Gym Berries (originally titled "Working out with Orange Blossom") is the 29th episode of the first season of Strawberry Shortcake: Berry In The Big City. It premiered on March 26th, 2022.
Summary[]
Orange Blossom takes Strawberry Shortcake through an early morning boot camp to help her become the best berry she can be!
Plot[]
It's been a long day at the Berryworks, as the Berry Besties leave to go home. Orange Blossom positively says it was another great day and loves her job, asking her friends if they're pumped like she is. Strawberry Shortcake tiredly replies that she's exhausted, and has no energy left by closing time. Orange immediately offers to help build Strawberry's energy, telling her to meet her tomorrow morning, and that what they do is gonna be epic. Strawberry asks if she has a choice, two which Orange says no, because that's what friends are for. Orange says goodbye to Strawberry,and to see her bright and early before running off. Strawberry, concerned, asks her other three friends what did she agree to. The other Berry Besties can only look in concern as well.
Cutaway: Orange talks about how she's always striving to be the best "her" she can be, and can now help Strawberry be the best "she" she can be, as that's what Berry Besties are for.
Strawberry's clock turns to four, as she peacefully sleeps in bed. Orange Blossom then blasts an airhorn, startling Custard and Strawberry awake. Orange greets her friend, telling her it's 4am, and asks what that means. Strawberry replies by saying it's time to sleep four more hours. Orange ignores this and tells Strawberry to get up and get dressed as she tosses Strawberry's clothes at her, and then honks the airhorn again.
Cutaway: Strawberry begins having second thoughts, but before she can get through her sentence, Orange honks her airhorn again,
Orange and Strawberry reach the Berryworks highline, where exercise equipment has been set up. Strawberry asks what all this is for, to which Orange says that it's time to work out. Strawberry questions Orange's methods, pointing out that her solution to Strawberry being exhausted is to just make her more exhausted. Orange tells her that's funny, as she drags Strawberry over to begin their workout.
They start with a one-handed kettlebell deadlift, which Orange Blossom pulls off effortlessly, while Strawberry can't even get it off the ground with both hands. Strawberry does a pushup, and seemingly succeeds, only for the screen to show that Orange is holding her up by the skirt. Orange then waves at a passing jogger, accidentally dropping Strawberry on her face. The two girls next do a farmer's carry up a flight of stairs with baskets of fruit. Orange Blossom succeeds, while Strawberry trips before she can get up a single step, weakly telling Orange she is not okay as she lays on the ground. Orange and Strawberry do a tire flip, which Orange Blossom pulls off effortlessly while Strawberry can barely manage it, and ends up flipping herself along with the wheel, much to a jogging elderly woman's confusion. Finally, a muscular berry with a strawberry beanie effortlessly performs a barbell snatch, holding up the barbell with one hand as Orange looks on in awe...only for it to turn out to be a random doppelgänger who just happens to bear a passing resemblance. The real Strawberry was actually napping on a nearby barbell bench, much to Orange's disappointment.
An exhausted Strawberry tells Orange that she gives up, as she still has no energy despite working out for a long time, asking if it's been days or weeks. Orange tells her it was only twenty minutes, which Strawberry is shocked at. Strawberry thanks Orange for trying to help, but exercise is her thing, and Strawberry thinks they can both agree it's definitely not her thing. Strawberry walks off, but ends up stumbling away due to being sore from the workout.
Cutaway: Orange is at a loss, pointing out that friends are supposed to do stuff they like together, but Strawberry hates working out while she loves it. Orange notes that she loves fitness the same way Strawberry loves baking... and then gets an idea.
Strawberry's clock turns to four, as she peacefully sleeps in bed. Orange Blossom then blasts an airhorn, startling Custard and Strawberry awake. Strawberry whines, asking Orange why she woke her up again. This time, Orange gently coaxes her out of bed, asking Strawberry to trust her. Strawberry asks if she has a choice, and Orange quickly drags her offscreen. Orange and Strawberry reach the Berryworks highline again, but Strawberry notices all of the workout equipment has been replaced with baking supplies and ingredients. Strawberry asks what all this is for, and Orange drags her over, telling Strawberry that she'll see.
Strawberry performs baking-ized versions of the previous workouts, such as lifting a flour sack to pour into a measuring cup instead of lifting a kettlebell. Orange explains that she knows working out isn't Strawberry's thing, but that fitness is still important. As Strawberry's thing is baking, Orange decided to help Strawberry get stronger by doing what she does best. Strawberry continues through the workout, doing a push up by using a rolling pin to flatten dough, doing a farmer's carry up the stairs with a stack of pies, and flipping a large cake tin over to then frost the cake.
Finally, a muscular berry with a strawberry beanie effortlessly lifts a giant sack of flour, holding up the sack with one hand as Orange looks on in awe. Strawberry then ends up doing the same thing, but with two flour sacks instead, high-fiving her doppelgänger as Orange celebrates.
The Berryworks opens for the day, and the Berry Besties begin setting up their carts. Strawberry runs up to Lemon Meringue and Lime Chiffon, excitedly greeting them, to which Lemon points out that she seems oddly energetic. Strawberry rushes over to Orange and talks about how she came up with a special workout just for her. Strawberry rushes over to Blueberry Muffin and suggests making workouts for each of them too. She suggests having Lime lift books, Blueberry do an arts-and-crafts relay, and Lemon can squat truck engines. As Strawberry continues to hyperactively run around the Berryworks, Blueberry worriedly points out to Orange that she might have energized Strawberry a little too much. Orange tells Blueberry that Strawberry's just hyped up from the endorphins, and she'll wind down eventually. Strawberry runs around the Berryworks asking for a sheet of paper, so she can come up with workouts to everyberry in the Berryworks. Strawberry then pops up in front of the viewer, telling them it's gonna be epic and excitedly shouts "Fitness!", ending the episode.
Cast[]
- Ana Sani as Strawberry Shortcake
- Bahia Watson as Orange Blossom
- Andrea Libman as Lemon Meringue
- Diana Kaarina as Blueberry Muffin
- Stock Audio Effects as Custard
Non-Voiced Appearance[]
Trivia[]
- In the ending of the episode from the original airing, Strawberry simply pops up with closed fists after running offscreen to end the episode. In versions of the episode with the strawberry iris-out, Strawberry's hands are directly shown interacting with the transition. Strawberry herself is also in a different part of the screen depending on the version seen.
- This makes "Gym Berries" the first episode to have a noticeable difference in animation when comparing the original version to later releases.
- Endorphins are chemicals/horomones released from the body to block perception of pain and to increase a feeling of pleasure or wellbeing. These are commonly released during exercise, and the effects are more commonly known as "runner's high".[1]
Continuity[]
- The Strawberry Shortcake lookalike appears once more, and just like his debut episode one of Strawberry's friends mistakes him for her, this time being Orange Blossom.
Errors[]
- In the scene of the Strawberry lookalike preparing to lift a sack of flour, his legs aren't visible despite the angle of the camera being where one should logically see them.
- The credits incorrectly list Margarita Valderrama as part of the cast, despite Lime Chiffon not speaking in the episode.
Video[]
Gallery[]
Click here to see the gallery of the episode