The World of Strawberry Shortcake
| The World of Strawberry Shortcake | |
|---|---|
Title card | |
| Genre | Animated special |
| Written by | Romeo Muller |
| Directed by | Charles Swenson |
| Starring | Russi Taylor Romeo Muller Robert Ridgely Julie McWhirter Joan Gerber |
| Theme music composer | Mark Volman Howard Kaylan Performed by: Flo & Eddie Lyrics: Romeo Muller |
| Country of origin | United States Japan |
| Original languages | English Japanese |
| Production | |
| Producers | Romeo Muller Charles Swenson Fred Wolf |
| Cinematography | Ted McMiller Meguro Hirochi |
| Editor | Rich Harrison |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production companies | Muller/Rosen Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Toei Animation RLR Associates (uncredited) Those Characters from Cleveland (uncredited) |
| Budget | US$400,000 |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | March 28, 1980 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The World of Strawberry Shortcake is a 1980 animated television special written by Romeo Muller, directed by Charles Swenson, and produced by Swenson, Muller, and Fred Wolf. Starring the voices of Russi Taylor, Romeo Muller, Robert Ridgely, Julie McWhirter, and Joan Gerber, it was made by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson in the United States in partnership with Toei Animation in Japan. The soundtrack was written and performed by Flo & Eddie of the rock group, The Turtles, for the opening theme of the series.
The plot follows the title character, Strawberry Shortcake, who lives in a fictional place called Strawberryland. In the special, narrated by Mr. Sun, she and her friends celebrate her sixth birthday, and with preparations for her party underway, a villain called the Peculiar Purple Pieman plots to steal the berries from Strawberry's home for making the "pies" that Strawberry baked.
The special was produced and sponsored by the Kenner toy company, as the first special to feature the American Greetings character, Strawberry Shortcake. Despite bypassing network television, it aired on March 28, 1980, having been syndicated across over ninety American cities, and was later released on 16mm film, VHS, Betamax, and DVD. The special received two positive reviews in the School Library Journal: in 1983 and 2007.