The Care Bear Family

The Care Bear Family

Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

The second television series starring those lovable, huggable, super-caring bears was produced by Nelvana, the animation company who brought The Care Bears Movie (and its two sequels) to the big screen. Airing on ABC's Saturday morning schedule in 1986, The Care Bear Family brought new bears and new villains to the time-tested mix.

The title characters were a multicolored bunch of bears with names that matched their personalities: Funshine Bear, Love a Lot Bear, Grumpy Bear, etc. Just in case anyone was still confused, each bear had an identifying symbol on his or her furry tummy.

Hailing from the clouded land of Care-a-Lot, the Care Bears descended to earth in their Cloudmobile whenever the infallible "Caring Meter" pointed to some lonely boy or girl who needed a smile and a hug. If things got too hairy, the bears could always resort to the "Care Bear Stare," which sent beams of good will from the bears' combined bellies, enough to soften even the gloomiest heart.

And gloomy hearts there were, indeed. The new nemesis of our fuzzy heroes was a meanie named, appropriately, No-Heart. Backing up the villain in his selfish deeds was the bumbling Beastley, who was more comic than criminal.

But never fear, young ones, for the Care Bears had friends of their own, the Care Bear Cousins. Brave Heart Lion, Bright Heart Raccoon, Playful Heart Monkey, and other kindly woodland creatures left their homes in the Forest of Feelings whenever their bear kin needed a helping paw or hoof.

The new series ran on Saturday mornings for two seasons before entering syndication under the title Care Bears in 1988. The syndicated series mixed new episodes in with the old, ensuring many more years of caring, sharing, and bearing.

Release History

9/13/86 - 1/23/88 ABC

TV Sub Categories

animated
sci-fi/fantasy

TV Studio

The Saul Group, Nelvana, SFM

Television Cast

Beastley John Stocker
Birthday Bear Melany Brown
Brave Heart Lion Dan Hennesey
Cozy Heart Penguin Pauline Renny
Funshine Bear Jane Eastwood
Gentle Heart Lamb Luba Goy
Good Luck Bear Dan Hennesey
Grumpy Bear Bobby Dermie
Lotsa Heart Elephant Luba Goy
Loyal Heart Dog Dan Hennesey
Tenderheart Bear Billie Mae Richard

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