Little Bear (TV series)

Last updated

Little Bear
Little Bear title.png
Genre
Based on The series of books
by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak [1]
Voices of
Theme music composer
Composer Lesley Barber
Country of originCanada [2]
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes65 (195 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Michael Hirsh
  • Patrick Loubert
  • Clive A. Smith
Running time24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network CBC Television
ReleaseOctober 7, 1995 (1995-10-07) [3]  
June 1, 2001 (2001-06-01)

Little Bear, also known as Maurice Sendak's Little Bear, [4] is a Canadian children's animated television series produced by Nelvana Limited in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. [5] It is based on the Little Bear series of books, which were written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. In the United States, the show premiered on Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Jr. block on November 6, 1995, until the final episode aired on June 1, 2001. The show also aired on CBS on Saturday mornings from September 16, 2000, until September 15, 2001. [6]

Contents

Every half-hour episode of Little Bear is divided into three seven-minute segments. Most segments are new stories, but some are retellings of Else Holmelund Minarik's books (both she and Sendak were "closely involved in the creative process" when developing the new stories). [7]

A direct-to-video feature film titled The Little Bear Movie was released in 2001.

Plot

Little Bear follows the titular character as he goes on exciting adventures in the forest and learns new things with his friends, including Emily, Duck, Hen, Cat, and Owl. His parents are Mother Bear, who is always there when he needs her, and Father Bear, a fisherman who is often at sea.

Episodes

SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 3913November 6, 1995 (1995-11-06)February 12, 1996 (1996-02-12)
2 3913September 9, 1996 (1996-09-09)December 23, 1996 (1996-12-23)
3 3913May 6, 1997 (1997-05-06)November 17, 1997 (1997-11-17)
4 3913January 7, 1999 (1999-01-07)February 12, 1999 (1999-02-12)
5 3913February 21, 2000 (2000-02-21)June 1, 2001 (2001-06-01)

Characters

Main

The main characters Little Bear main characters.jpg
The main characters

Recurring

Others

Telecast and home media

In Canada, Little Bear premiered on CBC Television on October 7, 1995, at 8 in the morning. Episodes continued to air on Saturdays at 8 a.m. [3] as well as on weekday mornings during the preschool programming block CBC Playground until 2007. Corus-owned Treehouse TV aired the show from 1998 to 2010.

In the United States, the show premiered on Nickelodeon [8] as part of the Nick Jr. block on November 6, 1995, at noon. The last new episode premiered on Nickelodeon on June 1, 2001, and the last rerun aired on December 25, 2002. The show was also aired on CBS on Saturday mornings from September 16, 2000, until September 15, 2001. [6] Noggin aired repeats (as part of the "Nick Jr. on Noggin" block) [9] from 2001 to 2009. Its replacement, the Nick Jr. Channel, aired repeats from 2009 until 2018.

The series has been re-aired on various foreign channels, including ABC and ABC2 (Australia), RTÉ (Ireland), TV2 (New Zealand), and CBBC and CBeebies (United Kingdom).

Streaming

On December 15, 2014, Nelvana released all seasons of the show, as well as the movie, free to watch on the Official Little Bear YouTube channel. [10]

In 2015, Little Bear was added to the Noggin app, which streams shows from the classic Noggin channel. [11]

The show was added to Paramount+ (which was called CBS All Access at the time) in January 2021. [4]

VHS

United States

Paramount Home Video / Paramount Home Entertainment:

NOTE: * = Also available in Canada

  • Meet Little Bear (May 13, 1997)
  • Family Tales (May 13, 1997)
  • Winter Tales (October 7, 1997)
  • Parties & Picnics (April 7, 1998)
  • Goodnight Little Bear (September 8, 1998)
  • Friends (January 12, 1999)
  • Summertime Tales (June 8, 1999)
  • Little Goblin Bear (August 24, 1999)
  • A Kiss for Little Bear (January 11, 2000)
  • Little Bear's Band (March 7, 2000)
  • Rainy Day Tales (June 6, 2000)
  • Little Sherlock Bear (February 6, 2001)
  • The Little Bear Movie (August 7, 2001)*
  • Let's Play a Game (November 6, 2001)
  • Little Artist Bear (January 29, 2002)
  • Campfire Tales (May 7, 2002)
  • Snacktime Tales (August 27, 2002)
  • Feel Better, Little Bear (October 7, 2003)

Blockbuster:

  • Favorite Tales (1998)
  • More Favorite Tales (1999)
  • Favorite Tales, Volume 3 (2000)
  • Favorite Tales, Volume 4 (2002)

Reader's Digest Young Families:

  • Fishing Adventures (2002)
  • Friendship Tales (2002)
  • Pretend Time (2002)
  • Imagination Time (2002)
  • Sleepy Time Tales (2003)
  • Birthday Celebrations (2003)
  • Stories to Grow On (2004)
  • Lost and Found (2004)
  • Camping Adventures (2004)
  • All in the Family (2004)
  • Special Days (2004)
  • Let's Celebrate (2004)
  • Seasonal Tales (2004)
  • Outdoor Discoveries (2004)
  • Not-So-Scary Stories (2004)
  • Show Time (2004)
  • Just Me Stories (2004)
  • Game Time (2004)
  • Make-Believe Adventures (2005)
  • Weather Tales (2005)
  • Indoor Time (2005)

Canada

Alliance Atlantis:

  • The World of Little Bear (1997)
  • Grandmother's House (1997)
  • Seasons (1998)
  • New Friends (1998)
  • Meet Mitzi (1999)
  • Parties and Picnics (1999)
  • Tales for Rainy Days (2000)
  • Exploring and Other Adventures (2000)
  • Mother and Father Bear (2001)
  • Mysterious Moments (2001)
  • Dreams and Make Believe (2001)
  • Hooray for Little Bear (2002)
  • Outdoor Fun (2002)
  • At Home (2003)

DVD

United States

Paramount Home Entertainment:

  • The Little Bear Movie (June 17, 2003)
  • Feel Better, Little Bear (October 7, 2003)
  • Rainy Day Tales (June 7, 2005)
  • Little Bear's Band (June 7, 2005)
  • Halloween Stories (August 22, 2006)

Canada

Alliance Atlantis:

  • Outdoor Fun (2002)
  • Mysterious Moments (2002)
  • Hooray for Little Bear (2002)
  • At Home (2003)
  • Dreams and Make Believe (2006)
  • Mother and Father Bear (2006)
  • Exploring and Other Adventures (2006)
  • Seasons (2005)
  • New Friends (2005)
  • Parties and Picnics (2005)
  • Grandmother's House (2005)
  • Tales for Rainy Days (2009)
  • Meet Mitzi (2009)

Treehouse TV:

  • Seaside Adventures (2011)
  • Father's Day (2012)
  • Winter Games (2012)
  • Mother Bear's Special Day (2012)
  • Summer Sandcastles (2012)
  • Follow the Leader (2012)
  • Search for Spring (2013)
  • Dress Up Time (2013)

Film

In 2001, the show was adapted into a direct-to-video film, again produced by Nelvana, called The Little Bear Movie . It was distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment in the U.S. The film's featured song, "Great Big World", was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2001 Video Premiere Awards. [12]

Music

Austrian composer Franz Schubert's Allegro vivace from his Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major is used as the theme tune to Little Bear (used in the Canadian broadcast of the series). A separate opening theme consisting of a woodwind ensemble, by composer Arnold Black, was used in the American broadcast of the series. The music score in the series is composed by Lesley Barber.

Other media

Live show

In Canada, Little Bear was adapted into a live theatrical show, Little Bear: Winter Tales. It originally toured across Canada in 2007 and returned in late 2009. [13] Both tours were presented by Paquin Entertainment, and were produced by Koba Entertainment.

Video games

In 1999, The Learning Company developed two "edutainment" games based on the Little Bear franchise, "Rainy Day Activities" [14] and "Preschool Thinking Adventures". [15] In 2000, the company developed another game, this time for a younger audience, titled "Toddler Discovery Adventures". [16]

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References

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  2. "A Firm From the Great White North Takes Off". Los Angeles Times . June 16, 2000.
  3. 1 2 Brown, Louise (October 7, 1995). "Welcome, Little Bear Pre-schoolers Will Appreciate the Simple, Heart-warming Adventures of Beloved Storybook Pal, Little Bear". The Toronto Star .
  4. 1 2 "Maurice Sendak's Little Bear". Paramount+ . September 10, 2001. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  5. "Little Bear end credits". YouTube. December 15, 2014. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 504–505. ISBN   978-1476665993.
  7. Lechner, Ernesto (May 26, 2000). "'Bear's' Cozy World Draws in Toddlers". Los Angeles Times .
  8. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 362. ISBN   9781538103746.
  9. "N O G G I N: Shows: Nick Jr. On Noggin". Archived from the original on June 22, 2003.
  10. "Little Bear – Official". YouTube. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  11. Steinberg, Brian (February 25, 2015). "Nickelodeon To Launch Noggin Subscription-Video Service in March". Variety. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  12. Scott Hettrick (September 24, 2001). "More than awards for vid nods". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  13. "now touring | little bear | live on stage | family theatrical". Koba entertainment. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  14. "109.10817: Maurice Sendak's Little Bear Rainy Day Activities – video game – Educational Software – Video Games – Online Collections – The Strong". museumofplay.org.
  15. "109.9435: Maurice Sendak's Little Bear: Preschool Thinking Adventures – video game – Educational Software – Video Games – Online Collections – The Strong". museumofplay.org.
  16. "109.9433: Maurice Sendak's Little Bear: Toddler Discovery Adventures, Ages 18 months to 3 years – video game – Educational Software – Video Games – Online Collections – The Strong". museumofplay.org.