| Old Bear Stories | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Stop motion animation |
| Based on | Old Bear and Friends by Jane Hissey |
| Story by | Jane Hissey |
| Directed by | Kevin Griffiths Liz Whitaker |
| Narrated by | Anton Rodgers |
| Composer | Paul Castle |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 41 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Peter Gillbe |
| Producer | Richard Randolph |
| Editors | Nick Follows Nick Aleck |
| Running time | 10 mins 20 mins (special episodes) |
| Production company | Optomen |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV (Carlton) Channel 5 |
| Release | 22 September 1993 – 23 December 1997 |
Old Bear Stories is a BAFTA award-winning stop-motion animation television series for children based on the Old Bear and Friends books by Jane Hissey. Jane Hissey also created the television series, starting it on 22 September 1993, and creating 3 seasons, which ended on 24 December 1997 with a double-length Christmas special. In all, 41 episodes were made. [1]
The series was produced by Ealing Animation (El Nombre) and was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV. Episodes have subsequently been repeated on Channel 5 in the UK, and are also broadcast in the United States and other countries worldwide. The show also aired for a short time on the CBC morning children's block in Canada. It also aired in the United States as part of Cartoon Network's Small World as well as ABC in Australia, M-Net, SABC 2 and Bop TV in South Africa, MediaCorp Channel 5 in Singapore, Channel Eye in Sri Lanka, ČT1 in the Czech Republic, TVP1 in Poland, SVT Barnkanalen in Sweden and TV2 and TV One in New Zealand. The series was also screened on armed forces television on BFBS (and its former network SSVC Television) where it was shown in several countries such as Germany and the Falkland Islands.
Episodes of the series were released on VHS by Carlton Video.
In a playroom which is home to a variety of sentient toys, their leader, the wise and caring "Old Bear" had disappeared some time ago, having been put into the loft and forgotten. After the toys rescue him and bring him back down to the playroom, Old Bear again becomes their most respected toy and guides his friends in their many adventures, both in the play room and in the garden.
Copyright Carlton Television UK 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997
The theme tune was composed by Paul Castle [2] and consists of the lyrics:
Please read us a story Old Bear, we'll all gather round
Dear Old Bear.
Sit in your favourite chair,
We'll sit all around, all around dear Old Bear. [3]
The harmony vocals were provided by Alison Goldfrapp of the band Goldfrapp. [4]
The series was very well critically received and won a lot of awards:
Tots TV is a British children's television programme, produced by Ragdoll Productions and Central. The series was first telecast in the UK on the ITV network from 1993 to 1998.
The Christmas Toy is a 1986 television film directed by Eric Till and produced by The Jim Henson Company, featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, including Rugby the Tiger, who remembers being last year's Christmas Toy and thinks that he will be unwrapped again this year. The film, which originally aired on December 6, 1986, on ABC, was sponsored by Kraft Foods.
Little Bear, also known as Maurice Sendak's Little Bear, is a Canadian children's animated television series co-produced by Nelvana Limited, produced in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 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.
The Forgotten Toys is a 1997–99 British animated comedy television series based on the children's book The Night After Christmas. It was made by Hibbert Ralph Entertainment, featuring the voices of Joanna Lumley and Bob Hoskins. It is a poignant tale of abandoned toys who are searching for children to love them. It aired on CITV in the UK, on ABC in Australia.
Jan Boyer Wahl was an American children's author. He was a prolific author of over 120 works, and was known primarily for his award-winning children's books, including Pleasant Fieldmouse, The Furious Flycycle, and Humphrey's Bear. Wahl sometimes jokingly referred to himself as "Dr. Mouse," a nickname given him by a young fan.
Old Bear and Friends is a popular series of children's books written by British author and illustrator Jane Hissey. The books became the basis for a BAFTA award-winning television series Old Bear Stories.
Jane Hissey is a British author and illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her series of children's books Old Bear and Friends, which became the basis for a BAFTA award-winning television series Old Bear Stories, episodes of which were released on VHS by Carlton Video.
Secret Life of Toys is a 1994 children's TV series based on the 1986 Christmas TV special The Christmas Toy which aired from March to May 1994 with thirteen episodes, each 30 minutes long and consisting of two 15-minute stories. The show was filmed in Monheim, Germany, near the Dutch border, and aired on The Disney Channel in the United States beginning on 5 March 1994, the BBC in the United Kingdom, Family Channel, Vrak and TVO in Canada, Spacetoon in Arabic regions, Top TV in South Africa, The Kids' Channel in Israel, RTB in Brunei, American Forces Network in Germany and Japan, TVP1 in Poland, Channel 55 in Bahrain, and ABC TV in Australia. The series was formerly available on Netflix and Hulu and is currently available on Kidoodle.TV.
Mopatop's Shop is a children's television series that premiered on CITV in the UK on 4 January 1999. 260 ten-minute episodes were made and aired daily. It was a co-production between Jim Henson Television and Carlton Television. After it finished its run in 2003, it was repeated for several years afterwards until 2010.
This is a list of 762 books by Enid Blyton (1897–1968), an English children's writer who also wrote under the pseudonym of Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the 20th century.
Playbox is a British children's television programme for pre-school children aged 2–5, which was broadcast on the Children's ITV block on ITV. It debuted on 5 January 1987, and aired through 4 February 1992. Playbox was produced by Central Independent Television. The programme was the first Ragdoll television show to be made by ITV. It was created by Leslie Pitt and Anne Wood, who had just founded Ragdoll Productions.
The Toy Castle is a Canadian children's television show that aired on Treehouse TV, SCN, Access, Knowledge Network, TVOntario and TFO. It was aired from September 4, 2000 to December 26, 2003 and produced by Sound Venture Productions. It was inspired by Sound Venture's 1992 Christmas ballet special The Steadfast Tin Soldier, which starred Frank Augustyn and was based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. It is now shown during the Christmas season on Treehouse, TFO and Noovo. Told through ballet and narration, the stories are about a group of toys in a toy castle that magically come to life when the children are asleep. This series won a Gemini Award in 2003 for "Best Preschool Series."
Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom is a British preschool animated television series. The show was created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, and produced by Astley Baker Davies and by Entertainment One. Many of the voice actors who worked on Peppa Pig have lent their voices to the show; these include John Sparkes, Sarah Ann Kennedy, David Rintoul and David Graham. The music is composed, conducted, and produced by Julian Nott, who is noted for his Wallace and Gromit, Bing and Peppa Pig scores. Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom is the third show to be produced by Astley Baker Davies.
Giggle and Hoot is an Australian children's television "wrap-around" program block that aired on the ABC Kids channel. The series was produced from 2009 to 2019, with the final episodes airing in 2020, and depicted the adventures of Jimmy Giggle and his best friend, Hoot the Owl. It also aired on ABC from 2009 to 2011. In later seasons, they were joined by a second owl called Hootabelle along with other friends and their toys.
Wide-Eye is a British 2003–04 animated children's television series set in fictional Natterjack Forest. The series consists of a series of ten-minute episodes and is about a wise, old owl who lives in a tall tree with his young son, "Little Hoot", and his energetic female sidekick, "Flea".
Hey Duggee is a British pre-school children's animated television series aimed at two to five-year-olds. Created by Grant Orchard, it is produced by Studio AKA, in association with BBC Studios. The show is narrated by Alexander Armstrong.
Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave is a British interactive animated children's television series produced by Collingwood & Co. that premiered in the United Kingdom on CBeebies and in the United States on Sprout in 2015. Hulu acquired the streaming rights in 2016. Production ceased on new episodes when Universal Kids stopped developing original shows in 2019.
Poppy Cat is a British preschool animated television series, which first aired on 2 May 2011 and last aired on 31 October 2015. It is based on a series of books created by British illustrator and writer Lara Jones, and is a co-production of King Rollo Films, Coolabi Productions, Cake Entertainment and Ingenious Media for Nick Jr. in the UK and Sprout in the U.S.
