Bear in the Big Blue House: Return to Woodland Valley

Bear in the Big Blue House: Return to Woodland Valley is a sequel series to the Jim Henson Company show that ran from 1997 to 2006. The new show, produced by The Jim Henson Company and The Muppets Studio, premiered on the Disney+ streaming service on April 24th, 2023, with a season of 30 episodes.
As in the original series, the main character is Bear; a warm, friendly caregiver who invites viewers into his Big Blue House for a day of fun and learning with his friends Tutter the mouse, Ojo the bear cub, Treelo the lemur, Pip and Pop the twin otters (all of whom are now noticeably older than in the original series). The series also stars Ray the sun (who Bear sometimes talks to during the day), Shadow (a sentient shadow that presents stories and songs through shadow puppet segments) and Luna the moon (who Bear talks to and sings "The Goodbye Song" with every night). In contrast with the entirely physical Big Blue House set of the original series, this series features a hybrid of practical set design, Shadowmation (developed by original show creator Mitchell Kriegman) and StageCraft, the virtual production technology that had been used on The Mandalorian. CGI animation is also used for wide shots of the smaller characters in comparison to Bear, and for shots of Bear and others pulling off actions that would've been difficult to accomplish using puppetry.
Many of the creative team and puppeteers from the original Bear in the Big Blue House return for this series (even bringing back the original Ojo, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner, to reprise her role), and Mitchell Kriegman is credited as creative consultant (and wrote/directed the first episode). However, the voices of Luna, Shadow and Ray are recast to other actors; Jennifer Hudson succeeds the late Lynne Thigpen as the voice of Luna, Ken Page replaces the late Geoffrey Holder as Ray, and Shadow is voiced by British puppeteer Sarah Burgess, taking over from Tara Mooney. The final episode ends with dedications to Thigpen and Holder. Other recurring puppeteers include Heather Asch, Jennifer Barnhart, Julianne Buescher, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Kevin Clash, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Alice Dinnean, Eric Jacobson, John Kennedy, Jim Kroupa, Tim Lagasse, Bruce Lanoil, Amanda Maddock, Drew Massey, Joey Mazzarino, Anney McKilligan Ozar, Karen Prell, John Tartaglia, Matt Vogel, and Victor Yerrid, with guest/occasional performances by Pam Arciero, Bill Barretta, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Ryan Dillon, Louise Gold, Brian Henson, Rick Lyon, Jim Martin, Carmen Osbahr, Martin P. Robinson, and David Rudman.
The Bear puppet built for this series (by Puppet Heap Workshop, based on Paul Andrejco's original designs) is more intricate than from the original. While Noel MacNeal is still the lead puppeteer and voice of Bear, the puppet now includes a hidden sleeve in Bear's right arm for a second puppeteer to insert their arm into in real time (the second performer, who stands outside the Bear costume, is digitally removed later). Three mechanisms are included inside Bear's head, allowing his eyes, nose and ears to move separately from Bear's mouth and hands (a third puppeteer works the eyes off-screen using a modified Wii remote and nunchuk controller; while the ears, which can wiggle a la Fozzie Bear, are animated via a small motor that can be triggered by the right hand puppeteer holding a modified buzzer in their left hand). The other main characters also get technological upgrades; Tutter is now able to move every part of his body, from his ears to his toes, separately from each other (requiring a team of five puppeteers led by Peter Linz, who originally performed the character), while Treelo now includes mechanisms for the movement of his fingers (controlled by original/lead performer Tyler Bunch moving triggers at the bottom of Treelo's arm rods) and tail (moved by another puppeteer via a joystick), in addition to his eyelids (moved by a third puppeteer using a modified game controller).
Peter Lurye returns to write the score for the new series and even pen some original songs. Along with new compositions, the series sees performances of songs from the original Bear as well as songs from other Muppet programs, like Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and The Muppets. For instance, the episode "Opposites Attract", which centers around opposites, includes "Up and Down", a song written for the first season of Sesame Street; while the final episode, "A Trip Down Memory Lane", focused on nostalgia, features "Goodbye, Goodbye (Rainbow in the Sky)" from Fraggle Rock.
Principal photography for the series took place continuously between April to October 2022, with production units at LTV Studios in Wainscott, New York and at Manhattan Beach Studios in California. The two units were necessary so that the 30 episodes could be filmed simultaneously in a relatively short timespan; however, this meant that most often, the performers working in the New York unit would have to dub over the puppeteers in the California unit, and vice versa.
==Episodes==
*List of Bear in the Big Blue House: Return to Woodland Valley Episodes
==Credits==
Based on the TV show created by Mitchell Kriegman
Executive Producers: Lisa Henson, David Lightbody, Leigh Slaughter, Halle Stanford
Co-Executive Producers: Tyler Bunch, Rick Fernandes, Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal, Alex Rockwell
Produced by Chelsea DeVincent, Jim Lewis, Rita Peruggi, Vince Raisa, Claudia Silver, Mike Steinbach, Kevin Strader
Written by Joe Fallon, Christine Ferraro, Jordan Gershowitz, Louise Gikow, Scott Gray, Chris Hoey, Ron Holsey, Mitchell Kriegman, Ray Lankford, Jim Lewis, Noel MacNeal, Joe Mazzarino, J Milligan, Chris Moore, Mark Saltzman, Ken Scarborough, Craig Shemin, Claudia Silver, Judy Spencer, Jocelyn Stevenson, Kevin Strader, Ellis Weiner, Andy Yerkes, Kelly Younger
Directed by Tyler Bunch, Rick Fernandes, Shannon Flynn, Dean Gordon, Tom Guadarrama, David Gumpel, Mitchell Kriegman, Noel MacNeal, Hugh Martin, Joe Mazzarino, J Milligan, Scott Preston, John Tartaglia, Kirk Thatcher, Chuck Vinson, Matt Vogel
Creative Consultants: Mitchell Kriegman, Tyler Bunch, Vicki Eibner, Jim Kroupa, Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal
Puppets Built at Puppet Heap Workshop, LLC
Original Puppet Designer: Paul Andrejco
Production Designer: Chris Renaud
Costume Designer: Lisa Davis
Music by Peter Lurye
The Residents of the Big Blue House
Noel MacNeal as Bear
Peter Linz as Tutter & Pip
Vicki Eibner as Ojo
Tyler Bunch as Treelo & Pop
Heather Asch as Treelo (understudy)
Other Characters
Luna: Jennifer Hudson (voice), Alice Dinnean (puppeteer)
Shadow: Sarah Burgess (voice), John Tartaglia (puppeteer)
Ray: Ken Page (voice), Kevin Clash (puppeteer)
Leslie Carrara as Mayor Pecker
Matt Vogel as Doodle the Rooster
Alice Dinnean as Grandma Flutter & Tally
Tyler Bunch as Doc Hogg & Luke
Jim Kroupa as Jeremiah Tortoise & Doc Owl
Eric Jacobson as Harry the Duck
Bruce Lanoil as Otto Otter & Mayor's Security #2
Julianne Buescher as Etta Otter
Peter Linz as Jack the Dog & Skippy
Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Lois & Annette
Drew Massey as Big Old Bullfrog
Victor Yerrid as Jacques the Beaver
Jen Barnhart as Miss Maxwell
Anney Ozar as Rita
Noel MacNeal as Moss
Heather Asch as Keisha
Amanda Maddock as Lilly
Joe Mazzarino as Mayor's Security #1
John Kennedy as Mayor's Security #3
Karen Prell as Christine
Guest Characters
Ursa: Carmen Osbahr (voice), Matt Vogel (puppeteer)
Victor Yerrid as Uncle Koala
Kevin Clash as Doc Stripes
Officer Chimp: Marty Robinson (voice), Victor Yerrid (puppeteer)
David Rudman as Grandpa Sputter
Principal Camembert: Brian Henson (voice), Tim Lagasse (puppeteer)
Chef Mort: Warrick Brownlow (voice), John Tartaglia (puppeteer)
Mama Bear: Louise Gold (voice), John Kennedy (puppeteer)
Bill Barretta as Papa Bear
Pam Arciero as Sister Bear
Spot Barker: Ryan Dillon (voice), Stephanie D'Abruzzo (puppeteer)
Rick Lyon as Sammy Silvertongue
Jim Martin as Fireman Farley
Bear Assistant Puppeteers: John Kennedy, Jim Kroupa
Tutter Assistant Puppeteers: Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Tim Lagasse, Bruce Lanoil, John Tartaglia
Treelo Assistant Puppeteers: Drew Massey, Victor Yerrid
Additional Puppeteers: Brad Abrell, Cat Adell, Latoryah Alexander, Drew Allison, Christian Anderson, Joe Annabi, Rachel Appelbaum, Connor Asher, Grant Baciocco, Greg Ballora, Dave Barclay, Bill Barkhurst, Aretta Baumgartner, Erwin Bayan, Nate Begle, Tau Bennett, Sara Berman, Carol Binion, Ron Binion, Dave Bizzaro, Tim Blaney, Marcelo Bottaro, Phoebe Bottoms, Ricky Boyd, Lindsey Briggs, Matt Brooks, Jordan Brownlee, Harrison Bryan, Melvin Campbell, Andy Cano, Jennifer Carleton, Kevin Carlson, Raymond Carr, Brian Carson, Chris Chappell, Kristin Charney, Brian Clark, Ceili Clemens, John Cody, Josh Cohen, Jimmica Collins, Jeff Conover, Frank Cordero, Dave Corris, Melissa Creighton, Carol D'Agostino, Nathan Danforth, Dorien Davies, Audrey Densmore, Kristina Dizon, Jamie Donmoyer, Ben Durocher, Jodi Eichelberger, Emmanuel Elpenord, Artie Esposito, Peggy Etra, Mary Faber, Dave Feldman, Dave Fino, Genevieve Flati, Bryan Forrest, Thom Fountain, Brad Freeman Jr., Lexy Fridell, Mark Gale, Aymee Garcia, Rob Gardner, Cam Garrity, Dan Garza, Noah Ginex, James Godwin, Sam Gold, Art Grueneberger, James Gruessing, BJ Guyer, Jenny Hann, Terri Hardin, Forrest Harding, Langston Hatch, Zach Haumesser, Chris Thomas Hayes, Andy Hayward, Chris Heady, Rachel Herrick, Patrick Holmes, Keri Horn, Charles Hubbell, Alissa Hunnicutt, Jason Jacoby, Haley Jenkins, John Jennings, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, Victoria Johnson, Avery Jones, Brian Jones, Ulysses Jones, Chris Kauffmann, James Kemp, Kathleen Kim, Donna Kimball, Joe Kovacs, Mary Kowal, Andy Kraft, Adam Kreutinger, Matt Krygier, Erik Kuska, Mike Latini, Matt Lavin, Mindy Leanse, Adrian Leonard, Len Levitt, Jayden Libran, Spencer Lott, Paul Louis, Derek Lux, Darci Lynne, Lara MacLean, Marta MacRostie, Brendan Malafronte, Andy Manjuck, Dave Manley, Emily Marsh, Ed May, Cathy McCullough, Paul McGinnis, Jess McKay, Megan McNerney, Ted Michaels, Tracy Mick, Kathy Molloy, Dan Montooth, Kirsty Moon, Geoff Moonen, Alison Mork, Jason Murphy, James Murray, Safi Nazzal, Sara Nolen, Kevin Noonchester, Sara Oh, Mike Oosterom, Bret O'Quinn, Adam Pagdon, Chris Palmieri, Christine Papalexis, Chris Patstone, Mike Paul, Annie Peterle, Marc Petrosino, Fergie Philippe, Felix Pire, Dave Quesal, Mike Quinn, Catrina Quintanilla, Amber Reeder, Rachel Redleaf, Paul Rice, Jon Riddleberger, Abby Roderick, Emory Royston, Carla Rudy, Paul Rugg, Amy Rush, Joe Sabatino, Keith Saltojanes, Liz Sanford, Nicolette Santino, Mike Sare, Rob Saunders, Stoph Scheer, Ben Schrader, Mike Schupbach, Nicole Scott, Tomas Seidita, Joe Selph, Yinan Shentu, Chad Shohet, Ben Siemon, Jessica Simon, Lake Simons, Michelan Sisti, Dave Skelly, Colleen Smith, Jeff Speetjens, Dave Stephens, Kenny Stevenson, Andy Stone, Ian Sweetman, Miles Taber, Zach Tolchinsky, Alan Trautman, Cheri VandenHeuvel, Art Vega, Jack Venturo, Mike Verdi, Russ Vick, Alex Villa, Amanda Villalobos, Russ Walko, Robin Walsh, April Warren, Stacy Weingarten, Dan Weissbrodt, Steve Widerman, Susan Widerman, Chad Williams, Noel Williams, James Wojtal, Chase Woolner, Blake Worrell, Eric Wright, Gretchen Wylder, Matt Yates
Shadow Segments by Manual Cinema: Lizi Breit, Kara Davidson, Drew Dir, Sara Fornace, Jyreika Guest, Ben Kauffman, Charlotte Long, Julia Miller, Andrew Morgan, Jeff Paschal, Shay Turnage, Kyle Vegter, Eunice Woods
Shadow Puppetry Supervisor: Jon Ludwig
PUPPET WORKSHOP
Supervisor, New York: Ed Christie
Supervisor, Los Angeles: Jane Gootnick
On-Set Crew: Heather Asch, Rachel Burson, Gretchen Crookes, Andrea Detwiler, Brad Elliot, Artie Esposito, Alex Ferguson, Rob Gardner, Scott Johnson, Tim Lagasse, Tom Newby, Anney Ozar, Tomas Seidita, Dave Skelly, Russ Walko
For Puppet Heap: Paul Andrejco, Lauren Attinello, Megan Bailey, Marc Borders, Barbara Bosak, Matt Brennan, Kelli Burton, Mike Bush, Steph Cathro, Ceili Clemens, Melissa Creighton, Carol D'Agostino, Isabelle Dufour, Rich Dyar, Henri Ewaskio, Duncan Gillis, Vanessa Gillis, James Godwin, Tony Grosso, Brian Haimes, Liz Hara, Paul Hartis, Deb Hertzberg, Ann Holdgruen, Lisa Howard, Ulysses Jones, Jean Keevins, Jim Kroupa, Janet Kuhl, Molly Light, Pete MacKennan, Lara MacLean, Amanda Maddock, Cathy McCullough, Tom McLaughlin, Casey Miller, Colette Nickola, Danielle Obinger, John Orberg, Anna Paniccia, Rick Pena, Jane Pien, Diana Schoenbrun, Mike Schupbach, Brendan Yi-Fu Tay, Sally Thomas, Dave Valentine, Laureen Vierno, Nate Wilson, James Wojtal, Cynthia Woodie
For The Jim Henson Company N.Y. Creature Shop
Creative Supervisor: Jason Weber
Workshop Manager/Puppet Costume Supervisor: Connie Peterson
Additional Puppet Design by Ed Eyth
Puppet Construction Supervisor: Rollie Krewson
Additional Puppet Construction: Ron Binion, Dave Bizzaro, Kate Brehm, Jamie Bressler, Matt Brooks, Brian Carson, John Cody, Nicolina Dante, Rosa Douglas, Ben Durocher, Victoria Ellis, Bob Flanagan, Joel Gennari, Andrea Gilletti, Allison Green, Tyler Hall, Joshua Holden, Joe Kovacs, Camille Labarre, Rose Labarre, Sara Lafferty, Spencer Lott, Gabriella Padilla, Kenneth Rainey, Lily Rosen, Sierra Schoening, Jessica Simon, Keely Snook, Toria Sterling, Stacy Weingarten, Matt Witham
Puppet Costumes: Carol Binion, Erin Black, Mary Brehmer, Muriel Grabe, Michelle Hickey, Doug James, Ariella Knight, Kari Love, Stephen Rotondaro, Kate Rusek, Polly Smith
Assistant to the Creative Supervisor: Carolyn Fanelli
For The Jim Henson Company L.A. Creature Shop: Peter Abrahamson, Jasper Anderson, Laura Baker, Greg Ballora, Robert Bennett, John Biggs, Pete Brooke, Dorothy Bulac, Tamara Carlson, Joe Colwell, John Criswell, Wolfgang Criswell, Jeff Cruts, Duke Cullen, Richard Darwin, Melissa Doss, Robin Dufay, Deb Galvez, Patrick Gerrety, Connie Grayson, BJ Guyer, Beth Hathaway, Eric Hayden, Ben Holmes, Jack Kendall, Marian Keating, Frank Langley, Russ Lukich, Greg Manion, Karen Mason, Tammy McKinnon, Mike Oosterom, Gary Pawlowski, Tim Rose, Lex Rudd, Rob Saunders, Mike Scanlan, Amber Skowronski, Norman Tempia, Jill Thraves, Chad Waters, Haley Who, Kristen Willet, Scott Woodard, Julie Zobel
Category:The Jim Henson Company
Category:The Muppets Studio
Category:Disney+ Originals
Category:2023