Best New Year's EVER is the 19th episode in airing order and the 15th episode in official order of the second season of Berry In The Big City. It premiered on December 24, 2022.
Summary[]
Strawberry Shortcake and friends plan to bring in the New Year together, but then she gets an unexpected invitation by the one and only Kiki KeyLime!
Plot[]
On TV, Kiki KeyLime performs the intro for Bite of the City. Meanwhile, the Berry Besties are preparing a variety of things in the Berry Bestie Clubhouse. Lemon Meringue is assembling a small Lemon-Vention, Blueberry Muffin tosses some pillows on the couch and begins blowing up a balloon, and Lime Chiffon and Orange Blossom are trying a bowl of popcorn. Strawberry Shortcake then pops up and blows a noisemaker, startling Lemon and Blueberry, the latter accidentally popping her balloon in the background.
Cutaway: Strawberry excitedly explains that she and her friends are throwing a little soirée in the Clubhouse so they can watch Kiki KeyLime's Super Sweet New Year's Eve Special.
On television, Kiki tells the viewers that they're a few hours away from the countdown and a live performance from Sherry Bobbleberry and the Berry Fairies. Orange Blossom squeals in excitement, and expresses her love for the band. She then sings a line from one of their songs, which her friends politely applaud. Lime Chiffon is excited for midnight, so she can see the gumball drop in Times Pear. This prompts Lemon Meringue to show off her newest Lemon-Vention, the Mecha-Mini-Gumball Dropper, which is synched to the one in Times Pear. Strawberry compliments the invention, but tells her friends that there's only one place she wants to be tonight, and it's right at the Clubhouse with her Berry Besties.
Raspberry Tart then rushes into the clubhouse, frantically telling Strawberry that they have to go now. Strawberry is confused, so Raspberry tells her to check her phone because Kiki invited the two of them to hang out, making the two begin jumping and shouting with glee. Strawberry then stops, remembering the plans she already made with her friends, but Orange immediately assures her to not worry about it. Everyberry else agrees, and Blueberry tells Raspberry and Strawberry that The Universe, and Kiki, want them at the event. Strawberry hugs her friends in gratitude, Raspberry then tells her that though this is a sweet moment, they have to go and immediately rushes her away.
Cutaway: Strawberry exclaims that this is the best New Year's Eve ever.
At the SSNYES event in Times Pear, Strawberry and Raspberry are brought backstage by one of Kiki's assistants. She tells them Kiki will be here shortly and to help themselves to craft services, showing them a buffet table full of pastries and snacks, which the girls are wonderstruck by. Raspberry begins celebrating their current status, and the two girls begin jumping and and giggling again. Strawberry suddenly begins feeling chilly, but Raspberry tells her that Kiki probably just needs to recover from the bright lights onstage, and dismisses the cold as she takes a bite of a sandwich. She's met by the sound of a hard crunch, so she taps the sandwich against the table, revealing it to be frozen solid. Raspberry admits that maybe it is a little cold. The two girls then hear a voice behind them: Kiki KeyLime returning from the stage to greet them. Raspberry drops the sandwich in surprise (which shatters on the ground), and she and Strawberry rush over to meet Kiki. As her assistants tend to her makeup, she tells the two girls she's glad they could make it and they're going to have so much fun. Kiki asks the girls to tell her what they've been up to, but before they can even finish a sentence, another assistant walks up to Kiki and whispers some bad news in her ear: Sherry Bobbleberry's going to be late.
Kiki is aghast at the news, since they're supposed to perform right before the midnight gumball drop. She sighs and reassures Strawberry and Raspberry that she just needs to handle a "tiny thing" and after that they'll get to hang out. Raspberry tells Strawberry she's sure Kiki will be right back. The two girls then proceed to wait for a long time, during which Kiki only manages to check with them once. While the Berry Fairies do end up arriving before their performance, it still leaves Raspberry and Strawberry no time to actually hang out with Kiki. Strawberry Shortcake is saddened at their lackluster situation. One of the stagehands approaches the girls and informs them that in a few minutes they'll be with Kiki KeyLime onstage. As she leaves she tells them that it's going to be the best New Year's ever, which Strawberry pessimistically agrees with. Raspberry Tart tries to cheer up Strawberry, telling her that even though the day is not perfect because of the cold and Sherry being late, both her and Strawberry will get to stand next to Kiki on stage, asking what could possibly be better than this. Strawberry then thinks of something.
As Sherry Bobbleberry and the Berry Fairies perform at the event, the Berry Besties watch the special from the Clubhouse. Lime Chiffon excitedly notes that it's almost gumball drop time, and Orange Blossom points out Kiki, but is confused why Strawberry and Raspberry aren't there too. Strawberry then tells her no, since they had better places to be, revealing the two girls to be standing next to the Berry Besties. Everyberry is shocked, especially Blueberry Muffin, since The Universe did not prepare her for this. Orange asks Raspberry and Strawberry what happened, and the two explain that they told Kiki they really appreciated her invite, but there was only one place they wanted to be tonight, and it's right at the Clubhouse with her Berry Besties. The girls are touched by the sentiment, and Strawberry says that the gumball in Times Pear is not nearly as impressive as a Mecha-Mini-Gumball Dropper.
The live New Year's countdown starts, and the girls gather around the Gumball Dropper to count along. Raspberry admits to Strawberry that this is better than Kiki's invite. The girls finish the countdown, and begin celebrating the new year, when the mini fireworks on the replica immediately go off in their faces, scaring Lime and making the other girls laugh. Lemon Meringue cackles, and Strawberry angrily shouts her friend's name as the episode ends.
Cast[]
- Ana Sani as Strawberry Shortcake
- Tabitha St. Germain as Raspberry Tart
- Crystal Balint as Kiki KeyLime
- Bahia Watson as Orange Blossom
- Andrea Libman as Lemon Meringue, Salesberries
- Margarita Valderrama as Lime Chiffon
- Diana Kaarina as Blueberry Muffin
Non-Voiced Appearance[]
- The Berry Fairies
- Spicy Crust
- Studio Executive
- Customer Berry
- Customer #1
- Old Man
- Deliveryboy
- Shady Fruitlegger
- The Universe (mentioned)
Songs[]
- Contrary Berry (one line)
Trivia[]
- This episode premiered on Christmas Eve. Ironically, despite this episode taking place on New Year's Eve, the episode that aired on December 31st was Berry Competitive.
- Sherry Bobbleberry makes her debut to the series in this episode, making it her first appearance in the franchise since the 2003 series. Her bandmates were not named at the time, but were eventually revealed to be Cherry Jam, Raisin Cane, and Peppermint Fizz in Find Your Voice.
- If one keeps track of the clock during the time-passing montage, the clock starts at 10:06 and ends at 11:28, meaning Strawberry and Raspberry waited for 1 hour and 22 minutes in the freezing cold. Yeesh.
Continuity[]
- Orange Blossom sings a snippet of Contrary Berry after expressing her love for The Berry Fairies' music. Contrary Berry was briefly heard in Huck's New Job as the Berryoke song Bread Pudding and Huckleberry Pie sung together at the end of the episode. This episode retroactively confirms that Contrary Berry was made by The Berry Fairies.
- Kiki KeyLime is once again shown to be friendly with Strawberry Shortcake and Raspberry Tart, like in Keylime Time, Lucky Berry, and Bake Off.
- When Strawberry hugs her Berry Besties before leaving to meet Kiki, Lemon is visibly grumpy, calling back to her recurring dislike of hugs which began in Will You Be My Lemontine.
References to Past Series[]
- Sherry Bobbleberry's band being named "The Berry Fairies" is a callback to her original 2003 incarnation, who was a member of The Berry Fairies. Though, unlike the 2003 series, the Fairies are a music band rather than a magical species.
References[]
- Kiki KeyLime's Super-Sweet New Year's Eve Special is based on the Times Square New Year's celebration, up to the inclusion of a live countdown, performances by musicians, and a gumball drop, the latter of which is a reference to the Time Ball atop One Times Square that descends down a flagpole during the countdown to the new year.
Errors[]
- At the scene where Raspberry drops the frozen sandwich, Strawberry's beanie is her default outfit's beanie instead of her winter one. In the next scene where the two girls ran to Kiki her beanie is her winter outfit's beanie.
- Right before the timelapse cuts back to real time, The Berry Fairies disappear as they exit the stage.
Video[]
Gallery[]
Click here to see the gallery of the episode