Comments on: Goodbye, Strawberry Shortcake

By: Keeterbug

Keeterbug — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:36:15 +0000

Oh God. I was still in mourning over Holly Hobbie and now THIS?! I need a gumdrop.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:59:30 +0000

What on earth? Where will the madness stop?
Cell phones…sheesh!

By: cheri

cheri — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:15:12 +0000

Showing off your website to coworkers recently, the lemonade stand and all the cool stuff… a girl in the office pointed at “gumby” and said what is that? We told her about gumby & pokey, how cool they are and what fun we had with them. She said “but what do you do with them?”. We were floored.
Not only has the marketing companies & media remade lovable childrens toys – they have produced a generation that expect the toys to “do something” to entertain them.
Glad there are many young at heart people out there who still look at life with true childlike joy & imagination. Thank you Jason & Kim for this website..

By: Minette

Minette — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:12:39 +0000

**Double sigh** When will grown-ups leave some of this stuff alone? How in the world do you create a Goth Tweety-Bird??? I shudder just to think of it – I always like to quote “I taught I taw a puddy tat” at my nephews but I sometimes change it to something like “I taught I taw a widdle boy” just for kicks. Kids have enough problems today, let’s leave the toys alone!

By: Christopher Fritz

Christopher Fritz — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 02:07:12 +0000

While the new design is cute, TheAngelForever is spot-on in the “Disney Channel” comment. For a moment, I thought I was looking at a younger Kim Possible with pink hair. What gets me from the article is the quote, “It’s also about creating a cohesive line. We’re downplaying characters that were part of Strawberry’s world but who didn’t immediately shout out fruit.” Why not start a new line of characters? Granted, the article covers the uncertainty of new characters, but if you’re changing who old characters are, and will probably replace Angel Cake with a “Cinnamon Persimmon” (with emphasis on the fruit), then how does this differ from making a new line of characters? Why not introduce a new line of characters who live in the same world, or live nearby, so crossovers can be used?

I don’t know anything about Strawberry Shortcake (Wikipedia is my friend), but this set up of characters seems just ripe for a slice-of-life series. There’ve been a number of popular slice-of-life animations in Japan, and when done right, they can appeal to both children and adults (or at least parents, and adults who are children at heart!) Using either the 1980 look or the 200X look, but not the new look shown in the article, the right animation company could pull it off. And with good writing and artwork, a line of comics (again, I’m looking at the popular Japanese slice-of-life comics, which resulted in most of the aforementioned popular slice-of-life animations) could even lead to an increased desire to read (rather than simply watch) Miss Shortcake and her friends.

Again, I don’t know anything about the Shortcake characters and mythos, but the idea of adding in cell phones and such sounds like the plan is to throw out the original concepts, but continue to use the character names (so long as they’re fruit-friendly). American Greetings should look at what made the “Little Nemo” movie great (well, until they look at its movie theatre flop…), being an adaptation from a comic strip from the early 1900’s. There are ways to stay relevant today without whitewashing and re-branding.

Sorry, I think I may have rambled incoherently =P

By: TheAngelForever

TheAngelForever — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:31:24 +0000

*sigh* What will be next? I cringe at the thought of the adorable Carebears with less tummy. Come on people they are BEARS that are cartoons! Seriously it has gone too far ruining good things. First they kill He-Man and make him look like a freak with a hunch in his back, and now poor Strawberry Shortcake. Sure the new one is “cute” in a teen star a la Disney Channel kind of way. That is now what Strawberry Shortcake is all about. She is supposed to be a wholesome character.