Information about Care Bears

The Care Bears are a set of characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears.

Each Care Bear comes in a different color and has a specialized insignia on its belly that represents its duty and personality known as their "tummy symbol". The latest movie, however, controversially is going to rename them "belly badges". A spin-off of the family, the "Care Bear Cousins," features a lion, a monkey, a penguin, and other such animals in the same style as the teddy bears.

The Care Bears appeared in their own television series from 1985 to 1988, in addition to three feature films: The Care Bears Movie (1985), (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).

As of 2007, Care Bears are still being marketed. The new toys offer features such as bellies that light up when pressed, bears that do aerobics, and glow-in-the-dark bears. As part of this comeback, the Bears have appeared in three computer-animated movies: (2004), Big Wish Movie (2005), and (2007). The 25th anniversary of the toy line was commemorated in 2007.

The "Care Bears" trademark and the copyrights in the character designs are owned by Those Characters from Cleveland, part of American Greetings.^[1]

History

Following the success of their first big franchise (Strawberry Shortcake) back in 1979, American Greetings introduced the Care Bear characters in late 1981 through a line of greeting cards. Children's book illustrator Elena Kucharik did the original artwork for the cards. The line was a joint development by Those Characters from Cleveland, AGC's licensing division, and MAD (Marketing and Design Service of the toy group of General Mills).^[2]

As they had done with Strawberry Shortcake back when it was called "Project I," AGC called the Care Bears franchise "Project II" as they strove to make the character program secret until advertising was ready. At the start of the franchise, Care Bears was already established as its working title.^[3]

In 1982, the Care Bears were announced as a toy line for production by Parker Brothers and Kenner the following spring, as well as pre-licensed characters and media stars. In 1983, they were introduced to the general public, and starred in their first television special, The Land Without Feelings, which Kenner produced and sponsored.^[2]

1984 saw the release of another special, The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine; a miniseries based on the toys was distributed by Lexington Broadcast Services Company in syndication. A spin-off line, the Care Bear Cousins, was introduced the same year.^[2]

In 1985, the Bears and Cousins starred in their first movie, The Care Bears Movie, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. It became the highest-grossing animated film made outside the Disney market at the time of its release. Later that autumn, a television series from DiC Entertainment based on the characters was produced, and it ran for 22 episodes in syndication.

The following year, Nelvana took over the animation rights for the franchise with a second movie entitled . Released by Columbia Pictures, the film featured a new villain, Dark Heart, and introduced more of the Care Bear cousins.

Later that fall, The Care Bears Family Storybook (also from Nelvana) premiered on the ABC network, lasting two seasons and consisting of over 70 episodes. The Bears' last theatrically-released film, The Care Bears' Adventure in Wonderland, debuted the following summer.

As with many other animated franchises of the 1980s, the Care Bears movies and TV shows were designed and created only to sell the pre-licensed characters and related merchandise. This has been noticed, more or less, by the franchise's long-time aficionados.

Over 40 million Care Bears were sold between 1983 and 1987, and during the decade, American Greetings printed over 70 million of their cards. In whole, the sales of their merchandise reached over $2 billion during the 1980s.^[6][1] This made them one of the most successful toy lines of its time, alongside "My Little Pony" and "Transformers."

As the decade came to an end, the Bears' popularity faded away. At the start of the 1990s, an attempt to relaunch the phenomenon came in the form of Environmental Care Bears. Only a few select Bears from the 1980s line were used, with some changes (for example, Proud Heart Cat was released as a bear, sporting the symbol of a heart-shaped American flag).^[8]

During the late 1990s, another two revivals came out, but both failed to match the success of the original toy line. In 1996, retailer ShopKo released only Tenderheart, Cheer, and Bedtime Bears, and during 1999, in an imitation of Beanie Babies, Kenner made six "beanlings" based on Tenderheart, Share, Friend, Cheer, Bedtime, and Good Luck Bears.

The same year the beanlings were made, Jay Foreman, president of current distributor, Play Along Toys, bought the rights to the Care Bears franchise for just under $1 million.^[9] Three years later, the Bears came out of hibernation to celebrate their 20th anniversary. A big event was planned for that year as Play Along began to roll out the new product lines; thus began a major trend as the toys became popular once again.

In the midst of this revival, Play Along released brand-new toys based on the newly-redesigned Bears, sold at stores such as Wal-Mart, KMart, Toys "R" Us, Target, K•B Toys, and Mervyns.^[10] The new merchandise included the Bears doing aerobics; Tenderheart Bear as a doctor; Champ Bear as a fireman; and the Care Bears themselves as Cubs.^[11] Over 70 million 13-inch plush Bears have been sold since the re-launch.^[12] In addition, Lionsgate Home Entertainment and subsidiary FHE Pictures, in association with Nelvana, have made two direct-to-DVD computer-animated films featuring the newest characters, Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot and The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie.

As part of the franchise's 25th anniversary celebrations, the Bears have been redesigned by Kelly Grupczynski. The new line consists of sixteen of the thirty-nine bears (as seen in the recent film): Amigo, Bedtime, Best Friend , Champ, Cheer, Funshine, Good Luck, Grumpy, Harmony, Love-A-Lot, Share, Surprise, Tenderheart, True Heart, Wish and a new character, Oopsy—debuted on February 12, 2007 at New York's American International Toy Fair.^[12] Their brand-new theme song will be performed by former Letters to Cleo member, Kay Hanley, and the music video will premiere on FOX and Nickelodeon.^[12] In August 2007, they appeared in 20th Century Fox's theatrical release of Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!. Another television series from DiC Entertainment, Adventures in Care-a-Lot, premiered on CBS' KEWLopolis block on September 12, 2007.^[13]

Main characters

Main articles: List of Care Bears and List of Care Bear Cousins

The franchise consists mainly of the Care Bears themselves, as well as the later additions the Care Bear Cousins. Both of them live in the , which is made up of (the home of the Care Bears proper) and the (home to the Care Bear Cousins). In the most recent variation of the franchise, reported a February 2007 issue of the Wall Street Journal, "they live in a village, centered on a big tree—with no castle in sight."^[12]

Accompanying them are the Star and Heart Buddies, who look out for the Bears and Cousins whenever they are on missions in caring; and the Birds, who are usually seen in the Forest of Feelings with the Care Bear Cousins and watch over them. A less recurring character is The Cloud Keeper, the portly gentleman who maintains Care-a-lot. He only appeared in some of the franchise's early publications and on the DiC-produced TV episodes.

The ten original Care Bears consisted of Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Cheer Bear, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Grumpy Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Tenderheart Bear and Wish Bear. Later on, additional bears joined them, as well as the Cousins.

For the new 2007 TV series, the five care bears chosen to be the main characters of the show, as seen on the Care Bears website are Share Bear, Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear, and the new bear introduced in the movie, Oopsy Bear. However, the other Care Bears still make appearances in the series. The unofficial role of leader of the bears, as of the new series, was transferred from Tenderheart Bear to Cheer Bear.

Throughout movies and series, various villains have tried to stop the Bears and Cousins on their missions. On the first two specials and DiC television series, they battled against Professor Coldheart; in Nelvana's version, they faced Wizard No Heart, his apprentice Beastly and his niece Shreeky. In the movies, they went up against Nicholas and the Evil Spirit (The Care Bears Movie), Dark Heart (Care Bears Movie II), and The Wizard, Dim, and Dumb (Adventure in Wonderland). More recently, the Bears' adversaries have included the Rat King in Care Bears Nutcracker Suite, and Sir Funnybone the rat in Journey to Joke-a-lot. The new movie, Oopsy Does It! introduced a new villain, Grizzle, which persists into the new TV series.

Care Bear Stare and Cousin Call

The Care Bears' ultimate "weapon" is the "Care Bear Stare," in which the collected Bears stand together and radiate light from their respective tummy symbols. These combine to form a ray of love and good cheer which could bring care and joy into the target's heart. The Care Bear Stare has several different looks. One has a beam coming from the tummy being made up of several replicated images of the symbol. Another variation forms a rainbow when multiple Bears and/or Cousins are involved. A yellow beam with red hearts is sometimes seen as well. Neither of the two latest Care Bear movies (Journey to Joke-A-Lot and The Big Wish Movie) show the Care Bear Stare.

During the movies, the Care Bear Cousins call their weapon the "Cousin Call." In the second movie, the Call looks like a musical score, and the cousins, excluding Swift Heart Rabbit, use whatever animal noise is common to that animal. In the first movie, the Cousins simply make animal noises since they do not have any tummy symbols; those are later given to them by the Care Bears at the end of the movie.

Caring Meter

Shown prominently in most of the Care Bears movies and TV episodes, the Caring Meter is typically in the dead center of Care-A-Lot inside the Care Bears' main meeting hall. This meter shows how much caring there is both in Care-A-Lot and on Earth. In the 1980s movies/cartoons, it is shown as an unumbered clock-like meter. In The Big Wish Movie, the meter is shown with a raincloud (less caring) side and a rainbow (more caring) side. Ideally, the Caring Meter should be all the way towards the rainbow side. Whenever the Bears see the meter drop towards the raincloud side, they try to prevent it from getting worse by going on "caring missions" to try to get more people to care or for the Bears themselves to do caring deeds. If the meter drops near zero, Care-A-Lot will suffer disasters, such as thunderstorms, buildings and rainbows crumbling (earlier movies) or the bright colors of Care-A-Lot gradually turning into black and white (later movies). If the meter were to reach all the way to zero (there is no caring anywhere), then Care-A-Lot would be gone forever.

Merchandise

Apart from toys, greeting cards and animated media, the Care Bears have been featured in a lot of merchandise as well, some of which includes gummi bears (pictured right), party goods, cell phone covers, interior decoration sets, stickers, clothing accessories and many other goods.^[10]

Care Bears Gummi Bears, and Valentine Care Bears Gummi Bears, are a small candies that are shaped like bears, and come in many different colors. On the box, there are Care Bears characters. Otherwise, these are just like regular Gummi bears.

Books

Many children's books have been based on, and have featured, the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins. Some notable publications include "Meet the Care Bear Cousins" (based on the first movie), "Sweet Dreams for Sally," "The Witch Down the Street," "The Trouble with Timothy," and "A Sister for Sam." All of these titles were published by toy makers Parker Brothers, who was a licensee of the characters. Over 45 million Care Bears books were sold during the 1980s.^[6] As of 2006, Scholastic Press has published books based on the Bears' first two CGI films, as well as the new toys.

Music

At the height of the Care Bears craze, Kid Stuff Records released several LPs based on the franchise. These included "Introducing the Care Bears," "The Care Bears Care For You," "Adventures in Care-a-Lot," "The Care Bears' Birthday Party," and "The Care Bears' Christmas" (all from 1983), and 1986's "Friends Make Everything Better" (released as a promotion with Triaminic). They released the soundtrack albums for the first two movies. The albums based on the toys were bestsellers in children's music during their prime ^[6]

In the midst of the franchise's revival, Madacy Kids released brand new Care Bear CDs. In 2004, "Meet the Care Bears," "Care Bears Holiday Hugs," and the "Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot" soundtrack album came out, as well as "Care Bears Nighty-Night" the following year.

Video games

In 2001 the first unofficial Care Bear Game was made called Care Bears Volleyball in which 2 players would play a game of volleyball as Tenderheart Bear.

In 2004, the Bears starred in their first PC game, Care-a-lot Jamboree and then again in Let's Have a Ball!. The following year, they appeared in Catch a Star (also for the PC)^[17] and Care Bears Care Quest (for the Game Boy Advance).

More recently, the Care Bears have been featured in Care Bears: A Lesson in Caring for the V.Smile educational game console.

Comic books

Between November 1985 and January 1989, the Care Bears appeared in a 20-issue comic book series published by Marvel's Star Comics. The books were drawn by the famous DC Comics artist, Howard Post.^[18]

Smart toys

A Care Bears interactive, or smart toy, called Care Bears Share-A-Story was introduced by Play Along in July, 2005. The head, mouth and eyes of the Care Bear move around as a tape cartridge plays fairy tales such as Goldilocks and the Three Care Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Three Little Pigs. A hardback book version of the story comes with it so the parent and child can read along as the tape plays.^[19]

Classic toys

At present (2007), the classic Care Bear toys can be found at such stores as Carlton Cards, Claire's, and Spencer's Gifts stores.^[10]

Care Bears Live

Since 2005, the Care Bears have starred in their own stage show, called "Care Bears Live," organized by VEE Corp. The tour ended in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2006.^[21]

Around the world

See the for a list of titles in other languages.

In French-speaking countries, the Care Bears are referred to as "Bisounours," roughly translating as "kiss bears," from "bisou" (kiss) and "nounours" (teddy bear). However, French-speaking Quebec knows them as "Les Calinours," or "hug bears;" the word "bizoune" is considered vulgar in the local vocabulary and is Quebec slang for "penis".

In Germany, the show is called "Die Glücksbärchis," translating to "Luck Bears," the ending "chi" a slight alteration of the German diminutive "chen."

In the Netherlands, the Care Bears are known as "Troetelbeertjes," translated in English as "Cuddle Bears" or "Cuddly Bears." Professor Coldheart is translated in Dutch as "Professor Koudhart," which means literally the same as the name in English.

In Latin America, the Care Bears are referred to as "Los Ositos Cariñositos," or sometimes just "Los Cariñositos" from "ositos" (literally "little bears") and "cariño" (a non-romantic love, affection). In Argentina, they are called "Los Ositos Cariñosos" and also "Cariñositos" (a play of words joining "Ositos" and "Cariñosos"). The "Care Bear Stare" was renamed as "Cariñositos, con amor" ("Care Bears, with love" or "Bears, let's Love"). Several different Latin American Spanish dubs of the Care Bears exist, as the movies and the TV series were dubbed in many countries by different cast members throughout the years. The movies were dubbed in Mexico; the first half of the Nelvana series was dubbed in Chile; the second half was dubbed in Venezuela, and a new dubbed version, broadcast on the Latin American version of Cartoon Network's Boomerang channel was later dubbed in Colombia.

In Brazil, they are known as "Ursinhos Carinhosos," which can be translated from Portuguese to "caring bears" or "loving bears."

In the Swedish dubs of the various series, the Care Bears are called "Krambjörnar" ("hug bears"). For unknown reasons, the villains Dark Heart, Coldheart, and No Heart all got the same name: "Hjärtlös" ("Heartless"), although the 1980s video dub translated Coldheart to "Professor Ishjärta" (Professor Iceheart).

In Norway, the Care Bears have kept their original name for the most part, but some dubs have named them "Bergibjørner," which loosely translates to "Rescue Bears." No Heart is known as "Hjerteløs" ("Heartless"), and Professor Coldheart is called "Professor Hjerterå" ("Cruel-hearted"). In the Norwegian translation of the comics, the villains' names were, for unknown reasons, swapped, making No Heart become "Hjerterå" and Professor Coldheart "Professor Hjerteløs."

In Italy and Greece they were known mainly because of the animated series, in which they were called "(gli) Orsetti del Cuore", i.e. (the) Heart Bears (being "orsetti" diminutive of "bears", or "teddy bears" in Italian) and "Τα αρκουδάκια της αγάπης", i.e. the bears of love, respectively. In Italy, the "Care Bear Stare" was renamed as "Orsetti, Amiamo" ("Bears, we love" or "Bears, let's Love").

Connections with Arthurian legend

Some elements of the Care Bears franchise pay homage to the legend of King Arthur. For example, the name of the main characters' residence, Care-a-lot, is a play on King Arthur's legendary Camelot castle. The Care Bear Family sits around a heart-shaped table, similar to the Round Table used by Arthur and his knights. In addition, Sir Lancelot's name inspired that of Love-A-Lot Bear.^[3]

Errors

When the franchise was introduced in the 1980s, a mistake was made while manufacturing the stuffed animals causing Bedtime Bear (blue) and Wish Bear (aqua) to swap colors. As soon as the mistake was discovered, the two bears returned into their appropriate hues. Later, a children's story was written explaining why the bears had switched tints.^[3]

See also

• List of Care Bears cast members
• Rainbow Brite, another 1980s franchise launched from greeting cards.
• Five other American Greetings franchises: Strawberry Shortcake and The Get-Along Gang (also from Those Characters from Cleveland, Inc.), Holly Hobbie, Popples, and Ziggy.

References

External links

• Official site (USA)
• 25th anniversary page
• Official site for new distributor, Play Along
• AGP Brands (American Greetings Properties)
• Fan site with information on the Poseable Care Bear Line
• Fan website containing screen captures of the Nelvana produced TV series

•  • [ e] The Care Bears universe
Characters created by Elena Kucharik and Linda Denham
Lists of: Bears - Cousins - Albums - Books
Films:The Care Bears Movie (1985) - (1986) - The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987) - (2004) - The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie (2005) - (2007)
Specials: The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) - The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984) - Care Bears Nutcracker Suite (1988)
The DiC/Nelvana television series
Places: (consisting of and the ) -
Villains: Nicholas and the Evil Spirit - - The Wizard, Dim and Dumb - - Professor Coldheart (The Land Without Feelings and The Freeze Machine) - No Heart, Beastly and Shreeky
See also: Strawberry Shortcake, The Get-Along Gang, Popples and Holly Hobbie