Captain Bluebear performer Wolfgang Völz
Film and novel
In 1999, Captain Bluebear simultaneously appeared in a made-for-television feature film and in The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, Walter Moers' first fantasy novel. The novel reveals that Bluebear is a Chromobear (Buntbär) and thus belongs to a fictional race of ursines who inhabit the continent of Zamonia, which became a regular setting for most of Moers' fantasy novels. The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear is presented as the autobiography of its eponymous hero, which nevertheless covers only the first half of his 27 lives—implying that the other half is covered by the television episodes and making the novel a kind of origin story for the character. The novel ends with Bluebear rescuing his fellow Chromobears from slavery. The Chromobears (although not Bluebear himself) return in Moers' second Zamonia novel Ensel and Krete, in which they are shown as having established a touristic paradise in their native forest that the Chromobears nevertheless rule in a militaristic, semi-totalitarian way. The novels depart from the concept of the television program in that they are suited not only for children, but for adult readers as well.
The traditionally animated film Käpt'n Blaubär – Der Film was written by Moers and directed by Hayo Freitag. It is based on the television episodes rather than the novel. Its plot centers around the mad scientist Prof. Dr. Feinfinger, who, in kidnapping the little bears, seeks revenge against their grandfather, who once thwarted Feinfinger's plan to achieve world domination. Feinfinger is voiced by German comedian Helge Schneider, who had previously participated in the film adaptations of Moers' Little Asshole character, while Bluebear's voice is provided by actor Wolfgang Völz, who already voice-acted the Bluebear puppet in the Seemannsgarn episodes. The film also features an end title theme written and performed by Berlin rock group Die Ärzte. Käpt'n Blaubär – Der Film was awarded a Deutscher Filmpreis in 2000.