The Care Bears (TV series)

The Care Bears (TV series)
Format	Animated children's television series
Created by	Linda Denham Elena Kucharik
Starring	Billie Mae Richards Jim Henshaw Dan Hennessey Chris Wiggins Melleny Brown Luba Goy Eva Almos John Stocker Tara Strong
Country of origin	United States Canada France Japan
No. of episodes	60 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 min. (per episode)
Production company(s)	Atkinson Film-Arts (1983 and 1984 specials) DIC Entertainment (Cookie Jar Entertainment) (1985) Nelvana (1986–1988)
Distributor	TV syndication: LBS Communications (1985, DiC episodes only) SFM Entertainment (1988, Nelvana episodes only) DVD: 20th Century Fox Television (DiC episodes) Lionsgate (Nelvana episodes)
Broadcast
Original channel	United States: Syndication (DIC episodes, 1985) ABC (Nelvana series, 1986–1988) Canada: Global (Nelvana series)
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	September 14, 1985 (1985-09-14) – December 25, 1988 (1988-12-25)
Chronology
Related shows	Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot (2007–2009)

The Care Bears is an animated television series based on the Care Bears franchise, which aired between 1985 and 1988 in syndication; on the ABC network in the United States; and on Global in Canada. The 1985 episodes were produced by DIC Entertainment; the ABC/Global episodes were made by Toronto's Nelvana studio as The Care Bears Family. This is the only Care Bears series produced by Nelvana; in 2007, Sabella Dern Entertainment produced a revival, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot.

Synopsis

The Care Bears live in a faraway place up in the clouds called Care-a-Lot, which constitutes a part of the Kingdom of Caring. With the help of the Cousins and their Buddies, they go all around the world on Missions in Caring whilst Evil villains such as Professor Coldheart (DIC episodes), and Lord No Heart (Nelvana episodes), try to thwart their plans.

Voice cast

See also: List of Care Bear characters

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

Maxine Miller	True Heart Bear
Pam Hyatt	Noble Heart Horse
Billie Mae Richards	Tenderheart Bear (DiC episodes) Bright Heart Raccoon (Nelvana episodes)
Jim Henshaw	Tenderheart Bear (Nelvana episodes)
Walker Boone	Bright Heart Raccoon (DiC episodes)
Dan Hennessey	Good Luck Bear (DiC episodes), Brave Heart Lion, Loyal Heart Dog
Melleny Brown	Cheer Bear (DiC episodes), Baby Tugs Bear, Birthday Bear (Nelvana episodes)
Tracey Moore	Cheer Bear (Nelvana episodes)
Bob Dermer	Grumpy Bear
Luba Goy	Lotsa Heart Elephant, Gentle Heart Lamb
Patrice Black	Share Bear, Funshine Bear
Eva Almos	Friend Bear, Swift Heart Rabbit, Champ Bear (Early Nelvana Episodes)
Louise Vallance	Proud Heart Cat (DiC episodes)
Marla Lukofsky	Good Luck Bear (Nelvana episodes), Playful Heart Monkey
Pauline Rennie	Cozy Heart Penguin, Treat Heart Pig, Grams Bear
Janet-Laine Green	Wish Bear
Susan Roman	Champ Bear (Later Nelvana episodes)
Terry Sears	Champ Bear (DiC episodes)
Linda Sorenson	Love-a-Lot Bear
Laurie Waller-Benson	Bedtime Bear
Chris Wiggins	No Heart
John Stocker	Beastly
Terri Hawkes	Shreeky, Baby Hugs Bear
Len Carlson	Professor Coldheart (DiC episodes)
Steve Kramer Tony Pope (first 2 episodes)	Frostbite

Episodes

Main article: List of Care Bears episodes

Broadcast and distribution

Airing history

United States

• Syndication (1985-1990)
• ABC (1986–1988)
• Disney Channel (1990–1997)
• Toon Disney (1998–2002)

United Kingdom

• The Children's Channel (1980s)
• TV-am (1980s)
• Tiny Pop (2004–2007)

Canada

• Global (1986–2004)
• CBC/Radio Canada (1999–2007)
• Treehouse TV (2011)
• Teletoon Retro (2011–Present)

Media

DiC series

All episodes from the DiC series were originally released on DVD in Region 1 between 2004-2006 by UAV Entertainment. They released all 22 episodes in 7 volume collections entitled Celebration, Dreamland, Forever Friends, Land of Enchantment, Starry Skies, Tenderheart Tales and Fun in the Sun.

In 2007, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and re-released all episodes on DVD in 5 volume collections entitled Care-A-Lot Adventures, Forest of Feelings, Magical Moments, * Carousel of Dreams and Sharing in the Sunshine.

On August 26, 2008, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released Care Bears: Care-A-Lot Collection on DVD in Region 1. The 2-disc set features all 22 episodes of the series (with its original opening and closing titles).

Nelvana series

In Region 1, Lionsgate Entertainment has released many episodes on DVD in various single disc collections from 2004-2008. In total, 12 collections have been released, each featuring random episodes from the series.

On October 9, 2012, Lionsgate released Care Bears: The Original Series Collection on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. The 6-disc set features the majority of episodes from the series (from the previously released discs excluding King of the Moon and Giving Thanks) as well as the bonus feature Care Bears Nutcracker Suite.

In Region 4, Magna Entertainment released all 52 episodes (in chronological order) on DVD in Australia in 2004 in 12 separate volumes.

Criticism

In Remote Control: Power, Cultures and the World of Appearances, Barbara Kruger referred to the series as "a veritable position paper, a saccharinely preachy manifesto on 'caring.'"

External links

• The Care Bears at the Internet Movie Database
• The Care Bears at TV.com