Rose Petal Place was an American-produced animated film from 1984 made by Ruby-Spears, with a corresponding line of flower-themed dolls made by Kenner Products. The concept for Rose Petal Place was created by David Kirschner and the film was written by Mal Marmorstein. The film was directed by Charles August Nichols, and was released in syndication in May 1984.
History
Rose Petal Place was first introduced in the 1980s as an animated film which also included a corresponding toy line and playsets. Rose Petal dolls were markedly similar to the fruit and dessert-themed Strawberry Shortcake dolls, also made by Kenner. The Rose Petal dolls themselves were flower-themed and based on different types of flowers. According to the toys' boxes and the movie, Rose Petal Place began a long time ago when a young girl was moving away from her lovely home and garden. She cried for her beloved garden because no one would be there to take care of her flowers. She didn't want them to perish, so she made a secret wish that the flowers would live forever. Out of this magical wish, combined with her tears of love, brought Rose Petal and all of her friends to life. Now living forever, Rose Petal and her friends reside in the garden and tend the little girl's flowers, but face trouble from the nefarious plots of Nastina the spider and her assistant Horace Fly. Other accessories which were produced included lunchboxes, books, games, stickers, and various fashions for the dolls.
Characters
The primary characters of Rose Petal Place were:
Rose Petal, a pink-haired, pink-clad doll whose singing keeps the other flowers alive. In the cartoon, Rose Petal was voiced by Marie Osmond.
Sunny Sunflower, a yellow haired and clad tomboy who tells jokes to make the other flowers laugh. She is Rose Petal's closest companion. Voiced by Susan Blu.
Iris, a purple and white clad painter of African ethnicity. Voiced by Candy Ann Brown.
Lily Fair, a blue haired and clad ballet dancer. Voiced by Renae Jacobs.
Daffodil, another yellow haired and clad doll, this one obsessed with finance. Voiced by Susan Blu.
Nastina, a widow spider who attempts to thwart the flowers' happiness, and even to kill Rose Petal on one occasion. Nastina is assisted by a horse-fly, Horace, who didn't get a toy. Voiced by Marilyn Schreffler.
The animated special also featured four other characters, Seymour, a wise and helpful snail, DeeDee, a sports-oriented caterpillar, Tumbles, a friendly hedgehog and a lavender-colored kitten named Pitterpat.
''Rose Petal Place: Real Friends'' (1985)
David Kirschner Productions and Ruby-Spears Enterprises created a second movie in 1985 called Rose Petal Place: Real Friends. The film was directed by Charles August Nichols. This second movie introduced six new characters, which Kenner scheduled to be released as dolls shortly after. Although prototypes and marketing samples were made, the entire line was discontinued before the dolls could hit the shelves.
