Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name was the fifth made-for-TV movie Special of the 1980s Series. It was released in 1984 and was the second-to-last special made.
Premise[]
Strawberry Shortcake goes on an annual summer camping trip where she and her friends encounter a monster in the woods! The Peculiar Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes attempt to capture it to become rich and famous.
Summary[]
The Specials begins as Mr. Sun tells the viewers about the extra-wonderful summer Strawberryland has been having. Lemon, Orange, Cherry, and Strawberry were out having fun playing in Strawberry's pool until Strawberry brings up a camping trip and one of their berry friends is returning from their trip and bringing a bunch of new friends for them to meet!
While the intro song plays, the berry children head over to greet their friend, Mr. Sun talks about how he hopes nothing bad will spoil the childrens time while they enjoy their camping trip. It's then Sour Grapes is trying to get The Purple Pieman to let her inside, but he asks for proof before letting her in, to which she begins to sing an operatic-like sound and he can tell its her. As soon as he lets her in he quickly shuts and locks the door. Sour Grapes taunts him by asking if he was hiding from Strawberry Shortcake and he begins to inform her about some "monster" rumor going around.
At the train as Plum gets off, she greets everyone and Strawberry tells her, and Elderberry Owl how much they have missed them. Plum goes on then to introduce her two new friends: Peach Blush and a Baby who doesn't have a name yet. Strawberry asks the two of them if they would be coming camping with them and they all laugh as Baby mentions that she likes camping, only to ask what it is.
As Plum is heading home in order to pack up her things she notices a very strange footprint on the ground. Before running off, she tells Elderberry that they will come back the next day to investigate it some more. Meanwhile, unknown to her, both Sour Grapes and Purple Pieman had been evesdropping on her and they decide they will use this to mess with Strawberry and her friends...
That night, the other girls ask Strawberry to tell them a scary ghost story. At first Strawberry hesitates but upon request she proceeds to sing them a spooky song. Then, they look up at the night sky and notice a wishing star has come out, so Strawberry tells the Baby to make a wish. She wishes for a name, and a pet. Blueberry points out that there aren't any spare pets in Strawberryland but she thinks it is okay, if the wish comes true then she will get a pet someday.
A little later the girls are all asleep but a strange shadow appears and it makes many footsteps as it walks by. The baby sees it and she crawls out of the sleeping bag to follow after it....
The next morning Strawberry wakes the others upon realizing that the baby is gone! They all panic when one of them notices a big footprint. Plum mentions how she saw one the other day and they all begin to fear the worst.
Meanwhile, the Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes are hiding and working on a trap in hopes of capturing this strange monster in hopes of selling it for money and they sing about it. After their song, it is revealed that the baby has gone into a cave to continue to follow the footprints that belong to the strange "monster" until she falls into a hole and can't get out! The berry children continue to look for the Baby. Strawberry tries to cheer up Peach Blush in the mean time.
A strange creature shows up and the Baby talks to it. The Baby tells it she needs help, she's stuck in the hole and she cannot get out. She tries to get it to help her and she asks if it has any friends. When it says no, the Baby agrees to be its friend.
Back with Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes, the Pieman is on the search for the "monster". He runs into something and covers his mouth before backing away. The both of them get startled when he backs into Sour Grapes and they run for their lives! When Peach and Pieman hide behind the same tree, they all call Monster and everyone runs into everybody else!
Strawberry and Peach explain that they just want to find their friend. But Pieman finds it hard to believe when Peach tells him that she doesn't have a name. Suddenly she comes out of the cave she had gone in to and explains that Figboot saved her. They ask who this is when the baby asks Figboot to come out. It does and Sour Grapes and the Purple Pieman accuse it of being a monster! Plum then realizes that the odd footprint isn't really a footprint, but Figboot's tail and feet. When the Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes plan to capture him they all quickly give chase. When Figboot accidentally gets stuck in a cage, the berry children get stuck in a net!
Back at the Pieman's home, they try to make the newly required "monster" do something monster-like but its no use. Sour Grapes then say they can either take it as it is, or they can put him into the cage instead.
Back with the berry girls now, Plum manages to figure out how they can get out of the netted cage and she points to a tiny little daisy. Strawberry asks how that can help help when Plum points out Mr. Sun. By having him shine brightly the flower suddenly sprouts up and frees them from the net-cage and they run off to go save Figboot. Strawberry thanks Mr. Sun as she then informs the berry children of her idea involving both all of them, and all of their pets.
Sour Grapes and the Peculiar Purple Pieman are in a hurry to head to the trolley that will take them to the Big Apple City so that they can turn in the "monster". They suddenly come to a stop and notice a ginormous footprint in the ground! A giant monster appears and they quickly take off, allowing the girls to rescuse figboot from the glass tank it was being held in. Strawberry then tells them that they need to fill all of the holes they dug, then they can go back to Strawberry's in order to celebrate by singing a song as the special ends...
Cast[]
- Russi Taylor as Strawberry Shortcake
- Robert Ridgely as The Peculiar Purple Pieman
- Jeri Craden as Sour Grapes, Fig Boot
- Melleny Brown as Lemon Meringue, Lime Chiffon
- Cree Summer Francks as Orange Blossom
- Monica Parker as Baby Needs-A-Name
- Susan Roman as Peach Blush, Blueberry Muffin
- Laurie Waller-Benson as Plum Puddin'
- Chris Wiggins as Mr. Sun
- Unknown as Raspberry Tart, Custard, Frappe Frog, Gooseberry, Elderberry Owl
Non-Voiced Appearance[]
- Cherry Cuddler
- Apricot
- Lem and Ada
- Cafe Ole
- Almond Tea
- Crepes Suzette
- Mint Tulip
- Angel Cake
- Apple Dumplin'
- Marmalade Butterfly
- Hopsalot Bunny
- Cheesecake Mouse
- Rhubarb Monkey
- Souffle Skunk
- Tea Time Turtle
- Maple Stirrup
- Sugar Woofer
- Burrito Burro
- Marza Panda
- Dregs Snake
- Berry Birds
- Melonie Belle Lamb
Songs[]
- We're Going Camping
- Scary Holiday
- Monster Song
- Best Friends
Trivia[]
- This is Plum's third Special appearance, due to "her" not appearing in the previous two. This is also Female Plum's first special appearance. This gender change is never addressed, but it seems to be that, as far as this special is concerned, Plum Puddin' was never a boy in the first place.
- This is the first of two Strawberry Shortcake specials not to feature Huckleberry Pie.
- While reassuring Baby Needs-A-Name that she'll get a name someday, Strawberry does an aside glance at the camera as a nod to how the gimmick of Baby's doll is that you give her a name.
- In production notes and certain ancillary media, Baby Needs-A-Name is referred to as "Lullaberry". This seems to be either a placeholder name to avoid confusion with the title of the special, or it was going to be Baby Needs-A-Name's original name before it was decided to not give her one, much like how Tamale was originally referred to as "Guacamole" before his name was changed. For Baby Needs-A-Name's doll, Lullaberry Pie is used as one of her official suggested names on an included sticker sheet to label her name bracelet.
- Some of the characters appear in their Party Pleasers and Sweet Sleepers clothing from the doll line.
- This is the only appearance of Maple Stirrup.
- This special features the highest number of voice actors in the 1980s Series, with nine voice actors.
Continuity[]
- Sour Grapes' dreadful singing is brought up again, along with Pieman's hatred of Berry Talk from the previous two specials.
- Plum Puddin' is mentioned to have been away on a trip, likely serving as an explanation for her sudden disappearance during Strawberry Shortcake: Pets on Parade and Strawberry Shortcake: Housewarming Surprise.
- Sour Grapes mentions Big Apple City while she and Pieman attempt to flee with Fig Boot. Big Apple City previously appeared in Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City.
- Inconsistencies:
- Strawberry Shortcake welcomes back Elderberry Owl alongside Plum Puddin'. Elderberry Owl was nowhere in Strawberryland in any of the previous specials.
- The obvious one with Plum Puddin's gender. In the first two specials, Plum Puddin' was a boy. From this special onwards, Plum Puddin' is a girl and is treated as if she had always been one from the start. The real-life explanation is simply that girl dolls sold better than boy dolls, which is why boy Plum never got a doll until she became a girl.
References[]
- During the song, Purple Pieman compares Fig Boot to Godzilla, a tokusatsu lizard monster from the Japanese franchise of the same name.
- Fig Boot is a pun on Bigfoot, a famous monster hoax/legend about a large ape-like creature who roams the forests of North America. If one were to make further comparisons to Godzilla, whose most iconic foe is the giant ape King Kong, this makes Fig Boot being a lizard creature fairly ironic.