WereBear
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WereBears were plush stuffed toy bears, created by George Nicholas Creations in 1983. Their heads and paws were reversible, allowing them to change from "happy" to "angry", much the same as a werewolf. They were based on a weekly comic strip published by Clearmark Productions in New Malden.
Created for his children, George Nicholas stumbled upon an excellent marketing formula which should have led to massive demand from both boys and girls in the key demographic, at a time when Teddies for boys were considered "wimpy".[citation needed] However the WereBears proved much more popular with boys and this led to the "girls' favourite" 'Gums' being discontinued first by the manufacturers.
Originally there were four bears, named Fang, Grizzler, Howler, and Gums. A fifth bear called Growler was created later, and he featured a voice-box that would produce a howling noise if the button was pressed. A set of smaller, non-changing, bears were also produced. In 1986 a second set of toys called the TerrorTeds were created to complement the original WereBears.
Each WereBear also came with a story cassette that was narrated by Oliver Postgate of Bagpuss fame.
Hornby manufactured the toys under license in Korea until the late 1980s, when they were discontinued. They have since become increasingly rare and collectable.
At the height of their popularity, Universal Pictures were in discussions with the creators to make a film of the bears.[1][this primary source citation needs verification]
[edit] 2009
As of 2009 the newly registered domain www.werebears.co.uk redirects to a site containing historical information about the original WereBears and the accompanying comics. According to the site a relaunch is possible in the near future. There has also been a new website called Werebears.com featuring character biographies of the four original WereBears and a CGI trailer.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ referenced on www.werebears.co.uk
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