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. Long Face.
Review
Strawberry Shortcake rides her scooter to visit the Berry Works with Pupcake in town. Upon arrival, Princess Berrykin announces that it is the beginning of Berry Picking time and everybody sings together when Strawberry makes an off-handed comment regarding what they would do if they should run out of the juice but everybody points out that without juice the city wouldn't have any power, then everybody would have to leave. Sure this won't happen she simply brushes it off and heads back.
Meanwhile at the Cafe, Orange Blossom has gathered a few berrykins to build a fountain. Blueberry seems skeptical of the Berrykin's capabilities but Orange rebuffs her by repeating what Blueberry once said before showing them the drawing she made. When Lemon tries to mention that someone might accidentally fall in, Raspberry attempts to theorize what they could do to remedy this with the Berrykin running behind her to try to make her ideas.
Inside the cafe, Custard shows how she can run the blender but Strawberry doesn't approve or appreciate this moment of showing off. It's then Mr. Long Face appears, having nothing better to do he decided to come by for a visit. Strawberry tries to get him to spill the beans regarding the next chapter of a story he reads at the Cafe but its no use, he'd rather talk about family.
While the two of them make small talk, problems arise at the fountain when Juice spews from the half-finished pipes. Strawberry is horrified by this but doesn't seem to mind it much, cutting the juice short and demanding an explanation when a warning bell suddenly erupts. An approaching storm is coming and everybody must get to a safe place. As they head inside, Orange's drawing falls to the ground as the rain falls before carrying it up into the air.
Being stuck in the cafe for the time being, the girls attempt to trick Mr. Long Face into revealing the next chapter of his story but he refuses. He distracts them by pointing out the storm has ended, but unknown to them all the trouble is just beginning.
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 and tries to push the keystone out, causing the rock to move and rain debris on her. Strawberry decides the rock should be off limits in the mean time and they sit down nearby to wait for the berrykins.
Soon evening arrives and with no sign of the berrykin Strawberry decides to check for them. The Princess arrives and points out she located a source of water, but it's too far away. Everyone is going to have to move, and she estimates they only have two days to do it. No one is happy by these events, and as the girls are expressing their sadness, Mr. Long Face appears and begins to tell them of the Great Geyser Stone. This golden stone will spurt water when placed in the sunlight, and Strawberry asks for verification on the story. He mentions it is south of the city while the others try to pump him for more information and decide they must go after this stone in order to save Berry Bitty City. Although Strawberry is still curious, they make plans to leave the next 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. Long Face take off. Unfortunately they come to a blocked pathway. Plum seems to crack a joke while posing dramatic to keep their spirits up when Mr. Long Face insists they just need to keep going south. His compass has broken and he cannot use the sun to help him either, as it is
covered by everything else in their current position.
It's then Orange Blossom gets an idea- but lacking confidence after the fountain accident she is unable to say or act upon it. Strawberry seems to notice and tries to convince her to share what she has learned when Orange mentions how a 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.
As the group continues the girls remain quiet while Mr. Long Face reviews the previous chapter of his story, hoping he won't notice it when he begins detailing the upcoming on they've been dying to hear. The only thing he doesn't notice however, is the inclined slope before him. He slides down the hill as the girls attempt to think of a plan when Orange pulls out an oak leaf and they hop on; except for Blueberry who does not like this plan one bit and tries to convince them of the possibility that they could get hurt. But with no choice and no time to think it over, she is forced to reluctantly join in.
After being launched into the air, the girls land atop some daisies. Strawberry tries to check on everybody while Blueberry raves over how much fun it was. Strawberry then goes to help Mr. Long Face, insisting they must be way off course by now. He reassures her that she is wrong, but Strawberry is somewhat doubtful, only for her concerns to be cut short by a herd of stampeding bunnies.
Luckily many 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. Long Face, whose flowers got stuck on top of the thistles. Mr. Long Face has no problem sliding down the stem with his book still in hand, and Raspberry is able to make it down as Plum makes another joke.
Mr. Long Face 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. Long Face 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 into finding the geyser stone and they continue on.
They use a vine to try and use it as a bridge but all of their pulling is only in vain. Mr. Long Face comments that it
may be too much for the girls to handle, causing them to insist otherwise as Lemon begins to braid some reeds together to make a stronger rope. They manage to attach it to a branch and pull it down, allowing them to cross. But Mr. Long Face tries to stop them from crossing, distracting Raspberry and causing her to panic until Lemon lends her a hand. Mr. Long Face tries to keep them from crossing, but Strawberry won't take no for an answer and is forced to drag him across.
Once they get inside the cave the girls note a lack of waterfalls and geyser stone. Mr. Long Face 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. Long Face 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. Long Face 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. Long Face 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. Long Face, 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 dependant 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. Long Face'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 Berrykin consider them heroes. Mr. Long Face 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. Long Face 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. Long Face'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. Long Face. 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 its 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 film.
- Orange rushed face-first into things without thinking of the ramifications they might cause. Seeing how badly it could have turned out she became reserved and shrunk back when it came to ideas to avoid hurting anyone until she realizes there is a middle ground between courage and thinking things through.
- 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 was constantly cracking jokes and laughing throughout the whole journey. But after she broke down and cried she felt that she was weak for crying and feeling sad, only learning that it is important to express her feelings.
- Throughout the movie, Raspberry would often throw out ideas in a jumbled-up, convoluted manner. She was always shy and timid, not really expressing herself and feeling silly when she did. But when she comes up with a good idea, Strawberry assures her that it won't make them change their opinions of her and that all ideas can be good. They use it to save Mr. Long Face and it allowed her to grow more bold and remind the others of their strengths when the time came.
- Mr. Long Face saw their disappointment at having to leave their beloved home, so he tried to cheer them up with a fanciful story. He never believed the girls would attempt to find it so out of shame he led them around to try to make them give up, learning that lying to others for their happiness may make things worse.
- Strawberry struggled to stay positive and encouraging as the girls had to deal with stress until the dangerous situation they were put in caused her to lose it and grow sullen and doubtful. She lost faith in herself and her courage, and started to doubt her friends own abilities until they were able to tell her of what they learned from this trip and managed to keep her going.
Trivia
- In the theme song for the series, four clips came from the movie: 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 exit the cafe and look around after the rain stops.
- 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. In most children programs words like this are considered a taboo, thus are usually not allowed to be used. This is the only time such a word was said in the series.
Gallery
Sky's the Limit/Gallery