Care Bears (TV series)
Care Bears is an animated television series based on the franchise of the same name. After two specials in 1983 the main series began in 1985. The series was produced by DIC Audiovisuel's American branch DIC Enterprises and aired on syndication a while after the theatrical release of the first movie in the series.
| Care Bears | |
|---|---|
 Original title card for the series | |
| Created by | Linda Denham Elena Kucharik |
| Developed by | Sandy Fries Jack Olesker |
| Written by | Eleanor Burian-Mohr Randal Case Howard R. Cohen Matt Geller Jack Hanrahan Don Hart Shelly Karol Francis Moss Jack Olesker Bruce Reisman |
| Directed by | James A. Simon |
| Starring | Billie Mae Richards Jayne Eastwood Janet Laine-Green Luba Goy Eva Almos Melleny Brown Dan Hennessey Pauline Rennie Patrice Black Laurie Waller Benson Bob Dermer Marla Lukofsky |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 11 (22 segments) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Andy Heyward Tetsuo Katayama |
| Producer | Jean Chalopin |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | DIC Enterprises Those Characters From Cleveland |
| Animation services | K.K. DIC Asia（Tetsuo Katayama） Studio Korumi（Hideo Nishimaki） |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | September 14 – November 23, 1985 |
In 1986, The Care Bears Family, a successor series by the Canadian studio Nelvana that had produced the movies, aired on Global in Canada and on ABC in the United States.
From 1990 to 1997, The Care Bears Family does not have the rare original versions of the Care Bears (DIC series) episodes, but the more common of these episodes has been seen as part of the later syndicated run of the regular DIC and Nelvana series (which was also seen on the Disney Channel and, later, Toon Disney).
In 2007, Sabella Dern Entertainment produced a revival, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot.
Synopsis
The Care Bears live in a faraway place up in the clouds called Care-a-Lot, which constitutes a part of the Kingdom of Caring. With the help of the Cousins and their Buddies, they go all around the world on Missions in Caring whilst they try to thwart the plans of the evil Professor Coldheart.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
| Specials | 2 | April 22, 1983 | April 6, 1984 | N/A | |
| DIC series | 11 | September 14, 1985 | November 23, 1985 | Syndication | |
| 1 | 13 | September 13, 1986 | December 6, 1986 | ABC (U.S.) Global (Canada) | |
| 2 | 6 | September 26, 1987 | October 31, 1987 | ||
| 3 | 30 | September 12, 1988 | November 25, 1988 | Syndication (U.S.) Global (Canada) | |
Voice cast
- Billie Mae Richards – Tenderheart Bear, David’s Mother, Sharon Wayland, Keith, Kara's Mother, Matthew Miller
- Jayne Eastwood – Birthday Bear, Tommy, Willis Carter
- Janet-Laine Green – Wish Bear, Mary, Mrs. Miller (Matthew Miller's Mother), Tricia
- Luba Goy – Gentle Heart Lamb, Lotsa Heart Elephant, Susie’s Mother
- Eva Almos – Friend Bear, Swift Heart Rabbit, Cathy, Charlie, Elaine, Jimmy, Kathy, Lisa, Melanie, Millie Jacobs' Mother, Sanford
- Linda Sorenson – Love-a-Lot Bear, Amy, Benny, Jeffrey, Kara, Lisa's Mother, Mrs. Peale (Patti Johnson's Teacher), Paula Schaefer, Sandra, Talking Star, Wendy
- Melleny Brown – Cheer Bear, Becky, Missy, Jill Wayland, Millie Jacobs
- Len Carlson – Professor Coldheart, Jim, Strato Nefarious
- Louise Vallance – Proud Heart Cat, Mary
- Dan Hennessey – Good Luck Bear, Brave Heart Lion, Loyal Heart Dog, Captain McDougal, Cloud Worm, Counselor Bob, Dentist, Mr. Miller (Matthew Miller's Father), Mayor of Abbotsville
- Pauline Rennie – Cozy Heart Penguin, Treat Heart Pig, Melanie’s Mother, Timmy
- Patrice Black – Funshine Bear, Share Bear, Chris, Eddie, Joey, Joey and Elaine's Mother, Linda, Mary’s Mother
- Laurie Waller Benson – Doug, Hal, Jill, Millie Jacob's Teacher, Murphy, Susie, Talking Star
- Theresa Sears – Champ Bear, Amy, Fred, Joshua
- Bob Dermer – Grumpy Bear, Frostbite, Amy’s Husband, Carl, Charlie, David, Eddie, Firefighter, Joey and Elaine's Father, Ken, Mr. Bland (Mayor of Drab City), Mr. Poole, Narrator, Race Flag Man
- Joyce Gordon – Auntie Freeze
Uncredited
- Sean Roberge – Bedtime Bear
- Jim Henshaw – Bright Heart Raccoon, Jeff, Ben Wayland, Melanie’s Father, Mr. Johnson (Patti Johnson's Father)
- Marla Lukofsky – Playful Heart Monkey, Patti Johnson
- Brennan Thicke – Joey
Home media
United States
The series has seen a few VHS releases from DIC Video and Buena Vista Home Video throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
In March 2003, Sterling Entertainment released two releases on VHS and DVD: "Bedtime Stories", "The Last Laugh" and a third one: "To the Rescue" on July 2003. Each release contained six or seven episodes, with a bonus episode on the DVD version, while "To the Rescue" contained a bonus Sylvanian Families episode. An additional DVD, "Daydreams", was released on February 4, 2004, and contained a Strawberry Shortcake short as a bonus on the DVD version.
Sterling would later release all 22 episodes in seven-volume collections in 2004 entitled Celebration, Dreamland, Forever Friends, Land of Enchantment, Starry Skies, Tenderheart Tales and Fun in the Sun.
In 2007, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment acquired the rights to the original DIC series and re-released all the DIC-produced episodes on DVD in five-volume collections entitled Care-A-Lot Adventures, Forest of Feelings, Magical Moments, Carousel of Dreams and Sharing in the Sunshine.
On August 26, 2008, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released Care Bears: Care-A-Lot Collection on DVD in Region 1.[1] The two-disc set features all 22 episodes of the series (with its original opening and closing titles).
In 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently released three-volume collections which contain six episodes each, on September 10, 2013.
On October 6, 2015, Mill Creek released The Care Bears – The Complete Original Series on DVD in Region 1.[2] The two-disc set features all 22 episodes of the series.
International
In the United Kingdom, Maximum Entertainment released the whole DIC series on four DVD sets and two VHS releases under license from Jetix Europe (who at the time, owned the pre-1990 DIC library).
Volume 1, released in August 2004 contained the first two episodes (1 on the VHS) alongside the Freeze Machine and Land without Feelings specials. Volume 2, released in October 2004 contained five episodes, and The Magic Shop (released in February 2005) and The Girl who Cried Wolf (released in August 2005) each contained three episodes, with the Freeze Machine special appearing on the latter again for an unknown reason, likely as filler. Both sets were released in two compilations titled "Volumes 1 and 2" (released in January 2005) and "Wedding Bells" (Released in May 2005), each containing two discs with their respective volumes.
The separate volumes were re-released again in 2007, with the former two volumes being released simply as Care Bears. Another compilation titled Happy Birthday, Care Bears was released by Maximum in February 2008, containing 12 episodes set within two discs. Lace DVD re-issued the DVDs again in 2011 as well was releasing the entire series in a four-disc boxset. These versions are identical to Maximum's releases.
In 2016, Platform Entertainment would release four DVDs of the series.
References
- Care Bears: Care-A-Lot Collection
- DiC's Episodes in 'The Complete Original Series' Return to DVD Archived September 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
