The Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine
The Berenstain Bears Comic Valentine is a Valentine-themed animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein and Al Kouzel, the program made its debut on NBC on February 13, 1982.[1][2][3]
| The Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Stan and Jan Berenstain |
| Written by | Stan and Jan Berenstain |
| Directed by | Mordicai Gerstein Al Kouzel |
| Starring | Ron McLarty Pat Lysinger Knowl Johnson Gabriela Glatzer Jerry Sroka |
| Theme music composer | Elliot Lawrence |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Buzz Potamkin |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | Perpetual Motion Pictures The Joseph Cates Company |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release |
|
| Related | |
Development
Stan and Jan Berenstain's first animated holiday special aired on NBC in December 1979. The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree was the first of five annual animated specials that would air on NBC, produced by Joe Cates and the Joseph Cates Production Company. The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw was the second in this series, followed by the third special The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise.
The Berenstains utilized rhyming couplets in the script - for both the narrator and the character dialogue. This element had also been used in the Christmas special and was familiar to audiences since a similar type of writing was used in the Berenstain Bears Beginner Books series.[4]
Cast
- Ron McLarty as Papa Bear and the Narrator
- Pat Lysinger as Mama Bear
- Knowl Johnson as Brother Bear
- Gabriela Glatzer as Sister Bear, Charlene, Honey Bear, Cheerleaders
- Jerry Sroka as Bearcaster
Production and casting
The 25-minute special was created and written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and featured original music composed and conducted by Emmy-winning musician Elliot Lawrence, with lyrics provided by Stan Berenstain. The score included three original songs.[5]
It was the fourth of five Berenstain Bears animated specials that aired on NBC from 1979 to 1983.[6]
Premiere
The program premiered on NBC on February 13, 1982.
Plot
Home media releases
In 1984, Embassy Home Entertainment released the special on LaserDisc as a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree, called A Berenstain Bears Celebration.[7] In 1987, the special was made available on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment as part of their "Children's Treasures" series.[8] In 1989, the special was distributed on VHS by Kids Klassics.[9] The special was re-released in 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video, in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree.[10] In 2002, the special was released on DVD by GoodTimes, also in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree.[5] In 2008, Sony Wonder also released the special on DVD. In this edition, it was bundled with a few bonus episodes from the 1980s cartoon series.
References
- Shaw, Jane. "Christmas tree is focus of Berenstain Bears' newest adventure." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1980-12-02, p. 32.
- Mariska, Bradley (2015). "Berenstain Bears Bibliography". Berenstain Bears Complete Bibliography & Blog. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- Berenstain, Stan; Berenstain, Jan (1997). The Berenstain Bears' Thanksgiving. ISBN 0590947311.
- Berenstain, Stan and Jan (2002). Down a Sunny Dirt Road: An Autobiography. Random House. ISBN 978-0375814037.
- The Berenstain Bears Double Feature (DVD). GoodTimes. 2002.
- Berenstain Bears History, The Berenstain Bears, Inc., 2015, retrieved 11 October 2015
- A Berenstain Bears Celebration (LaserDisc). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1984.
- The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (VHS). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1987.
- The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (VHS). Kids Klassics. 1989.
- The Berenstain Bears Double Feature (VHS). GoodTimes. 1992.