Portal:Care Bears
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Introduction
The Care Bears are a fictional group of multi-colored bear characters originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings, but later used for toys, in TV programs, and in films. There are 218 Care Bears to date.
The original development was through American Greetings' "Those Characters From Cleveland" research and development division, In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears. The Care Bears appeared in TV specials called The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984). They then had a television series from 1985 to 1988, and three feature films: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986) and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).
Selected general articles
- Care Bears and Cousins is an American computer-animated television series. The series premiered on November 6, 2015, on Netflix. Read more...
- The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings is the first television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Ottawa's Atkinson Film-Arts studio, it was premiered in syndication on April 22, 1983. The special features the ten original Bears, along with the Cloud-Keeper and a villain called Professor Coldheart; they would be seen again in 1984's The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine. Read more...
- The Care Bears Movie is a 1985 Canadian-American animated fantasy film and the second feature film from the Canadian animation studio Nelvana. One of the first films based directly on a toy line, it introduced the Care Bears characters and their companions the Care Bear Cousins. In the film, an orphanage owner (Mickey Rooney) tells a story about the Care Bears, who live in a cloud-filled land called Care-a-Lot. Traveling across Earth, the Bears help two lonely children named Kim and Jason, who lost their parents in the car accident, and also save a young magician's apprentice named Nicholas from an evil spirit's influence. Deep within a place called the Forest of Feelings, Kim, Jason, and their friends soon meet another group of creatures, the Care Bear Cousins.
American Greetings, the owners of the Care Bears characters, began development of a feature film adaptation in 1981. Later on, the card company chose Nelvana to produce it, granted them rights to the characters, and financed the film along with cereal manufacturer General Mills and television syndicator LBS Communications. Nelvana's founders served as producers, while fellow employee Arna Selznick directed the film. Production lasted eight months, with a production budget of at least $2 million, and took place in Canada, Taiwan, and South Korea. The voice cast included Mickey Rooney, Georgia Engel, Jackie Burroughs and Cree Summer. Two pop music stars, Carole King and John Sebastian, contributed several songs. Although major American film studios passed on the project, newly established independent distributor The Samuel Goldwyn Company acquired the distribution rights to the film and soon spent a record $24 million promoting it. Read more... - Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot is an American-Canadian animated television series produced by SD Entertainment and DIC Entertainment that premiered on CBS' KEWLopolis line-up from September 15, 2007 to December 6, 2008, and is designed to be an immediate follow up to the movie Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!. It was the third Care Bears television series made and was produced by Sabella Dern Entertainment, the same company that made Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!. It features songs with music by Andy Street and lyrics by Judy Rothman.
Along with the other shows in the KEWLopolis block, this series fulfilled the federal "E/I" requirements. Read more... - 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, The CBN Family Channel from 1988 to 1990, The Family Channel from 1990 to 1997 (DIC episodes only) and from 1990 to 1998 (Nelvana episodes only) in the United States. The 1985 episodes were produced by DiC Audiovisuel and LBS Communications; the ABC episodes were made by Nelvana under the name 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. Read more...
- The Care Bears are a group of characters created by the U.S. greeting card company American Greetings in 1981. The title characters originally appeared in card artwork by Elena Kucharik, before branching out into various media and merchandise. The franchise launched in 1982 with ten title characters, and in 1984 added several more characters known as the Care Bear Cousins.
Each of the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins has a "tummy symbol" — a picture or pattern that indicates the role or specialty of the character bearing it. Beginning with Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!, "tummy symbols" are sometimes referred to as "belly badges." Read more... - Care Bears is a media franchise owned by American Greetings which began as a series of greeting cards in 1981. Since then, a number of media featuring the eponymous characters have been produced, including video games. While a Care Bears game was intended for release as far back as 1983 for the Atari 2600, the first officially licensed software entry in the franchise, Care Bears: Care-a-lot Jamboree, debuted in 2003 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Several games, mainly educational titles aimed at younger players, have subsequently been developed, appearing on platforms such as PC, V.Smile, and Game Boy Advance. Numerous mobile phone apps were also released for Android and iOS. Read more...
- Holly Hobbie (born Denise Holly Ulinskas, 1944) is an American writer, watercolorist and illustrator. It is also the name of a fictional character that she created. Read more...
- Created in 1981 9.0 by the U.S. greeting card company American Greetings, the Care Bears are a group of characters that have appeared in various media. Since early 1983, various companies in the Americas, Europe and Israel have published books based on the franchise. In the United States, the Care Bears' books have been available through Random House, Parker Brothers and Scholastic Books. Read more...
- Bernard Loomis (July 4, 1923 – June 2, 2006) was an American toy developer and marketer who introduced some of the world's most notable brands including "Chatty Cathy", "Barbie", "Hot Wheels", "Baby Alive", and "Strawberry Shortcake", but perhaps his biggest marketing success was bringing a then-unknown film property called Star Wars to the toy shelves.
Every toy company he worked for (Mattel, General Mills, and Hasbro) became "the world's largest toy company" during his tenures in each company. Read more... - Care Bears: The Giving Festival is a 2010 computer-animated feature film starring the Care Bears characters. It was made by SD Entertainment and released on DVD by Lionsgate on November 2, 2010. In the film, the Care Power Team—which includes Funshine Bear, Cheer Bear and Share Bear—organizes their annual Giving Festival, and must rescue a princess named Starglo from impending weather. Read more...
- Muriel Fahrion is an American illustrator and the original designer of the girl's toy, Strawberry Shortcake. Read more...
- The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland is a 1987 Canadian-American animated fantasy film and the third theatrically released film in the Care Bears franchise. It was released in the United States and Canada on August 7, 1987, by Cineplex Odeon Films, and is based on Lewis Carroll's Alice stories. The fourth feature film made at Toronto's Nelvana studio, it was directed by staff member Raymond Jafelice and produced by the firm's founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith). It starred the voices of Keith Knight, Bob Dermer, Jim Henshaw, Tracey Moore and Elizabeth Hanna. In the film, the Care Bears must rescue the Princess of Wonderland from the Evil Wizard and his assistants, Dim and Dumb. After the White Rabbit shows them her photo, the Bears and Cousins search around the Earth for her before enlisting an unlikely replacement, an ordinary girl named Alice, to save her true look-alike. Venturing into Wonderland, the group encounters a host of strange characters, among them a rapping Cheshire Cat and the Jabberwocky.
Adventure in Wonderland was produced and self-financed by Nelvana, after a consortium of American companies helped them with the first two films. Animation was handled by Nelvana and Taiwan's Wang Film Productions. The film featured a musical score by Patricia Cullen along with songs by pop musicians John Sebastian and Natalie Cole. Upon its North American release, the film opened weakly to mixed reviews, and ended up with a $2.6 million gross; worldwide, it barely made back its $5 million cost. In the years since it opened, the film has received VHS release globally and a DVD release in various countries outside North America. Read more... - Jack Chojnacki (born c. 1941) served as the co-president of Those Characters from Cleveland Inc., a division of U.S. greeting card company American Greetings (AGC), in the 1980s. He assisted in the creation of several AGC franchises, including Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears. Read more...
- Strawberry Shortcake is a cartoon character originally used in greeting cards, but was later expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products. The Strawberry Shortcake properties also include a toy line of the character's friends and pets. In addition, the franchise has spawned television specials, animated television series, and films. The franchise is currently owned by the Canadian children's television company DHX Media and American brand management company, Iconix Brand Group through the holding company Shortcake LP Holdings LLC. Read more...
- Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot is a 2004 children's animated feature film, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment. Directed by Mike Fallows and written by Jeffrey Alan Schecter, this was the fourth film to star the Care Bears and their first in 17 years. This was also the first one in the franchise to be computer-animated.
The film centres on Funshine Bear, a Care Bear who loves to laugh and tell jokes. After one of his jokes backfires against Grumpy, another of the Bears, Funshine runs away to find a place where others can appreciate his talents better. He discovers a town known as Joke-a-lot, where laughter and humour are the order of the day, and soon becomes the area's "King". Unknown to the Bear, a rat named Sir Funnybone is using him that way in order to possess an important object called the Royal Sceptre. Read more... - 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, The CBN Family Channel from 1988 to 1990, The Family Channel from 1990 to 1997 (DIC episodes only) and from 1990 to 1998 (Nelvana episodes only) in the United States. The 1985 episodes were produced by DiC Audiovisuel and LBS Communications; the ABC episodes were made by Nelvana under the name 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. Read more...
- The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie is a 2005 children's direct-to-video animated feature film, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment. Directed by Larry Jacobs and Ron Pitts, and written by Jeffrey Alan Schechter, the film is a follow-up to the Care Bears' previous efforts in 2004's Journey to Joke-a-lot. It was the fifth film to feature the Bears, and the second to be computer-animated.
The Big Wish Movie centres on Wish Bear, a Care Bear who can make and grant wishes. After some of them do not work, she feels worried that the other bears have overlooked her abilities, and wishes for a few new friends who care more than she does. Those three—Messy Bear, Me Bear and Too Loud Bear—cause further trouble for Wish Bear, her wishing star Twinkers, and all of Care-a-lot. Read more... - American Greetings Corporation, LLC is a privately owned American company which is the world's largest greeting card producer. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, party products (such as wrapping papers and decorations), and electronic expressive content (e.g., ringtones and images for cell phones). In addition, the company owns the Carlton Cards, Tender Thoughts, Just For You, and Gibson brands.
American Greetings's former toy design and licensing division, initially called Those Characters From Cleveland, subsequently renamed American Greetings Properties and now separately owned as Cloudco Entertainment, includes copyrighted properties such as Care Bears, Topsy and Tim, The Get Along Gang, Popples, and Holly Hobbie. American Greetings also holds an exclusive license for Nickelodeon characters. Read more... - The original Care Bears television series, based on the American Greetings franchise of the same name, first aired in the U.S. and Canada between 1985 and 1988 (with two specials broadcast prior to the regular run). Episodes aired on ABC in the U.S., on Global (ATV & ASN in Atlantic Canada) in Canada, and in syndication. Read more...
- Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! is a computer-animated feature film released on August 4, 2007 by Kidtoon Films. It was developed by American Greetings as part of the Care Bears' 25th anniversary, and produced by SD Entertainment and Shari Lewis Enterprises. Oopsy is the first Care Bears film made by a studio other than Nelvana, the Canadian company responsible for the previous feature length installments and most of the television episodes. The movie was released on DVD on October 23, 2007. This film serves as a pilot episode of Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot. Read more...
- The Get Along Gang are characters created in 1983 by American Greetings' toy design and licensing division, "Those Characters from Cleveland" (now American Greetings Properties), for a series of greeting cards. The Get Along Gang are a group of twelve (and later, fourteen) pre-adolescent anthropomorphic animal characters in the fictional town of Green Meadow, who form a club that meets in an abandoned caboose and who have various adventures whose upbeat stories intended to show the importance of teamwork and friendship. The success of the greeting card line led to a Saturday morning television series, which aired on CBS for 13 episodes in the 1984-1985 season, with reruns showing from January until June 1986. Read more...
- Popples is a toy and television franchise created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), a subsidiary of American Greetings. Popples resemble brightly colored marsupial teddy bears with long tails ending in a pom-pom. Each Popple character transforms to resemble a brightly colored ball.
In 2018, Popples was sold to Hasbro. Read more... - Care Bears Nutcracker Suite is the third and final television film to feature the Care Bears characters. Produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana, it is loosely based on the Nutcracker ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (adapted in turn from E. T. A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King). It was directed by Joseph Sherman and Laura Shepherd, and produced by Nelvana's founders: Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith.
In this special, a schoolteacher tells some children a version of the Nutcracker story which features the Care Bear Family. While helping a sad girl named Anna, the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins meet a wooden soldier and a group of malicious rats from a place called Toyland. Entering this place, Anna and the Family learn that an evil Vizier is planning to destroy it with the help of his rodent army, and has his sights on a powerful ring that has been long hidden from the denizens. Read more... - The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine is the second television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Ottawa's Atkinson Film-Arts studios, it premiered in syndication in April 1984. Read more...
- Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, or simply known as Welcome to Care-a-Lot, is an American/Canadian CGI adventure musical animated TV series which is based on the "Care Bears" franchise in honor of their 30th anniversary. It is produced by American Greetings Properties. Unlike its previous predecessor "Care Bears" shows, this is AG's first CGI animated "Care Bears" TV series, though several films in the franchise had been released in the format. The series premiered on June 2, 2012 on the Hub Network in the United States. Previews of each new episode were released weekly on an official channel on YouTube, along with occasional music video or other promotional releases.
The series lasted one extended 26-episode season before its network underwent a rebranding. Following the rebranding of The Hub as Discovery Family in the Fall of 2014, Netflix commissioned a continuation of Welcome to Care-a-Lot titled Care Bears & Cousins, which premiered November 6, 2015. The new series continues the story of the cast of Welcome to Care-a-Lot and introduces four new series regulars, the titular cousins Brave Heart Lion, Bright Heart Raccoon, Lotsa Heart Elephant and Cozy Heart Penguin. As of 2016, Care Bears merchandise features Welcome to Care-a-Lot characters, as well as Care Bears & Cousins branding, as featured in Just Play's range of toys and plush. The second season of Care Bears & Cousins premiered on Netflix in 2017. Read more... - Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation is a 1986 Canadian-American animated fantasy film produced by LBS Communications and Nelvana. The third animated feature from Nelvana, it was directed by Dale Schott, written by Peter Sauder and produced by Nelvana's three founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith). It stars the voices of Alyson Court, Cree Summer, Maxine Miller and Hadley Kay. In the second film based on the Care Bears franchise, a character called The Great Wishing Star (voiced by Chris Wiggins) tells the origins of the Care Bears, and the story of their first Caring Mission. True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse lead the other Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, as they come to the aid of Christy, a young orphan camper who is tempted by an evil shape-shifting figure named Dark Heart. This is also the first appearance of the Care Bear Cubs, who also had their own line of toys.
A New Generation was made over a seven-month period at Nelvana's Toronto facilities, with additional work handled by Taiwan's Wang Film Productions, and involved several crew members who had worked on the original Care Bears Movie. Patricia Cullen served as composer, and Los Angeles musicians Dean and Carol Parks worked on the film's six songs. The Samuel Goldwyn Company, the US distributor for the first film, was originally set to release the sequel, but demands from the film's producers caused the company to give up. To the chagrin of Goldwyn's founder, the worldwide distribution rights were then acquired by Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures. Read more...
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Selected images
Funshine Bear as part of the Christmas decoration in Junction 8, Singapore in Dec 2013.
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