20th Century-Fox has released the latest Strawberry Shortcake DVD, Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance, which included two, 22-minute shorts of Strawberry's adventures, along with some special extras, including a large fold-out plastic dance mat to help your little girl learn how to do the latest dance craze in Strawberryland: The Strawberry Shake!

I've written before about Strawberry Shortcake (please click here to read that review), but that was the older, early 1980s version of the character. Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance features the newly revamped character - one I've never seen before - and not surprisingly (since there are millions of dollars tied up in these things), this Strawberry comes off quite well. First, I was glad she wasn't turned into an anonymous tween with "issues," like the recent Holly Hobbie: Best Friends Forever DVD I reviewed. This Strawberry may look more contemporary (jeans, clogs, a pullover), but she's still the "berry" sweetest girl you'll ever meet (did I just write that?), with a warm, welcoming attitude to which young girls immediately respond. In the opening of this new DVD, Strawberry talks directly to the young audience, asking them to come over to her house to hear her stories, while her cat Custard and her dog Pupcake also smile beneficently at the viewer, gently wagging their tails. It's a nice moment, and it shows the savvy of the makers of Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance that they understand little girls (and boys for that matter, too) love nothing more than someone looking right at them, and talking with them.

In Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance, Strawberry recounts two stories from her memory book, for her audience. First, Strawberry talks about the time she and her friends Orange Blossom, Ginger Snap, and Angel Cake were working in Strawberry's strawberry fields. Using dance to help them get through all the hard work, they wished they could dance all the time. Unbeknownst to them, the evil Peculiar Purple Pie Man and his sister, Sour Grapes, were watching all this activity, and plotting to steal Strawberry's strawberry crop, to be used in Pie Man's pies. Their plan is to have Sour Grapes, disguised as Madame Rita Rutabaga, open a phoney dance studio, to keep the young girls occupied while the Pie Man steals all of Strawberry's crops. Unfortunately for his plan, Sour Grapes comes to love the little girls, and reveals her secret identity to them. Will Strawberry foil the Pie Man's plot before she loses all her strawberries?

The second story in Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance takes place in winter, when all of Strawberryland is covered in snow and ice. The girls love to ice skate, and they decide to put on a winter show, complete with new ice dancing routines. A new girl, Apricot, shows up, and in a rather blase manner, informs all of them that she lives in a mansion, and that she won medals for ice dancing. When Strawberry offers Apricot the opportunity to do the big dance number in the show - even though she's worked very hard for it herself (Strawberry is that kind of girl) - Apricot becomes considerably less enthusiastic about the prospect. Eventually, Apricot winds up on crutches, unable to perform the dance - but is she really hurt? And does she really live in a big mansion? Of course, Strawberry already knows the answer to both questions, and her manner of dealing with Apricot is indicative of her sweet, caring nature.

These really are sweet, charming little tales, told simply and in an unadulterated, admirably straightforward manner. There's no pretense to their construction, and the lessons put forth in Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance - work hard, and you'll be able to do things you never dreamed possible; be kind to others and understand their faults, while expecting others to be honest with you - are valuable little homilies that little girls should hear again and again. The animation and execution of these little shorts are also quite cute and endearing, with a soft color pallette that the young audience will no doubt love. As well, there are a couple of songs in Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance that are, unlike most of the new songs that are included in these children's DVDs (the wretched songs in Holly Hobbie: Best Friends Forever are a good example), quite sweet and nice, and expertly produced. Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance is a charming little offering that any young girl will watch again and again.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full frame, 1.33:1 video image for Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance is sharp and brightly colored, although I did notice some jagging occasionally (something I don't think any young child is going to care about in the slightest).

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo audio mix is perfect for this kind of DVD; the songs come through quite nicely, and all the dialogue is crystal clear. English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Extras:
There are some adorable extras included on the Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance disc, including the Strawberry Shake Sing and Dance-Along feature, where Strawberry patiently guides your child in the steps for her latest dance, the Strawberry Shake. There's even a large plastic fold out play mat with colorful designs on it to further the fun when Strawberry sings the various places on the mat for your young child to hop to. There's also a music video for Friendship is a Dance, as well as Strawberry reading her Character Gallery Memory Book, where each character is described, and a short video is shown of them in action.

Final Thoughts:
You don't get much sweeter than Strawberry Shortcake, and it's nice to see that American Greeting hasn't screwed up the character when they modernized her. She's still adorable, and kind, and your young child will love her adventures here in Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance. The extras included on this disc, including the fold out dance mat, will no doubt delight them, as well. I recommend Strawberry Shortcake: Let's Dance.