Strawberry Shortcake has always been such a sweet character that could appeal to boys and girls of all ages. This recent incarnation of the girl so sweet like her name, however, seems to be in too much of a hurry to appeal to anyone. From the over the speed limit pacing to the underdeveloped characters, this show left a rather bitter taste in my mouth.
Developed by Michael Vogal, this show follows the titular Strawberry Shortcake as she makes baked goods in a food truck in Big Apple City. While it starts off decent enough with a solid theme song, it's most egregious problem becomes evident from the word go. The shows pacing is horrendous with each episode dashing through their respective plots to reach that 9 minute runtime. One minute Strawberry Shortcake arrives at her Aunt Praline's and the next she's fixing up her food truck with her friends. Speaking of, her encounters with them happen far too quickly as there was little time given to show her getting to know them before they all became besties. The conflict of each episode feels so forced and the lessons are unearned because this show refuses to slow down and give the characters time to breath. The humor in this show is also practical not existant with predictable subversions, annoying gags, and lackluster word play. I especially hated it whenever Strawberry tried explaining a pun. Here's some advice: tell a joke and then shut up! If the audience laughs, let them laugh; if not, oh well, they can't all be winners. Really what makes me hate how this show is written more is the fact that little time is given to the world building. For a city called Big Apple City, we sure spend a lot of time NOT exploring the city. Where's the park? Where's the other cool hangout spots? Where the beach? Where's the view? More importantly, where are the actual people? All I've seen so far of this city is a bunch of mindless sheep with not unique personalities or opinions of their own. Take my advice as an amateur writer: slow the fridge down! The audience isn't going anywhere. Take your time when telling the story.
The characters could have been really fun and entertaining...if this show's atrocious pacing actually gave them time to do so. The characters are so underdeveloped that it's practically impossible to care about them. Strawberry Shortcake is the new girl in the big city learning to fit in. There are glimpses of her being bubbly and kind, but for the most part she's just generic new girl who's not used to the hustle and bustle of the big city. Lemon Meringue is the inventor, Orange Blossom's the snarky girl, Blueberry Muffin's the zen girl, Lime Chiffon is the nerdy girl and Raspberry Tart and Bread Pudding are just the stereotypical bullies with Sour Grapes being an emotionless emo. The girl's pets have some quirks, but because they don't talk its hard to really care about them. The best character is Aunt Praline, who's so energetic and smart. It's just too bad she's not the protagonist.
The voice acting's actually not to shabby Adrienne Lindsay givinv solid voice direction. Ana Sandi does a great job making Strawberry sound bubbly and sweet (kinda reminds me of Tara Strong) and she did a really good job making Aunt Praline and Custard sound distinct. Diana Kaarina was wonderful as Blueberry Muffin, making her sound quirky but also very calm. Margarita Valderrama was really good as Lime Chiffon, making her sound very smart and punctual. Bahia Watson sounded great as Orange Blossom, making her sound very snarky and friendly. Andrea Libman was really good as Lemon Meringue, making her sound like a natural tomboy. Tabitha St. Germain was really good as Raspberry Tart, making her sound really nasty and sneaky. Vincent Tong did a really good job as Bread Pudding, making him sound really smug while also making Huckleberry Pie sound really friendly. The characters may be flat but the actors did a really good job with the material they were given.
Visually, this show looks really good with animation provided by WildBrain. They gave the character designs a unique yet welcoming redesign with the characters having round heads, big expressive eyes, and fitting modern attire. The character animation feels bouncy and exaggerated with characters having a wide variety of different facial expressions, naturally flowing hair and unique walk/run cycles. The backgrounds are also really vibrant with lots of bright colors and stark contasts. I especially like the way the make the food as it all looks so sweet and appetizing.
This show also has some musical number and surprisingly they're pretty good. They have catcy beats, well written lyrics and the actresses have really good singing chops. No Ordinary Berry is such a bubbly and happy song about Strawberry exploring the city (gee, that would've nice to see in episode 1 as opposed to episode 3). Get Spooky makes for a really good Halloween anthem with it's chilling atmosphere and lyrics about dressing up. Be Your Berry Best is a really catchy song about finding what look works vest for you. And Bet Back Up is a really up beat song about never giving up and getting back up aftering falling down. Special thanks to Daniel Ingram and Trevor Hoffman for making these songs so upbeat and catcy.
This show should definitely get a ticket for speeding. Strawberry Shortcake: Berry In The Big City is yet another disappointing reboot of a classic children's merchandise franchise with horrible pacing issues (just like Polly Pocket before it). The animation, voice acting and songs were good, but not good enough to save the show from going so fast it crashed into a guard rail. Best to not even board this wild racecar of a cartoon and stick with the more evenly paced 2000s show.
