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 took the characters and made the first in a line of very succesful teddy bears based of the Care Bears. Over 40 million units were sold between 1983 and 1987.

Each Care Bear comes in a different colour and with a specialized insignia on its belly: for example, "Bedtime Bear" is pastel blue and sports a sleepy-looking anthropromorphised crescent moon, and "Cheer Bear" is pink with a rainbow insignia. A spin-off collection of toys, the Care Bear Cousins, feature stuffed monkeys, lions, and other such animals in the same style as the teddy bears.

The Care Bears television series ran from 1985 to 1988; three animated feature film spinoffs, The Care Bears Movie (1985), The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987) followed.

As of 2005, Care Bears are being marketed once more. The new toys offer features such as light-up bellies when pressed. As part of this comeback, the Bears' straight-to-DVD CGI debut, Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot, was released on October 5, 2004 to less than critical acclaim. Another such film, The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie, was released on October 18, 2005 [1] [2] [3]. As with the 1980s movies and television series, both films are produced by Nelvana Limited.

In 2004, the Bears appeared in their first PC game, Let's Have a Ball! The following year, they appeared in Catch a Star (also for the PC) [4] [5] and Care Quest (for the GameBoy).

Alphabetical list of Care Bears

• America Cares Bear - A brand-new addition to the famous toy line (2004), America Cares Bear is the Kingdom of Caring's most patriotic member, a happy and energetic bear who believes that America's greatest strength is in caring. Her shooting-star tummy symbol reminds America to lift up their red, white and blue by caring for those around them, and making their country--and the world--a better place.
• Baby Hugs Bear (often called Hugs), along with her brother, Baby Tugs Bear, with whom she often gets into mischief, is the youngest member of the Care Bears family. Sweet, curious and loving, she can never go anywhere without being hugged by anyone. A Star Buddy inside a pink box—her tummy symbol—shows her personality.
• Baby Tugs Bear (often called Tugs), whose sister is Baby Hugs Bear, is a rough and tumble little boy cub who always gets into mischief. The two siblings, looked after by their grandmother, Grams Bear (see below), are the youngest members of the Care Bears family. Baby Tugs' aspiration is to become a Care Bear himself and join the other Bears on missions in caring. His tummy symbol, a smiling Star Buddy inside a diaper, reflects his bright and happy personality.
• Bashful Heart Bear - The shyest of the Care Bears, added to the toy line in 2004, her tummy symbol is a heart hiding behind a cloud with a rainbow.
• Bedtime Bear - The sleepiest Bear of them all, Bedtime Bear makes sure that people get a good night's sleep all over the world. His tummy symbol (see above) says everything best about his job.
• Best Friend Bear - Added to the line in 2004, this Bear helps by showing that you can always find someone to be your friend. Her tummy symbol is a star and heart connected by a rainbow.
• Birthday Bear knows how to celebrate his namesake all the time. His symbol is a cupcake with one candle on it.
• Champ Bear - The Kingdom of Caring's sports guru, Champ Bear encourages the message of playtime--he is especially good at games he has never played before. A yellow trophy with a heart is his symbol. He appeared in some of the Nelvana episodes and made a cameo appearance in the beginning of the third movie, Adventure in Wonderland.
• Cheer Bear - One of the original ten, Cheer Bear's job (see picture below) is to make people feel their happiest. A rainbow stands out as her symbol.

Cheer Bear from the Nelvana Care Bears cartoon episode "The Lost Gift".

• Do-Your-Best Bear - A recent addition to the toy line (2004), Do-Your-Best Bear helps people be the best they can. His symbol--a colourful kite--reminds everyone that the sky's the limit when you do your best. However, he is the only one in the Kingdom of Caring who cannot fly a kite!
• Day Dream Bear - Made exclusively for the British version of the franchise in the 1980s, Day Dream Bear shows that daydreams are fun and help inspire people to do things, but also shows how to pay attention. She is constantly getting into funny little scrapes because her mind is somewhere else. Her tummy symbol, two heart-shaped ballons, shows that, with imagination, there is a rainbow of happiness that we can create. She has been revamped in 2004 by Play Along Toys, her tummy symbol is a heart shaped planet Saturn with stars around it.
• Forest Friend Bear - A joint exclusive between Tonka and the World Wildlife Fund for the 80's British franchise, Forest Friend Bear's job is to help keep forested areas safe.
• Friend Bear, one of the original ten Bears, is the ideal friend for everyone she meets. Two smiling flowers show up on her tummy symbol.
• Funshine Bear - A regular in the toy line's animated fare for years, Funshine Bear, Care-a-lot's class clown, has a smiling sun as her tummy symbol--and even a smile on her face. Being happy is what she is all about. In the 2004 toy line and the direct-to-DVD feature, Journey to Joke-a-lot, Funshine was a male bear.
• Good Luck Bear helps spread his namesake to those he encounters. What can say better about his mission than (of course) a four-leaf clover on his tummy?
• Grams Bear - The grandmother of all the Care Bears family, 'Grams Bear' looks after the Kingdom of Caring's two youngest members, Hugs and Tugs (see above). A seasoned "veteran," an excellent storyteller, and a valued mentor for the family, she knows just about all there is about being a Bear, and is ready to lend a hand or a patient ear to help anyone in need. A rose stands out as her symbol. As a later addition to the toy line, Grams Bear was featured, along with her grandchildren, in the first movie and on some of the Nelvana TV episodes.
• Grumpy Bear, whose symbol is a grey rain cloud with falling hearts, tells us that it is okay to be grumpy sometimes, but that we are silly when we take our grumpiness too far. Grumpy is a fan favourite.
• Harmony Bear, a peace-lover, helps others overcome differences and get along. Her symbol (see below) shows that harmony can be achieved when different people come together for the good of all. In the second movie (1986), Harmony's symbol was three joint-together hearts (the US version); in the British toys, it was three music notes. In 2004, it was changed into a multi-coloured flower. She is also one of the mascots of the Sigma Sigma Sigma college sorority in real life.
• Hopeful Heart Bear was a new addition to the toy line in 2005. Her tummy symbol is a heart with beams of light radiating out of it.
• Laugh-A-Lot Bear - Also a new addition in 2004, Laugh-A-Lot Bear turns her worst mistakes into the best jokes. Her symbol--a laughing star at giving others the giggles--shows what she really is.
• Love-A-Lot Bear - With two intertwined hearts as her tummy symbol, Love-a-Lot Bear spreads the message of her namesake and makes it grow wherever she goes. Though a true believer in the power of love, she is not afraid to help it along. She can be seen dancing with her crush, Tenderheart Bear, at the beginning of the first movie.
• Perfect & Polite Panda - Looking after Paradise up above the skies of Care-a-lot, Perfect & Polite Panda always spoke in rhyme, finishing each other's sentences and complimenting one another's feelings. They only appeared in one Care Bears episode, The Long Lost Care Bears.
• Sea Friend Bear - Another British exclusive in the 80's between Tonka and the World Wildlfe Fund, Sea Friend Bear makes sure that the world's oceans and seas are safe from harm.
• Secret Bear, a later addition to the Care Bears family, acts as a mime to the other members. He can only tell secrets to his partner, Friend Bear (as the first movie strongly shows). Secret's tummy symbol is a red heart-shaped padlock.
• Share Bear, also a later addition, helps others to learn about sharing the things they have. She shows that, through her symbol (see below), sharing is a treat that comes from the heart. In the 1980's franchise, Share Bear's symbol was a heart-sprinkled sundae with two straws; in 2004 it was changed to two lollipops (on the grounds that sharing milkshakes can spread germs, according to present-day distributors Play Along Toys).
• Smart Heart Bear - Added to the toy line in 2004, this Bear teaches kids that school is fun and so is learning. His tummy symbol is a bright red apple.
• Surprise Bear - A rare find in the 80's franchise, there is no one who loves good surprises so much like Surprise Bear. His symbol represents his job: a jack-in-the box with a star popping out. He was featured in the British franchise as an exclusive plush.
• Take Care Bear - The least-known of all the Bears, Take Care Bear helps her friends live in the best of health. Her only appearance in the early franchise was in a 1987 cough medicine colouring book. A smiling apple was her symbol back then. Now she has a heart holding a star.
• Tenderheart Bear - The leader of the Care Bears, and one of the original ten characters introduced in the franchise (the others were Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Cheer Bear, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Grumpy Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear and Wish Bear). A loving and lovable brown bear who knows a lot about helping others share their feelings, Tenderheart helps spread love and make it grow by helping people show they care. He wears the perfect symbol for his job on his tummy--a red heart with a narrow pink border.
• Thanks-A-Lot Bear - One of the least known Care Bears, Thanks-A-Lot Bear's only known appearance is in the toy line as a plush, a glowing plush, and a small plush partnered with Funshine Bear. He is bright blue and his symbol is a shooting star with a rainbow tail.
• True Heart Bear - The mother of the Care Bears and the Cousins, True Heart Bear, who first appeared in the second movie, is everything one would expect the first Bear to be: warm and perky, fun and friendly and extra-lovable and loving! Her symbol, a multi-coloured star radiating from a central heart, shows all the beautiful ways that caring shines out from a loving heart.
• Wish Bear's job is help, simply enough, everyone's wishes come true, even though not all of them work the way they should. Her symbol--a shooting star with a rainbow tail--reminds us to believe in our dreams.

Alphabetical list of Care Bear Cousins

Below are the descriptions for all of the Cousins, old and new. (NOTE: Noble Heart Horse was a later addition to the franchise, appearing on five of the TV episodes.)

• Brave Heart Lion is the (un)official leader of the Care Bear Cousins, and one of the original ten when these cousins were introduced in the Care Bears franchise--Swift Heart Rabbit, Lotsa Heart Elephant, Loyal Heart Dog and Proud Heart Cat to name a few. Brave Heart's tummy symbol is a red heart with a crown hanging on the right side.
• Bright Heart Raccoon - The smart aleck of the Cousins, Bright Heart Raccoon is a walking supercomputer who can solve problems thinking logically, and helps his friends on their toughest dilemmas. His symbol is a yellow heart-shaped light bulb.
• Cozy Heart Penguin - A star of the first movie, Cozy Heart Penguin is the sweetest and warmest of the Cousins, and the one most suited to winter conditions. His symbol is a stocking cap resting on the left side of a red heart.
• Gentle Heart Lamb - Featured in the first and second movies, Gentle Heart Lamb is the most softhearted of the Cousins, gentle and shy as her name suggests. A red-heart pillow is her symbol.
• Lotsa Heart Elephant - Featured in the movies and TV series, Lotsa Heart Elephant is the strongest of the Cousins in physical ability and perseverance, despite having a very weak mind. His symbol is a pink heart-stamped weight.
• Loyal Heart Dog is a very proper and formal-mannered pup, honest and loyal and true beyond compare. The reason behind his tummy symbol, a heart-shaped medal, is because of his warm personality combined with his faithfulness and his namesake.
• Noble Heart Horse is the founder of the Care Bear Cousins, and was an overseer of the Forest of Feelings and the Kingdom of Caring in the second movie, but on the TV series, he was not much of a regular. In A New Generation, he took care of the other baby Bears and Cousins; his partner was True Heart Bear. He himself was a later addition to the family.
• Playful Heart Monkey - Also appearing in the animated franchise, Playful Heart Monkey is the most mischievous Cousin anyone can meet--for him, the whole world is a playground. A heart with a party horn is his symbol.
• Proud Heart Cat - A regular in the animated movies and series, Proud Heart Cat is the "purr-fectionist" of the Care Bears family, and reminds us to do our best in everything we do. His symbol is a curved pink star with a red heart inside.
• Swift Heart Rabbit was the fastest of the Care Bear Cousins, reportedly running up to 90 mph to "help others". Sometimes his cockiness and overconfidence get him into trouble, but his quick thinking gets him out of it. His tummy symbol is a red heart with white wings. It is interesting to note that the gender of this character changed between movies and television series, examples of which can be seen in the Wonderland movie and The Great Race episode.
• Treat Heart Pig- Featured on some of the later TV episodes, Treat Heart Pig knows how to turn any occasion into a holiday. A real sweetheart, she gets along well with everyone she meets, though she has a tendency to overeat but takes things in moderation. Her symbol is an ice cream cone, showing her wholehearted devotion to helping others live life to the fullest.

Places

• The Kingdom of Caring is made up of Care-a-lot and the Forest of Feelings (see descriptions below).
• Care-a-lot is the special place where the Care Bears live, and the softest, coziest place anyone can imagine. High up in the clouds, it floats above all air traffic, and, with a nice comfy cloud floating above it, stays away from all satellite photographs too. Thus protected, the Bears protect caring on Earth.
• The Forest of Feelings is where the Care Bear Cousins live.
• The Hall of Hearts, located inside Care-a-lot, is the Care Bears family's meeting place.
• Paradise Valley is home to Perfect and Polite Panda (see above for profile).

Friends

• The Cloud Keeper is 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 Star and Heart Buddies look out for the Bears whenever they are on missions in caring.
• The Birds are usually seen in the Forest of Feelings with the Care Bear Cousins and watch over them.

Villains

Throughout movies and series, there were bad guys who often tried to stop the Bears and Cousins on their missions:

• First movie - Nicholas and the Evil Spirit
• Second movie - Dark Heart
• Third movie - The Wizard and Dim & Dumb
• DiC-produced episodes - Professor Coldheart, Frostbite
• Nelvana episodes - No Heart, Beastly and Shrieky (see TV series article)

The villains' profiles will be dealt with in the individual articles for the animated franchise.

Legacy in the media

Over the years, the Care Bear characters have been seen in, or influenced, several other films and TV shows:

Movies

• Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987): During a party scene in the film, a Wish Bear raft can be seen inside a swimming pool.
• Checking Out (1989) (unconfirmed): As Jeff Daniels steps outside in desert conditions towards the film's end, one of the onlookers whom his character encounters is holding a Swift Heart Rabbit doll in his hands.
• South of Wawa (1991): Footage from the Care Bears' Wonderland adventure are shown. (Alyson Court appeared in that sequel as well as this independent gem.)
• Snow Day (2000): One of the characters (played by Emmanuelle Chriqui) is nicknamed "Claire-bear" by her boyfriend.
• The Hot Chick (2002): Rob Schneider's friend has a Cheer Bear on her keyring, seen during the scene at the race track early in the film.
• Blade: Trinity (2004): Hannibal King's (Ryan Reynolds) group wanted to use Care Bears as its name, but it was taken by another one.

Television shows

• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: On one of the early episodes, a young girl tells Will Smith that her father only supports Care Bear music to prevent her from listening to inappropiate songs.
• Rugrats: The Dummi Bears spoof heavily on the Care Bear franchise, especially with their Sing a Happy, Happpy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy Song theme.
• Codename: Kids Next Door: The Rainbow Monkeys, who appear in many episodes, are yet another Care Bear spoof.
• SpongeBob SquarePants: In the Gary Takes a Bath episode, the beloved title sponge calls his pet snail "Gare-bear".
• Dr. Phil: An obsessed Care Bear fan—the administrator of The Memories Board—appeared as a guest star on the syndicated show in April 2005.
• The O.C.: In Season 1, Episode 24 ("The Proposal"), Merissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) has a Share Bear.
• ER: In a recent episode, King Funshine is struck by lightning while being held by Jerry Markovic (Abraham Benrubi) [6].

The Simpsons: In an episode where Homer becomes afraid of anything relating to bears after being attacked by one, he hallucinates that the bear logos on commercial commodies come to life to hurt him. He asks if one of them is a "Care Bear" and the bear replies (after bandishing a lead pipe) that he's an "Intensive Care Bear".

Connections with Arthurian legend

• The name Care-a-lot is a play on King Arthur's legendary Camelot castle.
• Similar to the Round Table used by Arthur and his knights, the Care Bear Family sits around a heart-shaped table.
• Love-A-Lot Bear's name is inspired by that of Sir Lancelot.

Discography

1980s (Kid Stuff Records)

1983 -

• Introducing the Care Bears
• The Care Bears Care For You
• Adventures in Care-a-lot
• The Care Bears Christmas

1986 - Friends Make Everything Better

2000s (Madacy Kids)

2004 -

• Meet the Care Bears
• Journey to Joke-a-lot Soundtrack
• Care Bears Holiday Hugs

2005 - Care Bears Nighty-Night

The Bears in other languages

• Czech: Starostliví medvídci
• Dutch: Troetelbeertjes
• Finnish: Halinallet
• French: Les Bisounours
• German: Die Glücksbärchis
• Greek: ΤΑ ΑΡΚΟΥΔΑΚΙA
• Hebrew: דובוני אכפת לי (Doobonei eechpattli)
• Icelandic: Kærleiksbirnirnir
• Italian: Gli Orsetti del Cuore
• Japanese: ケアーベア
• Polish: Troskliwe Misie
• Portuguese: Ursinhos Carinhosos
• Serbo-Croatian: Mede medenjaci, Mece Dobrici
• Spanish: Osos Amorosos (Spain), Los Ositos Cariñositos (Latin America)
• Swedish: Krambjörnarna
• Thai: หมีผู้พิทักษ์

Miscellaneous

• 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".
• When the franchise was introduced in the 1980's, a mistake was made causing Bedtime Bear (blue) and Wish Bear (aqua) to swap colours. As soon as the mistake was discovered, the two bears returned into their appropriate hues, and later on a children's story was written explaining why.
• The term Care Bears was used as a fan base name for Carrie Underwood (the winner of 2005's American Idol). Coincidentally, she comes from Sigma Sigma Sigma, the same group where the cartoon's founder, Linda Denham, came from.
• The Latin American Spanish dub of the Care Bears is the most chaotic dub ever known, mainly because the movies and the TV series were dubbed in many countries by different cast members. (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, showing in the Latin American version of Cartoon Network's Boomerang channel, is now dubbed in Colombia. The Colombian dub is considered for being the worst Latin American Spanish dub of the Care Bears' TV series.
• In the Swedish dubs of the various series, the villains Dark Heart, Coldheart and No Heart are, for some reason, all called the same name, "Hjärtlös" (or Heartless).
• The Care Bears' ultimate "weapon" is the Care Bear Stare, in which the collected bears stand together and radiate light from their respective chest symbols, combining to form a ray of love and good cheer which could bring care and joy into the target's heart.
• During the movies, especially the sequel, the Care Bear Cousins call their weapon "Care Bear Cousins Call." In the second movie, the Call looks like a musical score, and the cousins, excluding Swift Heart Rabbit, use whatever animal noises is common to that animal. However, during the cartoon series, both the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins both use the "Care Bear Stare."
• In MMORPG games the term carebear normally refers to a player that does not like Player vs Player (PvP) conflict in the game. It is generally a derogatory term in this instance.
• In 2005, "Care Bears" placed 7th among AOL's top ten searches for toys [7].

See also

• Transformers, a contemporaneous toy aimed at boys.
• Rainbow Brite, another 1980s franchise launched from greeting cards.
• Strawberry Shortcake, a toy line launched by American Greetings' licensing division, Those Characters from Cleveland, Inc.
• Ziggy, another AGC/TCFC creation who first appeared in comic strips.

External links

Look up Care Bears in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Official sites

• US version
• Australian version

Unofficial site

• INSIDERtricks' site for the franchise

Fan sites

• Forever Friends Care Bear Board
• Care Bears Forever
• Kingdom of Caring (for information on individual bears)
• Angel Bear's Care Bear Poseable Place (more information on individual bears)
• Take Care Bear's Place (the homepage of Take Care Bear)
• Care Bears - The Toy Shelf
• Noble Heart's Home (up-and-growing site for Care Bear fanfiction)
• Regal Heart's Den (a great site for customs and great stories)
• Backwater Productions - The Care Bears (page still under construction)
• Josefine's Care Bears (site with photos of collection & information on bears)
• Rainbow Fantasies (Care Bears history, other information, and downloads)
• Care Bears Collector (History, trivia, a complete care bear listing and more)

Picture gallery

• The Care Bear Zone (Website dedicated to screen captures of the Nelvana produced movies and TV episodes. All images were captured from DVD and enhanced for quality where needed. Please note: All images contained on the Care Bear Zone are © Nelvana Limited.)

Message Forums

• The Memories Board (a place to discuss all 80's toys including Care Bears)
• Forever Friends Care Bear Board (another recommended Care Bear Board)

IMDb movie and show entries

• The Care Bears
• The Care Bears Movie
• The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation
• The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland
• Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot
• The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie