The Upstairs Downstairs Bears

Last updated
The Upstairs Downstairs Bears
The Upstairs Downstairs Bears logo.jpg
Also known asUpstairs Downstairs Bears [1] [2]
Genre Preschool
Stop motion [3]
Created byCarol Lawson
Gresham Films
Based onThe Upstairs Downstairs Bears series
by Carol Lawson
Voices ofSonja Ball
Kathleen Flaherty
Oliver Grainger
Harry Hill
Emma Isherwood
Sally Isherwood
Michael Lamport
Theme music composerMark Giannetti
Composer Jeff Fisher
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (26 shorts)
Production
Executive producersElizabeth Partyka
Poul Kofod
David Ferguson
ProducersCharlotte Damgaard
Cassandra Schafhausen
Kath Yelland (for FilmFair)
Running time22 minutes (11 minutes per short)
Production companies Scottish Television
CINAR Corporation
CINAR Europe
Egmont Imagination
FilmFair [4]
Original release
Network ITV (CITV) (UK)
Teletoon (Canada)
ReleaseSeptember 3 (2001-09-03) 
December 7, 2001 (2001-12-07)

The Upstairs Downstairs Bears is a British-Canadian children's stop-motion animated series. The series was co-produced by Scottish Television Enterprises and Canada's Cinar in co-production with Egmont Imagination in Denmark, in association with Imagination Production and FilmFair Animation. [5] The series was broadcast on CITV in the United Kingdom and Teletoon in Canada. It consists of a single season of 13 half-hour episodes, or 26 shorts. [6]

Contents

Based on the eponymous series of books by the show's creator Carol Lawson, the show is about two families of teddy bears who live in an Edwardian townhouse, and emphasizes the importance of sharing for the preschool audience. [7]

Episodes

No. [8] TitleWritten byCanadian air date [9]
1a"The Magic Hat"Sally Ann LeverSeptember 3, 2001 (2001-09-03)
1b"The Lost Kite"Sally Ann LeverSeptember 3, 2001 (2001-09-03)
2a"Mrs. Bumble's Birthday" Simon Jowett September 4, 2001 (2001-09-04)
2b"Henrietta's Cleaning Day"Simon JowettSeptember 4, 2001 (2001-09-04)
3a"Bears Who Go Bump in the Night"Mike JamesSeptember 5, 2001 (2001-09-05)
3b"Family Portrait"Mike JamesSeptember 5, 2001 (2001-09-05)
4a"The Telephone"Sally Ann LeverSeptember 6, 2001 (2001-09-06)
4b"The Chimney Sweep"Sally Ann LeverSeptember 6, 2001 (2001-09-06)
5a"The Lovely Day Outing" Jeanne Willis September 7, 2001 (2001-09-07)
5b"The Music Lesson"Jeanne WillisSeptember 7, 2001 (2001-09-07)
6a"The Treasure Hunt"Mike JamesSeptember 10, 2001 (2001-09-10)
6b"An Abundance of Peas"Jennifer LupinacciSeptember 10, 2001 (2001-09-10)
7a"Wash Day"Simon JowettSeptember 11, 2001 (2001-09-11)
7b"Arthur's Art Attack"Simon JowettSeptember 11, 2001 (2001-09-11)
8a"A Visit From Aunt Agatha"Mike JamesSeptember 12, 2001 (2001-09-12)
8b"Fix-it Freddy"Peter HynesSeptember 12, 2001 (2001-09-12)
9a"The Bring 'n' Buy Sale"Mike JamesSeptember 13, 2001 (2001-09-13)
9b"The Last Card"Simon JowettSeptember 13, 2001 (2001-09-13)
10a"Who's Calling?"Jeanne WillisSeptember 14, 2001 (2001-09-14)
10b"Jumping to Conclusions"Peter HynesSeptember 14, 2001 (2001-09-14)
11a"Singing Contest"Jeanne WillisSeptember 17, 2001 (2001-09-17)
11b"Star Maker"Peter HynesSeptember 17, 2001 (2001-09-17)
12a"The Pantomime At No. 49"Adrian BesleyNovember 19, 2001 (2001-11-19)
12b"Babysitting Baby Arthur"Adrian BesleyNovember 19, 2001 (2001-11-19)
13a"A Winter's Day"Simon JowettDecember 7, 2001 (2001-12-07)
13b"Christmas Bears"Jeanne WillisDecember 7, 2001 (2001-12-07)

Production

Illustrator and teddy bear collector [10] Carol Lawson was reportedly inspired to create the franchise when she came across "a 'downstairs' bear dressed as a maid". [8] It follows in the vein of the similarly-titled 1971 ITV drama Upstairs, Downstairs , [8] which also features the stories of two families living together under one townhouse roof.

Production of the series began in late 1998, with an anticipated budget of US$3 million. [11] By early 2000, this had increased to US$3.7 million, similar to that of comparable children's television. [7] The cost per episode was $430,000 as of October that year. [6]

Egmont Imagination headquarters in Denmark handled construction of the puppets and backgrounds, which were then sent to the FilmFair studio in London for filming. [8]

Broadcast

The Upstairs Downstairs Bears was first broadcast in English on CITV in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2001. [12] On Teletoon in Canada, it originally aired from September 3, 2001 to December 7, 2001. [9] In the United States, it was broadcast on Smile. [2]

On the French-language Canadian channel Télétoon, it was aired as Les oursons du square Théodore. [13] Internationally, it was also seen on Minimax in Hungary, [14] and Hop! Channel in Israel. [15]

Czech Television's ČT Déčko has made the full series available for digital streaming. [16]

Reception

Toonhound had a positive impression of the series, stating: "With its period set details, golden brown shades and soft, sepia light this little show evokes just the right Edwardian atmosphere..." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Network (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian TV channel

Cartoon Network is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers.

<i>Caillou</i> Canadian preschool animated television series

Caillou is an educational children's television series which aired on Teletoon – with the first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997 – until the fourth season. After that, it moved to Treehouse TV for season five. The series finale aired on October 3, 2010. It also aired on PBS and the PBS Kids Channel.

<i>Upstairs, Downstairs</i> (1971 TV series) British drama television series (1971–1975)

Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) for ITV. It ran for 68 episodes divided into five series on ITV from 1971 to 1975.

The History of Canadian animation involves a considerable element of the realities of a country neighbouring the United States and both competitiveness and co-operation across the border.

<i>Atomic Betty</i> Animated science fiction television series

Atomic Betty is an animated television series produced by Atomic Cartoons, Breakthrough Entertainment and Tele Images Kids, along with the Marathon Group joining for the third season. Additional funding for production is provided by Teletoon in Canada, Phil Roman Entertainment (uncredited) in the U.S. and M6 and Télétoon in France.

<i>The Chimes of Midnight</i> 2002 Doctor Who audio drama

The Chimes of Midnight is the twenty-ninth audio drama of the British science fiction audio series Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures from Big Finish Productions. It was written by Robert Shearman and directed by Barnaby Edwards.

<i>Budgie the Little Helicopter</i> British TV series or programme

Budgie the Little Helicopter is a British animated television series, relating to a fictional helicopter and his friends, based on a series of children's books. The characters were based on the books by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. The show was co-produced by Fred Wolf Films Dublin, The Sleepy Kids Company and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York for HTV West and Scottish Television, and originally aired on British television in 1994 on CITV, where it ran for 39 episodes. A range of videos, books, and toys were released under the Budgie label.

<i>Art Attack</i> British childrens television series

Art Attack is a British children's television programme revolving around art, originally hosted by Neil Buchanan on CITV from 1990 to 2007, and subsequently hosted by Lloyd Warbey on Disney Junior from 2012 to 2015.

The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers is an animated television series created by Dan Chambers, Mark Huckerby, and Nick Ostler. Starting off as online shorts in 2002, it was eventually commissioned as a full series by CITV and Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom, S4C in Wales, YTV and VRAK.TV in Canada. It is an international co-production between UK studio Pesky and Studio B Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia. A total of 26 episodes were produced.

The Adventures of Paddington Bear is an animated children's television series based on the book Paddington Bear by Michael Bond and developed by Bruce Robb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Télétoon</span> Canadian French-language childrens TV channel

Télétoon is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment that broadcasts animated series aimed at kids, teens, and adults. Its name is a portmanteau of "télévision" and "cartoon".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minimax (TV channel)</span> Central European childrens television channel

Minimax is a European pay television channel aimed at children, headquartered in Hungary, and broadcasting to 11 Central European countries. The channel was also broadcast in Spain from 1994 to 1998 and Poland from 1999 to 2004. Minimax's policy goals include edutainment and non-violent programs.

<i>Iggy Arbuckle</i> Television series

Iggy Arbuckle is a Canadian animated sitcom created by Guy Vasilovich, which aired on Teletoon in Canada from June 29 to October 10, 2007. Based on a comic strip from National Geographic Kids, the series focuses on a pig named Iggy Arbuckle, who happens to be a forest ranger, known in the series as a "Pig Ranger", and his best friend, a beaver named Jiggers. The plot involves Iggy's attempts to protect the environmental structure of the Kookamunga National Park, a fictional national park that takes place in a world of anthropomorphic animals. The series was produced by Blueprint Entertainment, in association with C.O.R.E. Toons and National Geographic Kids. Worldwide, it was distributed by Oasis International.

The Bear is a 1998 British animated Christmas special directed by Hilary Audus. Based on the book of the same name by the author Raymond Briggs, the film was produced by TVC London and was first broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom at Christmas 1998.

FilmFair was a British production company and animation studio that produced children's television series, animated cartoons, educational films, and television advertisements. The company made numerous stop motion films using puppets, clay animation, and cutout animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teletoon+</span> Television channel

Teletoon+ is a Polish television channel owned and operated by the Canal+ Group through Canal+ Polska SA, available on Platforma Canal+. The channel targeted at children, carrying various animated films and television series.

<i>Upstairs Downstairs</i> (2010 TV series) British television series from (2010–2012)

Upstairs Downstairs is a British drama series, broadcast on BBC One from 2010 to 2012, and co-produced by BBC Wales and Masterpiece. Created and written by Heidi Thomas, it is a continuation of the London Weekend Television series of the same name, which ran from 1971 to 1975 on ITV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boomerang (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian specialty television channel

Boomerang is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. It is a licensed version of the U.S. channel of the same name, which primarily broadcasts animated programming from the Warner Bros. Animation library, including Warner Bros. Cartoons and Hanna-Barbera productions among others, as well as contemporary reboots of classic franchises. The channel also occasionally broadcasts reruns of Cartoon Network original series.

<i>Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids</i> (TV series) Animated television series based on a book series by Jamie Rix

Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids is a British animated horror television series based on the generic trademarked children's book series of the same name by Jamie Rix. After the first three books were published from 1990 to 1996, Carlton Television adapted the short stories into ten-minute cartoons for ITV, produced by themselves, Honeycomb Animation, and Rix's production company, Elephant Productions. It aired on CITV between January 2000 and October 2006 with six series and 78 episodes, as well as a New Year's Eve special that was over 20 minutes longer than other episodes. The series returned in a new format for Nicktoons with 26 episodes split into two series under the name Grizzly Tales, which aired between May 2011 and November 2012.

References

  1. "Archived copy". www.teletoon.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 "Smile of a Child TV // Television Program Schedule". Archived from the original on 2009-04-27.
  3. "WildBrain - Distribution Catalogue 2021 by WildBrain_Official - Issuu". September 2021.
  4. "Quebec Scene".
  5. "About | Carol Lawson".
  6. 1 2 "Canadians specialize at MIP".
  7. 1 2 "What's developing in kids production".
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Toonhound - Upstairs Downstairs Bears (2001-2002)".
  9. 1 2 "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2016-03-02.[ dead link ] Alt URL
  10. "Porterfields Art Licensing - Carol Lawson".
  11. "Cascade's kid-friendly agenda".
  12. "Bear-loving author sees books come to life on television". 8 February 2001.
  13. "Archived copy". www.teletoon.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Minimax.hu". Archived from the original on 2002-06-16.
  15. "Israeli pre-school channel on UK shopping spree".
  16. "Medvědí rodinka - iVysílání | Česká televize".