A New Beginning

"A New Beginning" is the first episode of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears. It premiered on September 14, 1985 in the United States, and was released theatrically on July 18, 1986 in the United Kingdom, as a supporting feature to a re-release of Pinocchio.
==Plot==
Duke Igthorn- a traitorous knight to the kingdom of Dunwyn - is testing a model of his new catapult on a model castle that looks like Dunwyn Castle, which succeeds. Ordering his minions, the Ogres, to hurry up on finishing the real thing, he muses over the destruction of Dunwyn (and King Gregor's castle, by extension).
Meanwhile, two boys - a squire named Unwin and a page named Cavin - are riding through the woods on mules, on their way to deliver lunch to woodcutters. Unwin complains about the errand, stating his time could be better spent practicing his combat skills, but Cavin tells him that the job they are doing is important. In criticism, Unwin throws a piece of chicken at Cavin's mule, causing it to buck and leave Cavin and the lunches he was carrying behind. Cavin, annoyed at this, grabs Unwin to try and fight him, but Unwin takes Cavin's Gummi Medallion. Cavin tries to get it back, only to end up causing Unwin to fall off his mule. Tackling Cavin, Unwin forces his fellow aide to admit that he believed in Gummi Bears, saying afterwards there was no hope for him. Cavin then says that there aren't any Gummi Bears around, but they used to exist, even though Unwin says they were just fairy tales; unbeknownst to them both, they are overheard by Cubbi - an actual Gummi Bear.
Soon enough, the two boys reach the woodcutters' camp, which is kept defended by Sir Tuxford, the knight that Cavin and Unwin serve under. He says the boys are late, with Unwin blaming it on Cavin. Cavin then says that Sir Tuxford should be watching out for Ogres; while Unwin says that there are no Ogres in the area, an army of Ogres appear and frighten Unwin, Sir Tuxford and the woodcutters. However, before running away, Cavin manages to knock one of them out with a piece of meat. After the successful attack, one of the Ogres cheers on how good a job they did scaring them off, with Duke Igthorn commending them on a job well done. As Cavin runs away, some Ogres try chasing him, but two of them end up caught in traps sprung by Grammi, another Gummi Bear. However, Cavin falls down a hill and is briefly rendered unconscious.
Meanwhile, at Dunwyn Castle, young Princess Calla has some fun by jumping into a haystack from a considerable height, only to be caught and reprimanded by her father, King Gregor. Just then, Sir Tuxford comes to warn King Gregor about Ogres in the woods and that they may have Cavin; at that news, Princess Calla becomes concerned and King Gregor asks if she and Cavin are friends, to which Calla replies that he's just nice.
Back in the woods, the six Gummies have discovered Cavin and they all have different opinions on what they should do with him, but when they discover that he has a Gummi Medallion in his possession, they argue over whether they should let him keep it. Eventually, Cavin comes to, and spooked, the Gummies all run away. However, Cavin manages to chase Cubbi to a tree, even after the cub drinks some Gummiberry Juice, allowing him to bounce away high and fast. After attempting to converse with Cubbi, the young Gummi warns the human of some Ogres running behind him, and opens some secret doors within the tree, allowing the pursued Gummies to escape into its hidden tunnels. However, Tummi Gummi accidentally knocks Cavin into their home. While there, Cavin overhears a conversation between the Gummies and, when they see him, they run and hide. Grammi attempts to hit him with a roll of paper and, using this scenario as a distraction, Gruffi ties Cavin up and puts him on a chair, intending to interrogate him.
Meanwhile, Duke Igthorn (after trying to have his Ogres style a new cloak for him, as he is already planning his future king status) is testing the catapult; thankfully, it misfires. Duke Igthorn gets out of the way, but the projectile instead lands unceremoniously on his lieutenant, the diminutive Ogre Toadie.
Back at the Glen, Gruffi is interrogating Cavin about the Medallion. When Gruffi refuses to give Cavin a drink when he asks for it, Grammi berates him for his poor manners and then tells Cavin that they'd give him a drink. Tummi accidentally gives Cavin some Gummiberry Juice to drink, which gives Cavin superhuman strength and allows him to break free from the rope, causing the Gummies to hide once again. Despite his newfound power, Cavin says that he means them no harm and only wishes to be friends. When the Gummiberry Juice wears off, a door (which Cavin unintentionally ripped off its hinges) ends up falling on him. Gruffi tries to get more rope (as he plans to recapture Cavin), but Grammi trips him and tells Gruffi to leave their new friend be; Cavin has proven that he is trustworthy. Cavin introduces himself to Grammi, and Grammi introduces herself and the rest of the Gummi Glen Gummies to Cavin. After that, Zummi Gummi, the colony's Keeper of Gummi Wisdom, takes Cavin to the colony's Great Book of Gummi and makes him swear to keep their existence a secret, which he agrees to. After that, Sunni and Cubbi show Cavin around their home and take him for a ride through the Quick Tunnels. When they stop near Duke Igthorn's catapult camp, they discover him testing the catapult, and Cavin realizes that he is planning to destroy the castle.
When he returns to the Glen, he asks the Gummies for help, but they deny because they aren't really fighters and they are too outnumbered to be of any help (that, and Gruffi is determined to keep to the Gummies' policy of isolationism). Upset about this, Cavin discards his Gummi Medallion and leaves in a huff. Zummi picks up the discarded Medallion and puts it around his neck. Though they allegedly don't have any other choice, Cubbi wishes they could help him, and when Zummi mentions the Ancient Gummies, the Medallion glows, floats, and leads him to the Great Book. The Medallion connects with the book's lock, and unlocks it for the first time, after it had been locked shut for centuries. The book opens to a passage left by the last of the Ancient Gummies that tells them to fight for what's right, despite their small number. Then Zummi decides that he should help Cavin after all, and tells the others that they are welcome to join him. Zummi quickly copies some spells from the book that might come in handy, before they all leave to help Cavin.
Meanwhile, Cavin infiltrates the catapult camp and steals a saw to cut off the wheels from the catapult; however, some Ogres catch him and chain him by his leg. Meanwhile, the Gummies decide to get some Gummiberry Juice to Cavin to help him defeat the Ogres. In a shocking twist, Gruffi inadvertently volunteers to be the one who gets the Gummiberry Juice to Cavin. To make the task easier, Zummi casts an invisibility spell on Gruffi, allowing him to sneak past the Ogres, but the spell wears off and he is caught by an Ogre. Thankfully, Cavin drinks the juice and throws the Ogre and another one to where Duke Igthorn is. An angered Duke Igthorn has them clapped in irons; alas, even this distraction hasn't stopped the Ogres from bringing the catapult into the castle's range for attack. Duke Igthorn then uses it to launch a giant tar ball that seals the castle's drawbridge, effectively bringing Dunwyn's military to a screeching halt before it can even start moving. Thankfully, the Gummies distract the Ogres while Cavin tears the catapult apart. However, Duke Igthorn notices Cavin and wants the Juice; he quickly gets it, becomes super strong, and nearly destroys Dunwyn Castle, but the juice wears off, leaving him pinned under his own boulder, and (as the catapult gives off one last shot) launches far away from Dunwyn. Before anyone can celebrate, Cavin ends up stuck on the catapult as it crashs into the castle, allowing the drawbridge to be lowered. A worried Princess Calla and Sir Tuxford come out to inspect the damage, along with King Gregor. In keeping with his promise, Cavin (who survived the crash, unscathed) first wants to tell of his and the Gummies' heroics, but quickly remembers his oath, and lies in saying that he had merely been a prisoner of Igthorn's, who simply got lucky in the end.
After that, Zummi records their colony's first noble deed for the day in the Great Book of Gummi.
==Cast==
*June Foray as Grammi Gummi
*Christian Jacobs as Cavin
*Katie Leigh as Sunni Gummi
*Lorenzo Music as Tummi Gummi
*Noelle North as Cubbi Gummi, Princess Calla
*Will Ryan as Unwin, Ogres
*Michael Rye as Duke Igthorn, King Gregor
*Bill Scott as Gruffi Gummi, Toadwart, Sir Tuxford
*Paul Winchell as Zummi Gummi
==Trivia==
*Igthorn's Defeat: Gets squashed by the boulder he's carrying after the Gummiberry Juice wears off, then is catapulted into Dunwyn Castle and shot up the chimney.
==Goofs==
*Because this is the first episode of the series, some of the human characters, especially Cavin, are depicted with four-fingered hands instead of five-fingered hands as is usually the norm for human characters in the show.
==Home video releases==
DVD
*Adventures of the Gummi Bears: Volume 1
==Gallery==
Category:Adventures of the Gummi Bears episodes
Category:Series premieres