Care Bears

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The Care Bears are a very successful toy franchise from the 1980s. Over forty million of these stuffed teddy bears, made with a variety of colours, were sold from 1983 to 1987. Each Bear had a name, a job, and a symbol tied to it. For example, Funshine Bear helps people wake up, and has a sun on his stomach.

The toys began life as characters on cards in 1981; the original artwork was done by Elena Kucharik. Later, other toys called the Care Bear Cousins were introduced.

They also gave way to three animated movies for the cinema in the mid-1980s. A related TV series from DIC and, later, Canada's Nelvana Limited came out at almost that same time.

Recently, Care Bear toys have been brought back in a new edition for the twenty-first century. As part of this comeback, the Bears have appeared in their first two DVD movies (both computer-animated), as well as a few video games.

Contents

Care Bears[change]

First ten[change]

Name Colour Gender Symbol
Bedtime Bear Light blue Male Curved moon
Birthday Bear Yellow Male Small cake
Cheer Bear Pink Female Rainbow
Friend Bear Orange Female Two flowers
Funshine Bear Yellow-orange Female and Male Smiling sun
Good Luck Bear Green Male Four-leaf clover
Grumpy Bear Blue Male Rain cloud
Love-A-Lot Bear Deep pink Female Two hearts
Tenderheart Bear Orange-Brown Male Red heart
Wish Bear Aqua Female Shooting star which forms a yellow rainbow

The later additions[change]

USA – 1980s
Name Colour Gender Symbol
Baby Hugs Bear Pink Female Star inside a pink box
Baby Tugs Bear Light blue Male Smiling star inside a diaper
Champ Bear Blue Male Trophy
Grams Bear Black Female Rose
Harmony Bear Lavender Female Smiling Flower
Secret Bear Orange and Magenta Male and Female Padlock
Share Bear Purple Female milk shake with two straws and Two Crossed lollipops with hearts on them
Take Care Bear Pink Male Smiling heart
True Heart Bear Light Pink Female Radiating star inside a heart
UK – 1980s
Name Colour Gender Symbol
Daydream Bear Tan and Lavender Male Heart Shaped Planet]]
Forest Friend Bear Tan Male Trees
Sea Friend Bear Light blue Male Wave
Surprise Bear Light blue and Deep Violet Female Jack-in-the-box

New Bears (2004)[change]

Name Colour Gender Symbol
America Cares Bear White Female Shooting star
Do-Your-Best Bear Lime Green Female Kite
Laugh-A-Lot Bear Orange Female Laughing star
Thanks-A-Lot Bear Ocean blue Female Shooting star
Oopsy Bear Yellow-Green Male Shooting Star

Care Bear Cousins[change]

Name Colour Gender Symbol
Brave Heart Lion Orange Male Heart with a crown
Bright Heart Raccoon Purple Male Heart shaped lightbulb
Cozy Heart Penguin Purple Female Heart w/cap
Gentle Heart Lamb Lime Green Female Heart-shaped pillow
Lotsa Heart Elephant Pink Female Pink weight
Loyal Heart Dog Light Blue Male Heart-shaped medal
Noble Heart Horse Purple Male Multi-colored Heart
Perfect and Polite Panda Black/white/grey Male and female Star/Flower
Playful Heart Monkey Yellow Male Heart w/ party hat
Proud Heart Cat Sky Blue Male Heart inside star
Swift Heart Rabbit Aqua Blue Male Heart with wings
Treat Heart Pig Orange Female Cupcake/Ice cream cone

The movies[change]

  1. The Care Bears Movie (1985)
  2. Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986)
  3. The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987)
  4. Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004) (direct to video)
  5. The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie (2005) (direct to video)
  6. Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! (2007) (direct to video)
  7. Care Bears: Share Bear Shines (2009) (direct to video)

Interesting facts[change]

  • The French name for the toys, Les Bisounours, is a combined form of the words bisou (kiss) and nounours (teddy bear). But, in Quebec, the toys are named Les Calinours.
  • Wish Bear (aqua) and Bedtime Bear (blue) switched colours by mistake at the start of the franchise. After the flaw was discovered, they returned to their normal state, and a children's story later told of the reasons why.
  • Both Carrie Underwood (2005's American Idol winner) and the cartoon's founder, Linda Denham, come from the college sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma. (Care Bears was hence used as the fan base name for pop singer Underwood when she a contestant on Idol.) Also, a special version of Harmony Bear with three hearts was designed for the sorority.
  • The movies and TV episodes were dubbed in different years in different countries.
  • The villains No Heart (Nelvana show), Coldheart (DiC/Atkinson Film-Arts) and Dark Heart (from the 1986 animated sequel, A New Generation) are, surprisingly enough, given the same Swedish name: "Hjärtlös", which translates to "Heartless" in English.
  • Originally Funshine was female, however in more recent movies Funshine is portrayed as a male.

Care Bears in other languages[change]

Funding[change]

Other websites[change]

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