"Different Waltz for Different Faults" is an episode of Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures.
Summary[]
Plum's competitiveness gets the better of her when the dance competition she's lost so many times approaches. This year her desire to win is greater than ever before and she pushes her friends past their limits until she's the only one on the team left.
Episode Review[]
The girls are standing outside of Plum's dance studio, waiting for dance class to begin. Strawberry offers everyone a muffin while they wait, and they hear music inside so they know she's home. But she won't let them in yet. She loudly whistles to get their purple-haired friend's attention and she allows them inside. She apologizes for keeping them waiting and explains that she lost track of time. The Big Bitty City Dancers always win the upcoming dance competition and she's tiring of losing to them, so she put together a special, brand new dance routine. She shows the other girls what she has in mind, but they do not share her enthusiasm.
Realizing this, Plum shows them a video of her rivals performance from last year, but this only makes the other girls anticipate what they have planned for this year. She attempts to rouse them with a lively speech, but this doesn't do much either because the girls know they can't give Plum what she wants, they don't have the same dance experience. But Plum refuses to let them quit on her. She's sure that if with enough practice they'll be fine.
With that, Plum decides to go through the impractical routine to show them how easy it is. But she's already worn out, and she gets confused while trying to follow it; which the other girls notice. They try to remind her that it's more important to have fun, but Plum doesn't listen. She really wants that trophy. The girls agree to do their best for her sake, and ask if she could simplify the dance as they are unsure if they can follow through with it. Plum is hesitant since this tampers with her vision and she refuses to compromise, which causes the other girls some concern. They see how serious she is and agree to give it a try, spending the rest of the day practicing until late into the evening when Plum finally lets them leave.
Over the days the berry girls find themselves worn out and frustrated as Plum continues to push them to practice. She encourages them to keep dancing while they work, but this ends up resulting in various messes.
Eventually the day of the dance competition meet-and-greet arrives. The teams come together and Plum feels so intimidated that she calls an emergency practice session. She gives each girl specific details on what they need to work on, and then offers them tips and tricks on how to improve- such as suggesting that Raspberry balance a vase on her head, Lemon should focus on designing the team hairdo's from a sketch she provided, she gives Blueberry a book on dancing to read, and she asks Orange to pick a bunch of Glimmerberries for nutrition. She tells Strawberry to just keep practicing.
Foot stuck in vase... now I've seen everything.
Over time, the girls are shown trying to put what Plum gave them to practice. Lemon works on creating the perfect hairdo for the competition based on Plum's sketch, Raspberry's vase falls and she accidentally gets her foot stuck in it and Blueberry despairs over having to read an entire book in one night. Meanwhile, Orange attempts to figure out how to get the Glimmerberries, which are too high up for her to grab. She manages to solve it with some springs for the Berrykin helping her. Strawberry manages to cook, serve her guests and dance.
Seeing everyone's efforts, Plum is confident they'll win until the next day, when none of them show up. She gets concerned and decides to visit them to discover that Lemon's hairdo attempt came out horrific and now she's afraid to leave her Salon, Raspberry can't get the vase off -even with Plum's help- and Blueberry is struggling to focus and went without sleep to finish the book in time. On top of that, Orange is now stained with glimmerberry juice after mashing them all, and Strawberry has several blisters from dancing too much. Plum worries over what to do now, because she didn't make a replacement team.
Strawberry suggests that Plum ask the Berrykin to dance in their place as they were on her prior team, but Plum doesn't want to because they can be troublesome. She doesn't have any other options though, so she gives them a call. She modifies her routine for them but unfortunately, the berrykin don't take it seriously.
The dance off begins with a performance from the Big Bitty City Dancers. An intermission takes place between performances and Plum decides to just back out now, being unable to handle the humiliation of yet another defeat when Strawberry gently points out that this was her doing- she was thinking of herself and didn't want to listen to what they thought or had to say. She reminds Plum of the other performers, stating that they put work into their dances and tried their hardest, and if Plum had focused on how much fun she had as a dancer then she wouldn't be doubting herself like this right now, and they could have all danced together.
Plum realizes this, and doesn't want to ruin things for the berrykin, so she decides to keep the team in and gives them free reign to just go on stage and have fun. Watching them cause such a commotion that looks like fun, Plum finds herself swept up in it and joins them. But once they finish dancing she becomes anxious realizing the audience is very shocked and confused, only to applaud their efforts. Even the Big Bitty City Dancers are impressed, and they compliment how much fun their dance looked.
To Plum's surprise, her team takes first place. She admits that it wasn't just because of her, but because everyone worked together and they had a great time. She's already anticipating next year's competition, and promises to design an even better dance that all of her friends contribute to. The only rule is that it has to be fun.
Quotes[]
- Lemon: I can't wait to see what they do this year!
- Plum: Whose side are you on?!
Lesson[]
Plum learns a harsh lesson about letting her competitive nature get the better of her when it alienates her friends after a series of mishaps when she pushes them too hard and ignores their opinions. She is forced to work with a team unwilling to cooperate at all, but during this time she learns that having fun is more important than winning.
Trivia[]
- Plum reveals that in terms of dance, Orange and Strawberry are good at turns, while Lemon is good with kicks.
- At the end of the episode, everyone breaks the fourth wall after dancing and looking at the camera as the episode irises out.
Goofs[]
- At one point, Lemon and Orange are sitting behind the ladybug twins, but during the performance they are next to them. When it finishes, they are behind them again.
- In one shot, Blueberry is shown in her dance outfit, but when she falls dizzy she is suddenly in normal clothes.
- This also happens to Strawberry, who was in her normal clothing until the dancers arrive and she appears to be in her dance uniform.
- Although flying appears to be allowed, in most competitions it would be viewed as an unfair disadvantage if the rest of the teams couldn't do it and therefore against the rules.
- Blueberry was upset over having to read a book entirely in one night. However, she's been shown capable of doing that in previous episodes.
External links[]
- Different Waltz for Different Faults at the Internet Movie Database