The Care Bears Movie
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Template:Infobox Film Image:Kim and Jason from CBMI.jpg Image:Nicholas villain from CBMI.jpg The Care Bears Movie is an animated feature film, released on March 29, 1985, that was the first to feature the popular Care Bears toy characters. The movie was produced in Canada by Nelvana Limited at the height of the first wave of the Care Bears craze, and also produced a spinoff television series and two sequels. It was released in theatres by The Samuel Goldwyn Company.
The movie had a considerable amount of star power attached to it; Carole King wrote and sung the opening theme, John Sebastian and NRBQ contributed to the song score, and Mickey Rooney and Georgia Engel starred as voices. It also marked the first ever appearance of the Care Bear Cousins in the media franchise (as stated in its opening credits).
This movie has often been cited as being the first to be based on a toy line, but this is not really the case. The honour as such actually belongs to 1976's Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure.
Tagline: What happens when the world stops caring?
Contents |
Plot and characters
The movie starts with a brief introductory segment featuring Mr. and Mrs. Cherrywood, a middle-aged couple with many small children. Mr. Cherrywood sits them down to read a bedtime story, and this introduces the audience to the Care Bears and their magical home in the clouds called Care-a-lot.
While looking down on the Earth for people to cheer up, the Care Bears notice two children who "don't care", Kim and Jason. Two Care Bears, Friend Bear and Secret Bear, travel down to the surface to meet them and attempt an intervention; they eventually return to Care-a-lot with them, and are given a tour. Eventually, they go on a trip to the Forest of Feelings and meet the Care Bear Cousins as well.
Meanwhile, at an amusement park, a magician's apprentice named Nicholas finds an old book with a diary-style lock on it. When he unlocks it, an evil spirit appears and begins to corrupt him. With Nicholas's help, the spirit lays waste to the amusement park, and begins a quest to remove all caring from the world. While in the Forest of Feelings, Kim, Jason, the Care Bears and Cousins are warned of the spirit's evil influence, and go to the park to try and free Nicholas of the spirit and re-imprison it in the magic book. Facing many perils along the way that were caused by the spirit, they get to the park and attempt to find Nicholas. After a long battle that drains all of their super powers, the Bears and Cousins manage to force the spirit into the book with Kim and Jason's help, saving Nicholas, the park and the world.
After this, a short epilogue with Mr. and Mrs. Cherrywood is shown. It's implied (though never explicitly stated) that Nicholas is Mr. Cherrywood, and that Mrs. Cherrywood may be Kim.
Production
Production of The Care Bears Movie took place at Toronto's Nelvana studio, at the start of a time which one of its founders, Michael Hirsh, refers to as its "dark years".Template:Mn Nelvana had just come out from the production of their first feature, 1983's Rock & Rule, which was produced using almost all of its resources and failed at the box office. Soon after that film put them on the verge of closing down, Nelvana saved themselves by doing work on television shows like Inspector Gadget (from DiC Entertainment) and Mr. Microchip. During this time, they also began work on their next feature project, at around the same time they acquired the rights to the Care Bears characters.
The Care Bears Movie started life as a short promo made for American Greetings, the owners of the Care Bears franchise. When the company was pleased with the result, Nelvana was asked about the potential of a feature film stemming from it. They agreed with AGC, even though most of the work (as they feared) would eventually end up in the hands of Taiwan's Wang Film Productions, a newly-opened Hanho Heung-Up in Korea, and other overseas studios. The finished film's only scene from the promo involved Swift Heart Rabbit speeding off to save Kim and Jason from an evil tree.Template:Mn
The film, brought in under budget, was made in eight months for $3 million (from July 1984 to February 1985).Template:MnTemplate:Mn
Response
Reaction and criticism
In spite of its purpose as a full-length commercial only made to sell Care Bear toys,Template:Mn The Care Bears Movie was a modest success with critics. The New York Times' Richard Grenier, in the newspaper's review of the film, commented on its recalling of "vintage Walt Disney, both in substance and in the style of hand animation".Template:Mn
Box office
The film also did modestly well at the box office in the United States, where its first two weekends (both in fourth place) equalled little more than its low cost ($3.7 million and $3.2 million).Template:MnTemplate:Mn The film spent its first four weeks on 1,003 screens.Template:MnTemplate:Mn (A complete analysis can be found at this entry from the-numbers.com.)
Records
According to some calculations, The Care Bears Movie is the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time (although alternative estimates and IMDb place Porky's slightly higher). This surprising fact is often used as an argument when pressure groups try to persuade the Canadian government to give more support to its film industry. In addition, it is one of animation's most profitable films ever, when comparing gross against cost.
At almost US$23 million, it was the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film of all time upon its original release, until Don Bluth's An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988) took over.Template:Mn
It is also the highest-grossing film from either incarnation of the Samuel Goldwyn name. (Super Size Me, at $11 million, is the all-time leader as such (as of 2008) for the new version of the studio.)Template:MnTemplate:Mn
Awards and nominations
At the 1985 Genie Awards in its native Canada, The Care Bears Movie won the Golden Reel Award for being the country's highest-grossing film of the year, at $1.85 million.Template:Mn Nelvana's three founders, also the film's producers, were given the award.Template:Mn
It received two other nominations, for Best Original Song (by John Sebastian) at the Genies, and for "Best Family Animation Series or Special" at the Young Artist Awards.
Home video and DVD
The Care Bears Movie was first distributed by Vestron Video in the United States and Great Britain on July 10, 1985, in videocassette and Betamax formats.Template:MnTemplate:Mn A Video Treasures edition came out five years later.Template:Mn
Contrary to North American belief, the movie was also released on Laserdisc in the United Kingdom.Template:Mn (The Adventure in Wonderland installment from 1987 is the only Care Bears movie ever released on that format in the United States.)
Hallmark Home Entertainment's October 10, 1995 release of the film included the made-for-TV special, Strawberry Shortcake Meets the Berrykins, based on the title American greetings property.Template:Mn
MGM Home Entertainment re-released the film twice on video—first on September 5, 2000, and again on August 6, 2002, when it premiered on DVD. (MGM, now owned by Sony, currently holds the rights to the Samuel Goldwyn Company's catalog prior to its recent re-establishment.)
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album to The Care Bears Movie was released in LP format by Kid Stuff Records in the United States, and on the Towerbell label in the United Kingdom.Template:Mn
| Song | Writer | Performer(s) | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Care-a-lot" | Carole King | Lou Adler | ||
| "Home Is in Your Heart" | ||||
| "Nobody Cares Like a Bear" | John Sebastian | |||
| "When You Care, You're Not Afraid to Try" | John Sebastian | John Sebastian and the cast | John Sebastian | |
| "In a Care Bear Family" | John Sebastian | |||
| "Look Out! He's After You!" | Walt Woodward and David Bird | Walt Woodward | Additional lyrics by Ken Stephenson. | |
Miscellaneous
Director Arna Selznick is proud of her efforts for this film, despite being aware of its marketing strategy.Template:Mn
Harry Dean Stanton is often miscredited for voicing Brave Heart Lion; that part actually belonged to Dan Hennessey. Stanton has never appeared in any animated films during his career.Template:Mn
The movie's combined theatrical and home video success virtually saved a floundering Nelvana from going out of business, doing everything that their first film, Rock & Rule, could not.Template:Mn
While John Sebastian sings "In a Care Bear Family", Secret Bear shouts out his only line of dialogue in the animated franchise: "Yeah!"Template:Mn
Crew members
- Directed by Arna Selznick
- Produced by Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith
- Screenplay by Peter Sauder
- Score by Patricia Cullen
- Opening theme "Care-a-lot" performed by Carole King; produced by Lou Adler
- "Nobody Cares like a Bear" performed by John Sebastian
- Additional songs by John Sebastian
- Associate producers Paul Pressler, John Bohach and Harvey Levin
- Director of animation Charles Bonifacio
- Executive producers Carole MacGillvray, Robert Unkel, Jack Chojnacki and Lou Gioia
Cast members
In order of appearance
- Mickey Rooney - Mr. Cherrywood / Narrator
- Eva Almos - Friend Bear / Swift Heart Rabbit / Cheer Bear
- Sunny Besen Thrasher - Jason
- Cree Summer - Kim
- Hadley Kay - Nicholas
- Jackie Burroughs - The Spirit
- Billie Mae Richards - Tenderheart Bear
- Patricia Black - Share Bear
- Melleny Brown - Birthday Bear
- Bob Dermer - Grumpy Bear
- Pauline Rennie - Grams Bear / Cozy Heart Penguin
- Terri Hawkes - Baby Hugs Bear
Rest in alphabetical order
- Georgia Engel - Love-a-Lot Bear
- Janet-Laine Green - Wish Bear
- Luba Goy - Lotsa Heart Elephant
- Dan Hennessey - Brave Heart Lion
- Jim Henshaw - Bright Heart Raccoon
- Marla Lukofsky - Playful Heart Monkey
References
Template:Mnb "Three men and a bear: Nelvana at 25" by Ellen Besen and Marc Glassman, TAKE ONE, Autumn 1996. Retrieved March 10, 2006.
Template:Mnb Anyone ever hear of the film 'Rock & Rule' from Nelvana? Message posting at animationnation.com. Retrieved March 12, 2006.
Template:Mnb "Toy outlook hot if you can pick winners, get goods", Discount Store News, June 10, 1985. Retrieved March 12, 2006.
Template:Mnb Review of The Care Bears Movie by Richard Grenier, The New York Times, March 23, 1985. Retrieved January 6, 2006. (Registration required to read page.)
Template:Mnb Weekend Box Office Results, March 29-31, 1985. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
Template:Mnb Weekend Box Office Results, April 5-7, 1985. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
Template:Mnb Weekend Box Office Results, April 12-14, 1985. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
Template:Mnb Weekend Box Office Results, April 19-21, 1985. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
Template:Mnb Studio Market Share: Samuel Goldwyn Company. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
Template:Mnb Studio Market Share: IDP (Samuel Goldwyn Films). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 16, 2006.
Template:Mnb "YOU SHOULD KNOW SOMETHING-ANYTHING-ABOUT THIS MOVIE. YOU PAID FOR IT" by Peter Urquhart, Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Fall 2003. Retrieved March 12, 2006.
Template:Mnb The Envelope: Past Winners Database: 1986 7th Genie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
Template:Mnb Animated: Music by John Sebastian. tctv.ne.jp. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
Template:Mnb Care Bears - the movie - 1985 promo picture AD. Listing at eBay.com. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
Template:Mnb The Care Bears Movie (in MARION). js-catalog.cpl.org. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
Template:Mnb Littleman.com: The Care Bears Movie movie information. Retrieved March 16, 2006.
Template:Mnb CARE BEARS UK LP, THE CARE BEARS MOVIE, TOWERBELL LABEL. Listing at eBay.com. Retrieved March 16, 2006.
Template:Mnb Summary of The Care Bears Movie at TV.com. Retrieved April 7, 2005.
Template:Mnb Filmography of Harry Dean Stanton by genre. The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
Template:Mnb Wise, Wyndham (editor), 2001. Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Retrieved March 20, 2006 (via Google Book Search).
Template:Mnb Trivia for The Care Bears Movie. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 22, 2006.
Template:Mnb The Care Bears Movie care Bears Laser Disc New. Listing at ebay.com. Retrieved March 28, 2006.
See also
- Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation
- The Care Bears television series
- Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer
- My Little Pony: The Movie
- Transformers: The Movie
External links
- Official site at MGM
- {{{2|{{{title|The Care Bears Movie}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
- Template:Rotten-tomatoes
- Template:Bcdb title
- The Care Bears Movie at the Keyframe - the Animation Resource
- The Care Bears Movie at All Movie Guide
- The Care Bear Zone's picture gallery
- The film's soundtrack page at SoundtrackCollector
Template:Care Bearses:Los Ositos Cariñositos: la película fr:Les Bisounours: le film simple:The Care Bears Movie