felt covered heads, oversized hats on their yarn-like hair and death staring eyes.  Even the villan in the show, the Peculiar Pieman of Pineapple Peak had a walkaround, costumed character who enthusiastically waved at the audience.  

Can you imagine kids and their parents watching him pass by?  Oh look sweetie, there’s the Peculiar pieman of Pineapple peak, the creep who always wants to steal SS’s pie and baking ingredients, let’s wave at him!  Hi Pieman!  Happy Thanksgiving! And by the way, whenever the Peculiar Pieman entered a scene in a SS tv special, there was always a creepy noise:  SOUND CLIP HERE. The Peculiar pieman, much like the main villain in Rainbow Brite, had very sinister looking facial hair, but this time in the form of a pencil thin, long mustache which curled at the ends.  He was always trying to steal SS’s baking ingredients and lived in a pile of tin baking dishes stacked up high in the sky.  In some specials we also see Pieman joining forces with another villain, a woman named Sour Grapes.  

Apparently the SS float was a staple at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1981-1984.  By 1987, the float appeared again, in a modified form for the Fruit Juice Valley company float for a number of years and then later for a Hello Kitty float, again, further modified.  Who knew that floats could have so many different incarnations?  That being said, it was really obvious that Fruit Juice Vally was using the SS float.  It’s sort of like when you realize that one business totally used to be something else.  Sort of like the Enterprise Rent-A-Car that opened at the site of a former Taco Bell in my hometown.  We all know your office used to be a Taco Bell, Enterprise.  You’re not fooling anyone.  And same goes for you Fruit Juice Valley. You bastards destroyed the SS float and everyone knows it!  You should be ashamed of yourself! 

In addition to 1981 marking SS’s first appearance at the famous parade, we also another television special release, this time it was called “Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City.”  In this cartoon, SS goes to Big Apple City (no doubt inspired by NYC) to compete in a baking contest. Once again, her plans are almost foiled by the infamous Pieman. 

In 1982, the next SS special was released, this time it was called “SS:  Pets on Parade.” In 1983, “Strawberry Shortcake:  Housewarming Party” was released.  “Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name” came in 1984.  And finally, in 1985 “Strawberry Shortcake Meets the Berrykins” was released, this being the last installment of the original specials.  In the United Kingdom, the special was released as a featurette alongside the classic 80s movie, “The Care Bears Movie” which was a film my sister and I loved and watched all of the time.  What a genius combination!

By the mid 1980s, Strawberry Shortcake’s popularity started to decline.  Not only was she no longer appearing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade but merchandise ceased being created and released.  

However, much like Rainbow Brite, there have been several incarnations of Strawberry Shortcake over the past 30 years.  It seems like fans of this beloved character just cannot let her go.  In 1991 for example, SS was reborn, this time with an updated appearance including her clothes, hair etc. Her signature bonnet was ditched for a simple pink bow (big mistake) and both the dress and bow were pink with white polka dots. However, popularity never really took hold so this rebirth only lasted about a year.  

In 2002, Strawberry Shortcake again re-emerged.  A new line of videos was created, as well as a game for gameboy and even a CD-Rom.  This time her outfit appeared inspired by Where’s Waldo believe it or not.  She started wearing blue jeans with a white and red striped shirt, but her head gear returned in the form of a strawberry covered floppy hat. 

In 2006, new figurines were released as well as a full-length film- Strawberry Shortcake the Sweet Dreams Movie.  

In 2015, a company named Iconix acquired the rights for Strawberry Shortcake for 105 million.

In 2017, another company, called DHX acquired the rights for SS from Iconix and they also got the rights to Peanuts for $345 million.  

Her most recent look is a far cry from the white apron covered dress and bonnet hat we first saw in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  She now appears to have a bit more street cred as the character is now a bit older (maybe like a teenager?) and sports red chuck taylors, light and dark green leggings sort of like Nanny from Muppet Babies, a strawberry crossbody bag, a tiny denim jacket and a strawberry bandana.  If you remember back to the Rainbow Brite episode perhaps you will recall that RB was developed by Hallmark for the sole purpose of competing with AG’s sweetheart, Strawberry Shortcake.  So I guess that begs the question, if you had to pick just one, would you say you are team SS or team RB?  I know that would be an impossible choice for my sister to make.

I hope you have enjoyed this look back at Strawberry Shortcake, a greeting card inspired merchandise powerhouse from the 1980s.  Although her rise and fall came and went within just a few years, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who grew up when me and my sister did who didn’t enjoy watching the antics of his fruit-inspired character and her friends.  

SS has changed and evolved significantly over the past four decades but one thing remains the same - people who grew up looking at SS on cards and watching her ridiculous television specials and parade appearances want future generations to enjoy her enthusiastic attitude and continue to be terrified by villains.  PIEMAN SINGING HERE.

I hope you will join me for my next show where we will take a look back at some fascinating facts about WDW in honor of it’s 50th anniversary which it officially celebrated on the date of this episode’s recording, October 1st.  Until then BK, BS and HOTYM.