Sky's The Limit is a pilot movie to the Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures series. It takes place after the pilot and was released in 2009 as a straight to DVD movie.
Summary[]
After the Berryworks water supply is blocked by a giant rock, everybody has to work to try and find water before they are forced to evacuate and leave Berry Bitty City for good. But the Berry Girls head off, under false pretenses by a story told to them by Mr. Longface.
Plot[]
Strawberry Shortcake is on her way to the Berry Works with Pupcake. Everyone works together to collect the berries when Strawberry makes an off-handed comment to ask what they would do should they run out of berry juice after they discuss its importance to keep Berry Bitty City powered. They hate the idea of having to leave, but they wouldn't have a choice; but they don't think this will happen, they have a lot of berries. Strawberry decides to let the subject drop since they don't seem too worried.
Later at the Cafe, Orange Blossom has gathered some berrykin to build a fountain with her. Blueberry seems skeptical of their capabilities but Orange rebuffs this by reminding Blueberry of what she said before, then she shows them the drawing she prepared for their plans. When Lemon expresses concern that someone could fall in, Raspberry attempts to come up with some solutions to remedy this- unaware of the Berrykin behind her trying to make all of her ideas.
Meanwhile, inside the cafe Custard shows how she can run the blender but Strawberry doesn't approve or appreciate this moment of showing off. Mr. Longface arrives having decided to pay Strawberry a visit and she attempts to use this moment to make him spill the beans regarding the next chapter of the story he's been telling them. He refuses, deciding to talk about family instead. As they converse problems outside begin to arise, when juice spews out of a half-finished pipe. Strawberry expresses shock but decides a juice short isn't too concerning, until a warning bell starts to go off to alert everyone of an approaching storm. The girls rush inside, with Orange accidentally dropping her drawing; the wind lifting it from the ground and carrying it away.
Being stuck in the cafe for the time being the girls attempt to trick Mr. Longface into revealing the next chapter of his story. He remains stubborn and tries to inform them that the storm has since quit, which seems to get the job done.
The Berry Works water supply is blocked by a big rock being held by a keystone. Princess Berrykin drives off in order to find more water as the others try to determine what to do about the rock. Even if they would move it, the riverbed beyond it would most likely ruin the town due to the gathering water, and if the keystone is removed the big rock will fall down the hill and flatten Berry Bitty City. Orange, not hearing this piece of info, rushes in to try pushing the keystone out, but this only causes debris to rain down on her. Strawberry decides the rock should be off limits in the mean time and they sit down nearby to wait for the berrykin. But when they don't return that evening she suggests they look for them. The Princess arrives and points out she located a source of water, but because it's so far away they will have to move from the City over the next two days.
Everyone feels depressed by this bleak situation until Mr. Longface appears to tell them about the Great Geyser Stone, a gold stone that spurts water when placed in the sunlight. Strawberry asks him to verify such a tall tale and he recalls that it can be found south of Berry Bitty City. The girls decide they must go out to look for it but Strawberry remains unsure, but with nothing left to lose they decide it's still work checking out. They make plans to leave the following morning. Strawberry leaves Pupcake and Custard with some Berrykin and says farewell to the Princess before she and the other Berry Girls, along with Mr. Longface.
They leave just to discover the path is blocked, leading Plum to crack a joke while posing dramatic to keep their spirits up. Mr. Longface insists they just need to keep going south, although his compass is broken, and the sun can't be used because the tall plant life is covering it up from where they are at currently.
It's then Orange Blossom gets an idea, but she believes it's not worth mentioning until Strawberry can convince her. Orange explains how the Banyabana Flower always points towards the sun, even when its hidden. Lucky for them, a Banyabana Flower is right there and Strawberry elects Orange as the leader for spotting this.
The group continue along as Mr. Longface reviews the previous chapter of his story. This causes distraction and he fails to see the sliding slope before him, causing him to slip as the girls hurriedly try to think of a plan. Orange pulls out an oak leaf and they hop onto it, except for the anxious Blueberry, who worries they could get hurt. She's forced to reluctantly join it after being reminded that they don't have the time to think of something else. After being launched into the air, the girls land atop some daisies. Blueberry had a lot of fun and she excitedly gushes while Strawberry checks on everyone else. She is concerned that they must be off-course by now, but Mr. Longface assures Strawberry that they are going the right away.
She remains unconvinced, but the herd of stampeding bunnies distracts them yet again. Luckily flowers fall along the bunnies' path so everybody makes a run for it across the tops, except for the scared Lemon until Strawberry holds her arm for support. Everybody seems to find it fun, including Lemon, and at the edge of the flower field the bunnies are catching up to them. When things look badly, it's then Lemon gets an idea and tells everybody to run in place. The running causes the flower stems to twist, which makes the flower spin and take itself into the sky.
The girls enjoy their momentary flight until seeing they're about to land in a next of bristling thistles. Thankfully they land safely, except for Raspberry and Mr. Longface, whose flowers got stuck on top of the thistles. Mr. Longface has no problem sliding down the stem with his book still in hand, and with some encouraging from Plum, who makes more jokes, Raspberry calms down enough to get down to safety. Mr. Longface remarks they are right on course and they continue on, only to mention they might need to settle down in this location for a new home, should they fail to locate the geyser stone. Strawberry, out of confusion gets him alone in order to ask for more information and he eventually admits that they must locate the cavern of seven waterfalls. Strawberry asks for a location and it appears to be up ahead.
As they head to the cave the girls find themselves stopped by a deep canyon with no way to cross it, which upsets them deeply. Mr. Longface tries to cheer them up and convince them they can just build a new Berry Bitty City, but stressed out Plum tearfully runs away to be alone. Strawberry tries to convince her not to be ashamed of crying and Plum confesses that while she always makes jokes, she loves the city and another one won't be the same, she refuses to let anything replace it. This convinces the others to put more effort into finding the geyser stone and they continue on.
They use a vine to try and use it as a bridge but this doesn't help anything, leading Mr. Longface to comment that this may be too much for them to handle. They insist otherwise as Lemon begins to braid some reeds together to make a stronger rope, which they attach to a branch to pull it down to let them cross. Mr. Longface tries to stop them from crossing, distracting Raspberry and causing her to panic until Lemon lends her a hand, and he continues to try to convince them to turn around. Strawberry drags him across refusing to back away now.
Once they get inside the cave the girls note a lack of waterfalls and geyser stone. Mr. Longface tries to say it was probably thieves but Orange spots a glittering stone in a pool of light. Believing this is it the girls attempt to grab it, causing Mr. Longface to try to confess he made up the story. At first the girls don't hear him and instead praise him for his help. They grab the stone and run for outside to test it, but Mr. Longface stops them, claiming it's too late since it is passing sunset. They will have to wait until the morning and he tries to confess once more, but struggling with the words he goes silent.
Camp is set up and the girls snack on marshmallows around a campfire. Once again the girls try to convince him to finish the story but he claims to be tired and slinks off to get some sleep. While disappointed, the girls respect his wishes and soon turn in. While they are sleeping Mr. Longface steals the stone from Strawberry and attempts to discard it- only for it to land on a nearby ledge. He tries to knock it down with his cane, losing his hat in the process and then his book. While trying to keep it from falling, he himself falls onto the ledge.
The girls hear him and quickly approach to ask what is going on. He attempts to claim a thief took it and he stopped them but they don't buy it. At any rate they must get him and the stone back up there when Raspberry gets an idea. She dismisses it though, calling it silly when Strawberry and the rest implore and ask her to share it, convincing her that whether it's silly or not they still care about her and won't dislike her for telling them. Raspberry then explains that they can use the rope to lower one of them down while the others keep hold of the other end, above the ledge.
Strawberry manages to grab hold of the stone but while she is being pulled up the ledge Mr. LongFace is on it begins to crumble. He falls but manages to grab a root nearby and Strawberry has the girls lower her- but it is unable to help until Raspberry ties the rope to her waist and has the others hold her feet, allowing her to be lowered to save Strawberry, Mr. Longface, and the Geyser Stone. Strawberry manages to grab him with her free hand but his weight causes problems and with nothing else, Strawberry drops the stone, allowing them to be pulled to safety.
Once they are both pulled up Mr. LongFace expresses a lot of gratitude for Strawberry and the others for saving his life but the others mourn the loss of the stone they were so dependent on. This causes Strawberry to break down in tears over the choice she had to make and for putting the girls in danger, causing Plum to try to comfort her. It's then Mr. Longface's book falls from his vest and Blueberry catches it, realizing it's but a cook book- not the special legendary tale he was telling them. Strawberry calls him out on this and he burst into tears while explaining that he made everything up. He has no family and the stone they found was fake gold, but he wanted everyone to cheer up not knowing it would lead them to this point to fix things. Everyone is disappointed, but Strawberry blames herself for the whole thing.
The very next day, the girls return home where the Berrykins consider them heroes. Mr. Longface mopes behind them, while Strawberry breaks the news about the stone and suggests they go pack.
Helping at Orange's store, Blueberry finds Banyabana seeds on the shelf which reminds Orange about the adventure, while over at Sweet Beats Studio, Raspberry cheers up a gloomy Plum with her "thistle dance" from earlier. Strawberry goes over pictures on the walls of her Cafe and soon everyone is finished. As they begin heading to their new home, Blueberry suddenly finds Orange's drawing from earlier against a tree and seeing the colors muted by the rain she gets an idea. She maps out her plan and explains that one group will lasso the keystone holding the rock in place, while the second group will use a net to deflect the rock into a nearby ravine.
Everyone likes this idea, except for Strawberry, whose confidence has been shattered by their failed quest. While they try to prepare, she tries to convince them to not bother since it's so risky but they remind her of what she told them earlier on. She recalls letting them down but they claim this isn't true- in fact she helped them numerous times during their quest. This fails to convince her and she points out they need more help, so Blueberry tells her to ask the Berrykins. Strawberry thinks they won't take another risk but Orange mentions if Strawberry asks they will listen. When Strawberry begins to question her claim, Raspberry reminds Strawberry that she is able to motivate anyone. Convinced, Strawberry decides to put her faith into them as they have her and she goes to ask for help.
The girls continue to prepare, making rope, sewing up fabric for the net, while Strawberry and the Berrykins find a suitable fallen branch. Soon almost everything is in place, but Strawberry notices Mr. Longface sulking, so she tries to get him involved. It nearly works until Blueberry accidentally remarks on it and he leaves to sulk further. They don't have the time to worry about him and Blueberry's group successfully pulls out the keystone and the rock goes rolling down the riverbed.
Strawberry's group holds onto the rope until just the right time but when they release it the end of the rope
gets caught against a tree, by its knot. With the rock threatening to just break through the net, Strawberry tries to reach the bow only to notice its too high. With Mr. Longface's help, Strawberry manages to reach it by using his book to hit it repeatedly until it comes free. The book is accidentally destroyed while the ropes loosen up and the net acts like a slingshot and sends the rock into a puddle of mud. The water begins to flow and the Berry Works starts up once more and everybody begins to rejoice.
After some time passes, Strawberry throws a party at the cafe with a special gift for Mr. Longface. She explains that they wouldn't have figured out a plan to remove the rock had he not sent them on that quest. However he feels as though he shouldn't be forgiven so easily but Strawberry believes that everybody deserves a second chance and gives him a blank book to write his stories in.
A little while later, both Blueberry and Raspberry present Orange with the finished fountain. They have nicknamed it "The Great Geyser Fountain" and admire how well it works until juice begins to gush everyone again. Strawberry doesn't appreciate the chaos and goes to stop it until a delighted Raspberry manages to convince her otherwise, and she joins in on them celebrating their success.
Quotes[]
- Plum: Looks like it's the end of the road for us!
- Strawberry: We'll think of a way.
- Blueberry: I hope so, because without water, the berries will die!
Lessons[]
Each Berry Girl learned a lesson that tested their characters throughout the story.
- Orange rushes head-on into things without thinking them entirely through. After seeing it go badly, she becomes reserved and shrinks back when it comes time for her to take responsibility for the group and come up with new ideas, until she realizes that there is a difference between being brave and reckless.
- Blueberry attempts to come up with a rational solution when time is limited, and learns that sometimes immediate action must be taken and our instincts must be trusted.
- Lemon becomes paralyzed with fear until Strawberry is able to instill courage in her. She uses this positive outlook to come up with a creative solution to their problem, allowing her to get in touch with her creative side and have fun even when things look bleak.
- Plum constantly cracks jokes and laughs throughout the whole journey to keep everyone uplifted, but she neglects her own feelings until she became so overwhelmed that it made her cry. Strawberry helps her realize that it's okay to express ones emotions, and to not try to shoulder everything for the sake of others.
- Throughout the movie, Raspberry would often throw out ideas in a jumbled-up, convoluted manner. She has been always shy and timid, not really expressing herself and feeling silly when she did. But Strawberry assures her that it won't make them change their opinions of her and that all ideas can be good, allowing her to learn how to express herself more easily and encourage the others when they needed it.
- Mr. Longface sees the girls' disappointment for being forced to leave their beloved home, so he tries to cheer them up with a fanciful story. He never believe the girls would attempt to find it, so out of shame he leads them around to try to make them give up, learning that lying to others for their happiness may make things worse.
- Strawberry struggles to stay positive and encouraging as the girls had to deal with stress until the dangerous situation they are put in caused her to lose it and grow sullen and doubtful. She loses faith in herself and her courage, and starts to doubt her friends own abilities until they manage to tell her of what they learned from this trip and manage to keep her going.
Trivia[]
- In the theme song for the cartoon series, four clips from the film were inserted and do not appear in the actual cartoons: the group walking under a big sparkly purple flower; Strawberry and Lemon floating on the flowers; Strawberry hugging Pupcake; and Strawberry, Lemon, Blueberry and Pupcake exiting the cafe to look around when the rain stops.
- All the aforementioned clips are used for the introductions of Seasons 1 and 2. The first scene is not included in the Season 3 introduction; none of these clips are included in in the Season 4 introduction.
- In the film tiny coloring details differ from the series, including Orange's eyes and Plum's hair accessory.
- Blueberry says the word "die" in this film, a word not often used in children media. This is the only instance of this word being used in the series.
Goofs[]
- When all the girls head inside the cafe during the rain, Lemon can be seen moving her arms, trying to rub her braid even though she wasn't touching it.
- After Strawberry says "We're going to have to move to the water", Plum says "move" but Lemon's voice is heard and Blueberry says "What Do You Mean" in Plum's voice.
- During the credits there appear to be still images, one of which reveals the movie was cropped inward. In the film Plum is hugging Mr. Longface, but in the credits it zooms out to reveal Strawberry observing them.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Sky's the Limit at the Internet Movie Database