Care Bears
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Care Bears | |
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The ten original Care Bears in the logo for the 1980s franchise, with Tenderheart Bear at top
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| Creator | Those Characters from Cleveland |
| Original work | Greeting cards published by American Greetings (1981) |
| Print publications | |
| Books | See List of Care Bears books |
| Films and television | |
| Films |
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| Television series |
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| Audio | |
| Soundtracks |
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| Original music | See List of Care Bears albums |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Original artwork by | Elena Kucharik |
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." However, the movie Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! renamed them "belly badges." Adding to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins", which feature a lion, rabbit, penguin, raccoon, monkey, elephant, pig, dog, cat, and other such animals created in the same style as the teddy bears.[citation needed]
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: Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004) and The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie (2005). In 2007, the franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary; another relaunch took place, as well as the release of Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!.[citation needed]
In mid-2011, American Greetings announced a revival TV animated series titled Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot. The premiere of the series utilizes "30 years of caring". It premiered on The Hub on June 2, 2012.
As of 2014, Care Bears merchandise is still being marketed. During 2008 and 2009, Canada's Cookie Jar Group and France's MoonScoop Group attempted to acquire the franchise from American Greeting Cards, but with no apparent success.
Contents
History
Development
The Care Bears were initially created in 1981 by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), the licensing division of American Greetings. Jack Chojnacki, the co-president of TCFC, introduced the first Care Bear to six businessmen—three from American Greeting Cards, and three from the toy company Kenner—in February 1981. On the employees' reaction to the toy, Chojnacki recalled in early 1985: "It had a high 'aaaaaah' factor."[1]Muriel Fahrion, the artist who helped create Strawberry Shortcake's look, was also among the franchise's first concept artists.[2] Working with TCFC Creative VP Ralph Shaffer, Muriel designed the first six bears, creating the best-selling greeting card themes for their belly graphics. Susan Trentel, Muriel's sister and doll designer of Strawberry Shortcake, designed the Care Bears plush. Once out of the concept stage children's book illustrator Elena Kucharik became the primary artist for the Care Bears creating hundreds of full color illustrations for cards, books and a myriad of licensed products. TCFC's creative team of artists and writers worked to create numerous characters in the line, which was a joint development by Those Characters From Cleveland and MAD (Marketing and Design Service of the toy group of General Mills).[3]:53
As they had done with Strawberry Shortcake, once titled "Project I," American Greeting Cards called the Care Bears development "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.[4]
1982 launch
On September 24, 1982, the Care Bears franchise was launched in New York City before members of the area's Society of Security Analysts.[5] Attending the event were American Greetings president Morry Weiss, and two employees of Those Characters from Cleveland: Jack Chojnacki and senior vice-president Henry Lowenthal.[5] Eventually, the characters were announced as a toyline for production by Parker Brothers and Kenner the following spring, as well as pre-licensed characters and media stars. At that time, American Greetings touted their debut as "the biggest character launch in the history of retailing".[6] On a US$5–6 million advertising budget[1][5] and a wholesale commitment worth US$122.5 million,[5] American Greetings introduced the characters to the general public in February 1983,[7] with an appearance at New York City's Toy Fair;[8] 26 licensees were involved upon launch.[7] Among them was General Mills,[5] a food company which owned the board game manufacturer Parker Brothers.[9] In early 1983, Parker Brothers released six books featuring the Care Bears as part of its publishing division's first offerings.[9] On television, the original ten Bears starred in their first syndicated special, Atkinson Film-Arts' The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings; Kenner produced and sponsored it.[3]:52In December 1983, American Greetings and CPG Products lost a lawsuit against Easter Unlimited, importers of a line known as "Message Bears". According to New York City judge Leonard B. Sand, those toys lacked the "heart-shaped 'toushee tags'" used to identify the Care Bears.[10]
In 1984, AGC introduced a spin-off line, the Care Bear Cousins; another syndicated special, The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine, came out that same year. A miniseries based on the toys was distributed by Lexington Broadcast Services Company.[3]:52 A year later, the Bears and Cousins starred in their first film, The Care Bears Movie, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. It became the highest-grossing animated film made outside the Disney market at the time of its release.[11] Later that autumn, DIC Entertainment released an 11-episode television series in syndication.[12]
In 1986, Nelvana returned to the franchise with a second movie, 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: Harmony Bear, True Heart Bear, and Noble Heart Horse.
Later that year, a TV series titled The Care Bears Family (also from Nelvana) premiered on the U.S. ABC network and Canada's Global.[13] Lasting two seasons and consisting of over 70 episodes, this introduced the evil wizard No Heart and his sidekick Beastly. In the second season, No Heart's niece Shreeky was introduced.
The Care Bears' third film, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, debuted in 1987. A TV special, Care Bears Nutcracker Suite, premiered on the Disney Channel in 1988.
Over 40 million Care Bears were sold between 1983 and 1987, and American Greetings printed over 70 million of their cards during the decade. In whole, the sales of their merchandise reached over $2 billion during the 1980s.[14][15]
1991 relaunch
In early 1991, Those Characters from Cleveland and Kenner embarked on a relaunch of the franchise, involving seven bears. One of the Care Bear Cousins, Proud Heart Cat, was released as a bear with white fur that sported the tummy symbol of a heart-shaped American flag.[16] The publishing company Random House released two tie-in books: The Care Bears and the Big Cleanup (1991) by Bobbi Katz,[17][18] and The Care Bears and the Whale Tale (1992) by Peggy Kahn.[19][20]2002 relaunch
In 1999, the rights to the Care Bears franchise were bought by Jay Foreman, the president of Fort Lauderdale-based Play Along Toys, for less than $1 million; he also planned to acquire fellow American Greeting Cards property Strawberry Shortcake.[21] Three years later, American Greetings relaunched the Care Bear brand as part of the Bears' 20th anniversary celebration with a series of plush toys and movies. The artwork and design of the bears were changed for relaunch. Also, 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, KB Toys, and Mervyns.[22] 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.[23] Over 70 million 13-inch (330 mm) plush Bears have been sold since the re-launch.[24] 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 in 2005. Various other music CDs featuring the bears and video games were also produced.
New versions of the various cousins were produced (with Proud Heart being changed back into a cat, in a different color and the same symbol she had in the 1980s franchise). Two of the Cousins, Treat Heart Pig and Noble Heart Horse, were never produced as 13 inch plushes in the 2000s, and 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 before with a new TV series Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot. The animation and artwork is completely different from the originals giving the Care Bears have smaller body structures and redesigned tummy symbols, which are now called belly badges. Also, instead of Nelvana, the film and the animated series are produced by SD Entertainment.As part of the franchise's 25th anniversary celebrations, the Bears were redesigned by the American Greetings Properties illustration team, as was the logo of the franchise. The line consists of fifteen of the thirty-nine bears (as seen in Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!). Five of the bears were chosen to be the focus of the franchise: Oopsy Bear, Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear and Share Bear. The other bears include Wish Bear, True Heart Bear, Bedtime Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Love-a-lot Bear, Harmony Bear, Amigo Bear, Surprise Bear, Superstar Bear, Best Friend Bear, Play-A-Lot Bear, Heartsong Bear, Good Luck Bear and Hopeful Heart Bear,[25] although the remaining 24 bears are also stated to have a release in the near future according to Play Along Toys.[26]
Their new theme song is performed by former Letters to Cleo member, Kay Hanley, and the music video premiered on Fox and Nickelodeon.[24] In August 2007, they appeared in 20th Century Fox's theatrical release of Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!.[27] This was followed by the television series from SD Entertainment, Adventures in Care-a-lot. The series premiered on CBS' KEWLopolis block on September 15, 2007.
The Care Bears franchise was rebooted upon the 2007 relaunch. 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. 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, up until the point of the first direct-to-DVD release for the new franchise (Grizzle-ly Adventures), never had humans visit Care-a-lot, and a new villain named Grizzle (who seeks to conquer Care-a-lot and nothing else) was introduced. A February 2007 article in 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".[24]
However, the Caring Meter made its return in Grizzle-y Adventures, and the second direct-to-DVD release of the franchise, Ups and Downs, included a passing remark regarding the Forest of Feelings. In addition, Care-a-lot castle reappeared in certain scenes in the new game for the V.Smile Baby Infant Development System, Play Day.
On July 23, 2008, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears (along with Strawberry Shortcake) would be sold to Cookie Jar Entertainment in an acquisition due to take place on September 30, 2008.[28] By April 2009, it was announced that Cookie Jar Entertainment had problems in financing the acquisition and that a French company called MoonScoop has also expressed interest in the franchise. The deadline for Cookie Jar's acquisition was April 30, and MoonScoop's attempt June 7.[29] In mid-August 2009, MoonScoop sued American Greetings, claiming the latter backed out of the planned US$95 million deal; AGC and Cookie Jar sued each other in the process as well.[30] In late April 2010, the Cleveland company "won summary judgment on MoonScoop SAS' contract", as well as "promissory estoppel claims" in the case;[31] MoonScoop filed for an appeal the following month.[32] At the end of November 2012, the US District Court in Cleveland ruled in favor of American Greetings over MoonScoop.
In late 2009, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears will be re-imagined with the launch of a new series, "Care Power Team". This re-imagining re-used the Adventures in Care-a-lot designs, has the bears sport "enhanced belly badges," and sees the bears taking on emergencies. Soon after, a trio of new films appeared: Care Bears: Share Bear Shines, Care Bears: The Giving Festival and Care Bears: To the Rescue. In the same year, it was announced that the master rights to the toys for the Care Bears have changed hands from Play Along Toys to Hasbro, in a deal that also involved Strawberry Shortcake. However, it was only in mid-2013 that the first Care Bear toys from Hasbro appeared. There has been no word on what caused the delay.
2012 relaunch
In July 2011, the card company announced that a new television series, the franchise's first in CGI, is in development.[33] Entitled Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, it premiered on The Hub on June 2, 2012.[34]In December 2013, AG Properties and Mindworks Entertainment announced they will collaborate with Sanrio for a co-branding with the character franchise Little Twin Stars. An expanded rollout is expected in March 2014.[35]
In July 2014, it was announced that Hasbro has lost the rights to making the toys to another toy company called Just Play.[36] It is widely thought that the reason for the change is due to American Greetings being unhappy with how long it took Hasbro to release a toyline from the time it acquired the rights to make the toys.
In October 2014, When The Hub changed over to Discovery Family, it was revealed that Welcome to Care-A-Lot has been cancelled and that there won't be further work on the show.
In January 15, 2015, it was revealed that Netflix has commissioned a new series called Care Bears and Cousins after The Hub cancelled Welcome to Care-a-Lot.[37] The show is set to premiere sometime in 2016.
Characters and universe
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This section may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (October 2010) |
Main article: List of Care Bear characters
Grumpy Bear in the Nelvana episode "Home Sweet Homeless"
Wish Bear in "The Care Bears Movie"
Cheer Bear from the Nelvana Care Bears cartoon episode "The Lost Gift"
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, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot, 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 who would frequently make a mess of things. 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. The cousins were not relaunched in the 2007 series.
Some elements of the Care Bears franchise pay homage to the legend of King Arthur. For example, the name of the main characters' residence, Care-a-lot, is a play on King Arthur's legendary Camelot castle. 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.[4]
Throughout the movies and series, various villains have tried to stop the Bears and Cousins in the background on their missions. On the first two specials and DiC television series, they battled against Professor Coldheart, his assistant Frostbite, and occasionally Auntie Freeze; in Nelvana's version, they faced Wizard No Heart, his bumbling assistant Beastly and his ill-tempered niece Shreeky, and minor villains such as Dr. Fright and Sour Sam. In the movies, they went up against Nicholas and the Evil Spirit in The Care Bears Movie, Dark Heart in Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation, The Wizard of Wonderland and his assistants Dim & Dumb in The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, and 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 Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot, while The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie broke from tradition in which it did not have a villain. For the 2007 revival, The new movie, Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! introduced new villains, Grizzle and WingNut, who persists into the new TV series, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot.
Magic spells
The Care Bears' ultimate weapon is the "Care Bear Stare" (a.k.a. "Belly Magic"), 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 Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot and The Care Bears' 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, but is initiated by simply rubbing the symbol.In the original animated specials and the DiC series, the Care Bear Stare is initiated by the phrase "Care Bears...prepare to stare!" while in the Nelvana series and later versions it is initiated by the phrase "Care Bears Countdown!"
During the movies and the DiC series, the Care Bear Cousins call their weapon the "Care Bear Cousin Call". In the DiC series, the call looks identical to the Care Bear Stare and is often performed at the same time without it being referred to as the call. In the first movie, the Cousins, excluding Swift Heart Rabbit, simply made whatever animal noise is common to their species since they did not have any tummy symbols; those are later given to them by the Care Bears at the end of the movie. In the second movie, the Call looks like a musical score which radiates from their tummy symbols. By the start of the Nelvana series, the Care Bear Cousin Call was no longer used and the Cousins simply performed the Care Bear Stare.
Although commonly used on villains, the stare and call have been also been used on humans and the Care Bears themselves. It was occasionally used in the DiC series to cure Care Bears and humans who were placed under the effects of Professor Coldheart's uncaring magic. It also occurred once in Adventures in Care-a-lot, when it was used to temporarily cheer Grumpy up in the episode "Tell-Tale Tummy".
In addition to the Care Bear Stare, the Care Bears can also use their tummy symbols to summon other assistance such as heart-shaped balloons, cloud cars, rainbow bridges and sending out a distress signal.
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 Care Bears' 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.Initially, no mention was made of the Caring Meter in Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! and the first season of Adventures in Care-a-lot. With the release of Grizzle-y Adventures, the franchise's first direct-to-DVD release, the Caring Meter has returned, and the Care Bears have begun to interact with humans once again.
Merchandise
Apart from toys, books, greeting cards and animated media, the Care Bears have been prominently featured in merchandising as well, some of which includes gummy bears, party goods, cell phone covers, interior decoration sets, stationery, school supplies, stickers, clothing, accessories and many other goods.[22] During the early 2000s relaunch, the classic Care Bear toys were available at stores such as Carlton Cards, Claire's, and Spencer Gifts.[22]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 colors. Later, a children's story was written explaining why the bears had switched colors.[4]
In his 1986 essay, The Shortcake Strategy, Tom Englehardt referred to the Care Bears dolls as "highly specialized" toys. "So specialized [are they] that instead of being complex individual personalities, they are no more than carefully labeled fragments of a personality", he stated. "Together, they must engage in a series of specialized interventions as complex as those of any real-life medical unit."[39]
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