The ten original Care Bears in the logo for the 1980s franchise, with Tenderheart Bear at top.

The Care Bears are a set of characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. American Greetings Corporation Inc is the world's largest publicly-traded Greeting card company A greeting card is an illustrated folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. Elena Kucharik is most famous for her artwork across the entire line of Care Bears items from the 1980's and was co-creator of the franchise along with Linda Denham In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears. This article is about the toy company For the city see Kenner Louisiana. The teddy bear is a stuffed Toy Bear. It is an enduring traditional form of a Stuffed animal, often serving the purpose of comforting children

Each Care Bear comes in a different color and has a specialized insignia on its belly that represents its duty and personality. This insignia was known as their "tummy symbol". The latest movie, Oopsy Does It! (2007), however, controversially renamed them "belly badges". Care Bears Oopsy Does It! is a Computer-animated film released on August 4, 2007 by 20th Century Fox and Kidtoon Films Adding to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins," which feature a lion, monkey, penguin, rabbit, and other such animals created 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), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987). The Care Bears was a Canadian-produced Television series based on the best-selling Toy line the Care Bears. The Care Bears Movie is a 1985 animated Feature film. It was the first film to feature the popular Care Bears toy characters and Care Bears Movie II A New Generation is an animated film produced by Canadian animation studio Nelvana Limited The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland is the third and last theatrical installment of the Care Bears animated franchise

In 2002, the bears were reintroduced with new toys. Made by Play-Along Toys, the new toys offered features such as illuminated bellies upon touch, aerobic bears, and glow-in-the-dark bears. As part of this comeback, the Bears have appeared in two computer-animated movies: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004) and Big Wish Movie (2005). Computer-generated imagery Computer animation is the art of creating moving images with the use of Computers It is a subfield of Computer graphics Care Bears Journey to Joke-a-lot is a direct-to-DVD CGI film, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment The Care Bears Big Wish Movie is a direct-to-DVD CGI film from Lions Gate Home Entertainment" and Nelvana Limited released

In 2007, the bears were once again relaunched. The 25th anniversary of the toy line was commemorated in 2007, and the Oopsy Does It! movie was released in commemoration of the 25th anniversary. As of 2008, Care Bears are still being marketed.

The "Care Bears" trademark and the copyrights in the character designs are owned by Those Characters from Cleveland, part of American Greetings. American Greetings Corporation Inc is the world's largest publicly-traded Greeting card company ^[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. Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in Greeting cards and expanded to include Dolls 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). General Mills ( is a Fortune 500 Corporation, mainly concerned with Food products which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota ^[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]

The 80s

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. Parker Brothers is a Toy and Game Manufacturer and Brand. Over nearly 115 years the company published more than 1800 games among their 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. The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings is the first television special to feature the Care Bears characters ^[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. The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine is the second television special to feature the Care Bears characters A miniseries (also mini-series) in a serial Storytelling medium is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes Lexington Broadcast Services Company was a Television production and syndication company founded in 1976 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. British spellings. Thank you --> Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an Independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr 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 which was co-produced by Nelvana and based on the characters was made, and it ran for 22 episodes in syndication.

The following year, Nelvana completely took over the animation rights for the franchise with a second movie entitled Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film featured a new villain, Dark Heart, and introduced more of the Care Bears and Care Bears Cousins. }} Columbia Pictures Industries Inc is an American Film production and distribution company

Later that fall, The Care Bears TV Series (also from Nelvana) premiered on the ABC network, lasting two seasons and consisting of over 70 episodes. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. The Bears' last theatrically-released film, The Care Bears' Adventure in Wonderland, debuted the following summer. The Care Bears Nutcracker Suite, the last ever Care Bears movie made in the decade (and was the last movie of the franchise right up until 2004), premiered on the Disney Channel in 1988. Originally planned to be a feature film, it was decided to launch the film as a direct-to-TV movie after the previous film flopped at the box office. ^[4]

As with many other animated franchises of the 1980s, the Care Bears movies and TV shows were designed and created primarily to sell the pre-licensed characters and related merchandise. This has been noticed, more or less, by the franchise's long-time aficionados, and have also been acknowledged by the writers and producers of the shows and movies. 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. ^[5][1] This made them one of the most successful toy lines of its time, alongside "My Little Pony" and "Transformers. My Little Pony is a line of colorful Toy ponies marketed primarily to young girls and produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. The Transformers is a line of toys produced by the toy companies Takara and Hasbro. "

The 90s

As the 80s 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). ^[6]

During the late 1990s, another two revivals were attempted, 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. Shopko (formerly ShopKo until May 2007 is a chain of retail stores based in Ashwaubenon Wisconsin, outside of Green Bay, behind Bay Park Square A Beanie Baby is a stuffed animal made by Ty Inc Ty was founded by Ty Warner who promoted the line in specialty stores and gift shops

The same year the beanlings were made, Jay Foreman, president of current distributor and manufacturer of toys for the franchise, Play Along Toys, bought the rights to the Care Bears franchise for just under $1 million. Jay Foreman (born August 9, 1962) is an American businessman founder and past-president of Play Along, the Florida based toy company that is Play Along Toys is Florida -based toy company a wholly owned division of Jakks Pacific. ^[7] 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.

2002 relaunch

A poster promoting the The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie. Notice that there are minor changes to the bears' look compared to the 1980s series.

In 2002 American Greetings relaunched the Care Bear brand as part of the Bears' 20th anniversary celebration with a series of dolls, toys and movies. The artwork and design of the bears were changed for relaunch. Also, Funshine Bear's gender was changed from female to male, Champ Bear's colours were changed from tan to true blue, with his tummy symbol changed to a winner's cup with a star, and Share Bear's tummy symbol was changed from a milkshake with two straws to two lollipops crossed. The change to Share Bear's symbol stems from Play Along Toys' suggestion of the change on the grounds that sharing a milkshake may spread germs. Apart from that, many other minor changes were made to the designs, mostly involving lightening the colors of the bears and minor redesigns to the tummy symbols.

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. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores Kmart (sometimes spelled as " K-Mart " is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U Toys "R" Us ( currently typeset as Toys Я Us in the logo and before as Toys "Я" Us) is a Toy store chain based Target Corporation ( is an American Retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1902 KB Toys (previously known as Kay Bee Toys) is a chain of mall-based Retail Toy stores in the United States. Mervyns is an American Department store chain based in Hayward California. ^[8] The new merchandise included the Bears doing aerobics; Tenderheart Bear as a patient (casting the child that is playing with the toy as the doctor); Champ Bear as a fireman; and the Care Bears themselves as Cubs. Aerobics is a form of Physical exercise that combines rhythmic Aerobic exercise with Stretching and Strength training routines with the ^[9] Over 70 million 13-inch plush Bears have been sold since the re-launch. ^[10] In addition, Lionsgate Home Entertainment and subsidiary FHE Pictures, in association with Nelvana, have made two direct-to-DVD computer-animated films, Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot in 2004 and The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie. Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the home Video and DVD distribution arm of the Canadian-based Lions Gate Entertainment. Family Home Entertainment ( FHE) is an American Home video company founded in 1981 in 2005. Also worth noting is that the role of unofficial leader was apparently temporarily transferred from Tenderheart Bear to Champ Bear shortly before the 2005 movie, and it is unknown if the role was returned to Tenderheart after the movie. Various other music CDs featuring the bears and video games were also produced. No Care Bears movie was produced in 2006, but hints of the second revival and the upcoming movie, Oopsy Does It!, started circulating among fans in the Internet towards the end of 2006.

It is also interesting to note that an attempt to relaunch the Care Bear Cousins was made a little later after the 2002 relaunch of the bears. New versions of the various cousins were produced (with Proud Heart being changed back into a cat, albeit in a different color and with a different tummy symbol). However the revival of the line was not as successful as that of the bears' revival. The cousins were not relaunched in the 2007 relaunch of the franchise.

2007 relaunch

In 2007, American Greetings relaunched Care Bears again, first with a series of dolls, then a new movie (Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!) and immediately after with a new TV series (Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot). Care Bears Adventures in Care-a-Lot is an Animated television series by SD Entertainment and DiC Entertainment that premiered on CBS The animation and artwork is completely different than the originals giving the Care Bears have smaller body structures and redesigned tummy symbols (now called belly badges). Also, instead of Nelvana, the film and the animated series are once again produced by DiC.

The redesigned Care Bears, as seen in the Oopsy does It! teaser title card. Notice the smaller body structure, redesigned head and facial features, refined belly badges/tummy symbol, and major logo redesign.

As part of the franchise's 25th anniversary celebrations, the Bears have been redesigned by the AG Properties illustration team, and the logo of the franchise was redesigned to provide a more whimsical feeling. The new line consists of fifteen of the thirty-nine bears (as seen in the recent film). Five of the bears were chosen to be the focus of the franchise: Oopsy (a brand new bear who debuted in Oopsy Does It!), Cheer, Funshine, Grumpy, and Share Bear. The other bears include Amigo Bear, Wish Bear, True Heart Bear, Bedtime Bear, Surprise Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear, Harmony Bear, Superstar Bear, Heartsong Bear and Hopeful Heart Bear^[11], although the remaining 24 of the bears are also stated to have a release in the near future according to Play Along Toys^[12].

The role of unofficial leader was re-transferred, this time permanently, to Cheer Bear. Their brand-new theme song is performed by former Letters to Cleo member, Kay Hanley, and the music video premiered on FOX and Nickelodeon. Letters to Cleo were an Alternative rock band from Boston Massachusetts. Kay Hanley (born September 11, 1968) is an American Alternative rock musician Nickelodeon (commonly referred to as Nick) is an American Cable television network owned by Viacom International, founded in 1977 as Pinwheel ^[10] In August 2007, they appeared in 20th Century Fox's theatrical release of Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!. ^[13]. This was followed by the television series from DiC Entertainment, Adventures in Care-a-Lot. The series premiered on CBS' KEWLopolis block on September 15, 2007. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. KEWLopolis is a three-hour Children's programming block that began on CBS on September 15, 2007 replacing the KOL Secret Slumber

The Care Bears universe was rebooted upon the 2007 relaunch. Reboot, in serial Fiction, means a discarding of much or even all previous continuity in the series to start anew Prior plot devices like the Cloudmobiles, Caring Meter, the Cloud Keeper and even Care-a-lot castle were not referred to or mentioned as of the new series (indeed, Care-a-lot castle doesn't even appear to exist after the relaunch, as seen in the aerial shots of Care-a-lot shown at various points in various episodes of Adventures in Care-a-lot). In its place is the gathering tree, which is where the Care Bears now gather to meet or hold festivities. Also, the Care Bears have never made contact with humans (although this is set to change with the upcoming DVD release Grizz-ly Adventures, which will introduce the first human to enter the new Care-a-Lot), and a new villain named Grizzle (who seeks to conquer Care-a-lot and nothing else) was introduced. The February 2007 issue of the Wall Street Journal states that in the new version, "they live in a village, centered on a big tree—with no castle in sight. "^[10]

Main characters

Grumpy Bear in the Nelvana episode "Home Sweet Homeless".

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. Below is a list of Care Bear characters Unless otherwise stated all these descriptions are paraphrased from the name tags that come with all Care Bear plushes Below is a list of Care Bear characters Unless otherwise stated all these descriptions are paraphrased from the name tags that come with all Care Bear plushes Both of them live in the Kingdom of Caring, which is made up of Care-a-Lot (the home of the Care Bears proper) and the Forest of Feelings (home to the Care Bear Cousins).

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, five of the Care Bears were chosen to be the main characters of the show. As seen on the Care Bears website, they 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, although it could be possible that the role was transferred to Champ Bear for a brief period prior to being retransferred to Cheer Bear in The Big Wish Movie as he presided over all the meetings. The cousins were not relaunched in the 2007 series.

Villains

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), The Wizard, Dim, and Dumb (Adventure in Wonderland), the Rat King and Evil Vizier in Care Bears Nutcracker Suite. Following the 2002 revival, Sir Funnybone the rat was introduced as a villain in the movie Journey to Joke-a-lot, while the Big Wish Movie broke from tradition in which it had no real villain. For the 2007 revival, 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. The movies Journey to Joke-A-Lot and The Big Wish Movie do not feature the Care Bear stare, but it does return in Oopsy Does It!. In the new series, Care Bears Adventures in Care-A-Lot, the stare appears as a beam of light in the color of the bear from which it originates.

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.

Although commonly used on villains, the stare has also been used on the Care Bears themselves at least once in Adventures in Care-A-Lot, used to temporarily cheer Grumpy up in the episode The Tell-Tale Tummy.

Caring Meter

Shown prominently in most of the Care Bears movies and TV episodes made in the 80s, 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 un-numbered 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.

No mention was made of the Caring Meter in Oopsy Does It! And Adventures in Care-A-Lot. Indeed, it seems that there has been a major reboot in the franchise's 25th Anniversary that has done away with and changed various plot devices in the universe.

Merchandise

A gummi bear box with the new Care Bears. A Gummi bear (sometimes spelled gummy bear) is a small rubbery-textured Confectionery, roughly two centimetres long shaped in the form of a Bear.

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. ^[8]

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. A Gummi bear (sometimes spelled gummy bear) is a small rubbery-textured Confectionery, roughly two centimetres long shaped in the form of a Bear.

Books

Main article: List of Care Bears books

Many children's books have been based on, and have featured, the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins. This is a list of books based on the Care Bears franchise. Published by Parker Brothers The Trouble with Timothy (1983 ISBN 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. ^[5] As of 2006, Scholastic Press has published books based on the Bears' first two CGI films, as well as the new toys, while Modern Publishing publishes a small number of activity and baby books featuring the bears for the toddler market. The Scholastic Corporation (or sometimes referred to as Scholastic Press; in other cases Scholastic Inc Publications International and Penny Candy Press is also known to have published a few sound books featuring the bears in the past.

Music

Main article: List of Care Bears albums

At the height of the 80s' Care Bears craze, Kid Stuff Records released several LPs based on the franchise. This is a list of Albums based on the Care Bears franchise. 1980s (all from Kid Stuff Records) Introducing the Care Kid Stuff Records was a Record label of the 1980s devoted to Children's music. 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 Trianimic). 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 ^[5]

All of the albums from 1983 featured writing, production, and performance credits from Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (also known as Flo & Eddie - former Mothers of Invention from Frank Zappa's 1970-1972 period). Mark Volman (born April 19, 1947 in Los Angeles California) is an American Rock and roll singer best known as a founding member Howard Kaylan (born Howard Kaplan, 22 June 1947[http //wwwimdb Flo & Eddie is the comedy/rock duo who are Howard Kaylan ("Eddie" and Mark Volman ("Flo" aka "Phlorescent Leech" The Mothers of Invention was an American Rock and roll band active from 1964 to 1975 Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director

In the midst of the 2002 revival, Madacy Kids released brand new Care Bear CDs. In 2004, "Meet the Care Bears," "Care Bears Holiday Hugs," "Care Bears Christmas Eve," and the "Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot" soundtrack album came out, as well as "Care Bears Nighty-Night" the following year.

The cover of both Care Bears Holiday Hugs and Care Bears Nighty-Night advertises another two CDs, called Care Bears Share A Smile and Care Bears Let's Be Friends. As of April 2008, Let's Be Friends has been released as a digital download from Amazon. com and Walmart. com, however it is at this date not available as a physical CD. It is doubtful if Let's Be Friends was ever published as it could not be found on sale anywhere.

Video games

a screenshot of the Care Bears: A Lesson in Caring V. Smile game

A Care Bears game was planned for the Atari 2600 in 1983^[14]. It is preliminarily completed and ready for beta testing, but the project was cancelled before testing could begin. No other games featuring the bears were ever made during the period.

In 2001, an unofficial Care Bear Game was made called Care Bears Volleyball in which 2 players would play a game of volleyball as Tenderheart Bear. However, no official games were announced at the time.

In 2004, the Bears starred in their first official game, Care-a-lot Jamboree for the PC. A few months later, another game featuring the Care Bears for the PC, Let's Have a Ball! was released. In the same year they were featured in Care Bears: A Lesson in Caring for the V.Smile educational game console. The VSmile is an educational game system by VTech. It is designed for children ages 3 to 7

The following year, they appeared in Catch a Star (also for the PC)^[15] and Care Bears: (The) Care Quests (for the Game Boy Advance). The Game Boy Advance (often shortened to GBA) is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed manufactured and marketed by Nintendo.

It should be noted, however, that the official Care Bears website has some flash-based games since its inception.

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. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Star Comics was an Imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and continued to publish Comic books until early 1988 The books were drawn by the famous DC Comics artist, Howard Post. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company ^[16]

Smart toys

Various Care Bears interactive, smart toys have been introduced by Play Along toys since the 2002 revival. Below is a small sampling of Care Bears smart toys manufactured.

A Care Bears smart toy called Care Bears Share-A-Story was introduced by Play Along in July, 2005. A smart toy is a Toy which effectively has its own intelligence by virtue of on-board electronics The toy is based upon the same basic idea of a Teddy Ruxpin. Teddy Ruxpin is an animatronic talking bear which was created by Ken Forsse with later assistance by Larry Larsen and John Davies The head, mouth and eyes of the Care Bear move around as a cartridge plays fairy tales such as Goldilocks and the Three Care Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Three Little Pigs. The Three Bears or Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a notable children's bedtime story Jack and the Beanstalk is an English Fairy tale, closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant Killer. Three Little Pigs is a Fairy tale featuring Talking animals Published versions of the story date back to the late 18th century but the story is thought A hardback book version of the story comes with it so the parent and child can read along as the story plays. ^[17] The toy ships with the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Additional story cartridges and books are sold separately. Also, apparently only Share Bear was ever made as such a toy.

Additionally, Care Bears Sing-along pals were also introduced. These Care Bears plushes sing three different songs and could synchronize wirelessly with other singing Care Bears of the series to sing together in a group (the effective wireless coverage being three feet, although the range might deteriorate due to environmental conditions and remaining battery strength). While initially introduced in a rather large variety of designs, at the moment only the Share Bear, Cheer Bear and Funshine Bear models are still being made, with the physical appearance of the bears redesigned to match the 25th anniversary looks.

Another Care Bear smart toy is the Care Bears Tenderheart Smart Check-up. The toy comes with an interactive plush Tenderheart bear and various toy medical equipment. The interactive plush has soft-touch points throughout the body and can be fully played with without the toy medical equipment.

Lastly, there are a line of Care Bears smart toys that would play hide and seek with the owner. The line, called Hide 'N Seek Care Bears, comes in two designs: Secret Bear and Surprise Bear. Both bear comes with a wireless handpiece. To play the toy, a third party, usually the parent, must partake in the game by hiding the bear. The child then has to find the bear, with the handpiece occasionally providing hints on how close the child is to the bear through audible instructions.

Classic toys

Currently, the classic Care Bear toys can be found at such stores as Carlton Cards, Claire's, and Spencer's Gifts stores. ^[8]

Care Bears Live

In 2005, the Care Bears starred in their own stage show, called "Care Bears Live," organized by VEE Corp. The tour ended in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2006. ^[18]

Around the world

See the Wiktionary definition on "Care Bears" for a list of titles in other languages.

In French-speaking countries, the Care Bears are referred to as "Les Bisounours," roughly translating as "kiss bears," from "bisou" (kiss) and "nounours" (teddy bear). French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people However, French-speaking Quebec knows them as "Les Calinours," or "hug bears;" the word "bizoune" is considered an inappropriate term in the local vocabulary. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk

In Germany, the show is called "Die Glücksbärchis," translating to "Luck Bears," the ending "chi" a slight alteration of the German diminutive "chen. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. "

In the Netherlands, the Care Bears are known as "Troetelbeertjes," translated in English as "Cuddle Bears" or "Cuddly Bears. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States " Professor Coldheart is translated in Dutch as "Professor Koudhart," which means literally the same as the name in English. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname

In Hungary, the show is called "Szíves Bocsok", can be translated as "kind bears", or "bears with hearts". Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The earlier movies were referred as "Gondos Bocsok" ("caring bears").

In Iceland, the show is called "Kærleiksbirnirnir", literally translating to "The Care Bears".

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"). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. 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. In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a Motion picture. 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. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America.

In Brazil, they are known as "Ursinhos Carinhosos," which can be translated from Portuguese to "caring bears" or "loving bears. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. "

In the Swedish dubs of the various series, the Care Bears are called "Krambjörnar" ("hug bears"). "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. 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 Denmark, they have different names depending on who is releasing the animated series. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The original VHS releases in the 80s by Salut\Trefa were called "Kælebjørnene" ("the cuddle bears") while a late 90's/early 00's release on DVD under the Fox Kids brand had them named "Skybjørnene" ("The Bears in the Clouds" or "The Cloud Bears").

In Norway, the Care Bears have kept their original name for the most part, but some dubs have named them "Bergebjørner," which loosely translates to "Rescue Bears. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional " 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 Finland, the show is called "Halinallet" ("hug bears"). Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe.

In Italy and Greece they were known mainly because of the animated series, in which they were called "(gli) Orsetti del Cuore", i. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία e. (the) Heart Bears (being "orsetti" diminutive of "bears", or "teddy bears" in Italian) and "Τα αρκουδάκια της αγάπης", i. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. 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").

In Poland, they are known as "Troskliwe misie", what minds in Polish "Caring Bears". Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland.

In Bulgaria , they are known as "Грижовните Мечета" (Grijovnite Mecheta) , which is an exact translation of "Care Bears"

Connections with Arthurian legend

Some elements of the Care Bears franchise pay homage to the legend of King Arthur. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian King Arthur is a legendary British leader who according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders For example, the name of the main characters' residence, Care-a-lot, is a play on King Arthur's legendary Camelot castle. Camelot is the most famous Castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. 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. In the Arthurian legend, Sir Lancelot ( Lancelot du Lac, also Launcelot) is one of the Knights of the Round Table. ^[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]

Changes

• Early in the Care Bears' Nelvana TV series, Swiftheart Rabbit was introduced as male. However, Swiftheart rabbit's gender was changed to female in the movie The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland.
• Funshine Bear was originally introduced as female. However, on the 2002 relaunch, Funshine was relaunched as a male.
• Share Bear's original tummy symbol (or Belly Badge) was originally a milkshake with two straws. However, for the 2002 relaunch, her symbol was changed into that of two lollipops crossed. Play-Along Toys suggested the change to American Greetings on the grounds that milkshakes can be used to spread germs, which was approved. However, the old design with the milkshakes are still being manufactured in parallel and sold under the "classic" line.
• Tenderheart Bear's fur color was changed from brown to a lighter orange tone for the 20th Anniversary release.
• Champ Bear's original color was Tan, and his tummy symbol (or Belly Badge) was a trophy with a Heart inside of it, He is now royal blue and has a Star inside of his Trophy.
• Proud Heart Cat was originally orange in color, but was relaunched as a bear in the 90s with a different tummy symbol, then on the 2002 relaunch she was changed back into a cat, but her color was changed to sky blue and her tummy symbol was changed again.
• For the TV series Adventures in Care-A-Lot and the movie Oopsy Does It!, the term Tummy Symbols was changed to Belly Badges.

Pop Culture References

• The term carebear is used disparagingly for an MMORPG player who never fights other players, only computer controlled enemies (Player versus environment). A massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) is a genre of Computer role-playing games (CRPGs in which a large number of players interact with Player versus environment, or PvE, is a term used in MMORPGs MUDs and other online Computer role-playing games. ^[19]

• The nickname Care Bear is sometimes used for girls whose names are pronounced like "care" (for example, Carol, Karen, Carrie). One notable example is that Carrie Underwood's fans have been known as "Carrie's Care Bears" since her American Idol days. Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma) is an American Country Singer-songwriter. American Idol, with the full title American Idol The Search for a Superstar for the first season only is an American reality-competition ^[20] On the NBC series Heroes, the cheerleader character, Claire Bennet, is called "Claire Bear", by her father, Mr. Bennet. Heroes is an American Science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September Claire Bennet, portrayed by Hayden Panettiere, is a Fictional character on the NBC Science fiction drama series Heroes Noah Bennet, also known as the man in Horn-Rimmed Glasses or simply Mr ^[21]

• Over the years, the Care Bears have been featured in bit parts, or had an influence, in several other films and television series. Cinematic appearances and references include, but are not limited, to, movies such as Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987), the independent South of Wawa (1991),^[22] Snow Day (2000)^[23], and Blade: Trinity (2004). Police Academy 4 Citizens on Patrol is the fourth Comedy film in the Police Academy series South of Wawa is a Canadian Comedy film which was released in 1991. Weather-related cancellation or sometimes a delay is when an institution is closed or its opening delayed or an activity is cancelled or postponed due to inclement Weather Blade Trinity, is a 2004 vampire Action film, written and directed by David S ^[24]

• "Care bear reppin' in the heart of this here" is a lyric in Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc."^[25]

• A Care Bear appears in the popular song and Flash animation The Ultimate Showdown by Neil Cicierega and Shawn Vulliez. Gorillaz is a Virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of alternative rock band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the Comic " Feel Good Inc " is a song by Gorillaz, on their album Demon Days, featuring De La Soul. Adobe Flash (previously called Shockwave Flash and Macromedia Flash) is a set of Multimedia software created by Macromedia and currently The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, often shortened to Ultimate Showdown, is a comical song and video released on December 7 2005 Neil Stephen Cicierega (born August 23, 1986) is an American Comedian, Filmmaker and Musician. He uses a Care Bear Stare to defeat Jackie Chan and zombie Abraham Lincoln. Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE (born Chan Kong Sang, 陳港生 on 7 April 1954 is an Actor, action choreographer, Film director zombie is a reanimated human corpse Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal ^[26]

• Hat guy from the online webcomic xkcd uses a Multi Spectral care bear stare on another person on being invited to the social networking website, MySpace. Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are Comics Published on a Website, often exclusively providing easy access to an xkcd is a Webcomic created by Randall Munroe, a former contractor for NASA. MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and ^[27]

• On the hit TV show The OC, Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) has a 'ShareBear' that reoccurs frequently throughout the show. This article is about the FOX television series For the location from which the series derives its name see Orange County California. Marissa Cooper is a Fictional character from the FOX television network series The O Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born January 24 1986) is an English American film television and stage Actress, perhaps best known for her ^[28]

See also

• List of Care Bears cast members
• Rainbow Brite, another 1980s franchise launched from greeting cards. People who have voiced characters in the Care Bears movies and television series.
• Five other American Greetings franchises: Strawberry Shortcake and The Get-Along Gang (also from Those Characters from Cleveland, Inc. Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in Greeting cards and expanded to include Dolls The Get Along Gang were characters created in 1984 by American Greetings ' toy design and licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland (now American Greetings Properties ), Holly Hobbie, Popples, and Ziggy. Holly Hobbie (born 1944 is an American writer and illustrator and the name of a fictional character based on this person Popples was a series of fictional characters created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC a subsidiary company of American Greetings, and the plush toys were

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