Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears Team for Animated Special

WildBrain and Cloudco Entertainment are bringing together two popular 1980s kids’ brands for a new animated special featuring Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears. The “retro-forward” 44-minute animated preschool special, “The Care Berry Switch” (working title), is being co-developed by the creative teams at both companies, with WildBrain Studios poised to lead animation production. 

While the characters, Strawberry Shortcake and Cheer Bear, have never met, in “The Care Berry Switch,” the characters wish upon the same star for a new adventure that opens a magical portal to the other’s world. New friendships are formed with Strawberry in Care-A-Lot and Cheer Bear with The Berries in Strawberryland. Then, when Strawberry’s foe, Purple Pie Man, and the Care Bear’s nemesis, No Heart, cause chaos, the Care Bears and The Berries must team up to save their worlds and new friendships. 

The special will pay homage to each brand’s 40-plus years with nostalgic design and humor aimed to appeal to multiple generations. 

“Bringing these two much-loved and instantly recognizable brands together for the first time was an opportunity too good to miss, with their shared ethos of sweetness and friendship perfect for crossover adventures and fun,” says Steph Betts, executive vice president, content creation, WildBrain. “It’s exciting to collaborate with our colleagues at Cloudco to bring this shared vision to life and deliver something extra-special to the millions of Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears fans around the world.”  

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“It’s not often when one can deliver something that is unprecedented, fun and surprising, so it’s particularly satisfying to be able to do that here with two iconic brands at once,” says Ian Lambur, executive vice president, content strategy, Cloudco. “Both brands are inherently magical and charming in their own right, so we cannot wait to show off all the exponential wonder and fun that results when these two worlds cross over.” 

WildBrain and Cloudco will present the new Strawberry Shortcake x Care Bears project at MIPCOM, held in Cannes Oct. 18-24.