Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation

**Care Bears II: A New Generation** is a 1986 Canadian-American animated fantasy film directed by Dale Schott which was first given a limited release on March 7, 1986 and a wide theatrical release on March 21, 1986 by Columbia Pictures.

It is a sequel to the 1985 film, "The Care Bears Movie".

## Plot

The Care Bears' mission to help spread joy at a summer camp for kids is threatened by the evil schemes of Dark Heart.

## Voice Cast

* Maxine Miller as True Heart Bear
* Pam Hyatt as Noble Heart Horse
* Cree Summer as Christy
* Hadley Kay as Dark Heart\The Boy
* Alyson Court as Dawn
* Billie Mae Richards as Tenderheart Bear
* Chris Wiggins as Great Wishing Star
* Sunny Besen Thrasher as Camp Champ
* Dan Hennessey as Brave Heart Lion
* Eva Almos as Friend Bear
* Bob Dermer as Grumpy Bear
* Patrice Black as Share Bear
* Jim Henshaw as Bright Heart Raccoon
* Melleny Brown as Cheer Bear
* Janet-Laine Greene as Green Wish Bear
* Marla Lukofsky as Playful Heart Monkey

## Production

The success of "The Care Bears Movie" guaranteed production for a sequel which was in consideration in May of 1985.

Just like the original, production took place at Nelvana's facilities and Taiwan's Wang Film Productions; the Canadian studio also hired South Korean personnel to handle inking and painting.

This time, over 100 Nelvana animators worked on the film over a seven-month period that lasted until February 1986; the company itself received credit for the story development.

American Greetings and Kenner commissioned Nelvana to make the sequel on contract; television syndicator LBS Communications (a co-financier of the first "Care Bears" film) became the producer and presenter.

"Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation" was Nelvana's third animated feature film (after "Rock & Rule" in 1983 and "The Care Bears Movie" in 1985). It marked the directorial debut of Dale Schott (a Nelvana staff member who served as assistant director on the first Care Bears" film) as well as the Nelvana/Lucasfilm TV series, "Ewoks."

Several other crew members from the first film returned to the fold; Nelvana's founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith) served as producers while Peter Sauder wrote the screenplay and Charles Bonifacio handled animation duties.

Once again, Jack Chojnacki (the co-president of American Greetings' licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland) served as an executive producer.

A roster of Toronto voice actors (Cree Summer, Sunny Besen Thrasher, Dan Hennessey and Hadley Kay) appeared in the sequel. Mickey Rooney and Georgia Engel (who appeared in the first film) did not return.

At one point, The Samuel Goldwyn Company was about to release "Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation," but they lost the distribution rights after turning down demands from the producers. Eventually, Nelvana went into negotiations with Columbia Pictures, which acquired worldwide theatrical rights in early 1986.

## Box Office

Initially intended to be released mid-year, "Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation" opened in theaters on March 7, 1986 in the United States & Canada, grossing $243,161 from 55 theaters and $449,649 by its first few days.

At this stage, the film managed to rank above a reissue of Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" (which also premiered that same weekend); however, when the final weekend box office results were announced, "Sleeping Beauty" outranked it by $59,000.

The wide theatrical release of "Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation" on March 21, 1986 brought in $2.5 million from 1,446 theaters, placing 7th at the box office.

Over the next two weeks, it earned little more than $1 million in 12th place. During the film's release, it faced competition from another toy-based film, "GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords."

Ultimately, "Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation" earned $8,540,346 in North America (about a third of what the previous film earned). By 1988, it made over $12 million worldwide.

## Critical Reception

"Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation" was lambasted by critics, in part because of their theory that the film was part of the franchise's marketing scheme at the time of its release.

This led New York Times' Vincent Canby to begin his review by proclaiming, *"Product merchandising marches on."* He also said: *"Care Bears Movie II is a sort of pre-sequel that, I suspect, requires its audiences to have some prior knowledge of Care Bears. Very young kids may love this, but anybody over the age of 4 might find it too spooky."*

Another reviewer claimed to have seen almost every "Care Bears" collectible within the film's first 20 minutes.

The film was produced to serve as the franchise introduction of the Care Bear Cubs and the Care Bear Cousin Cubs, who also had their own line of toys from Kenner. The plushes (measuring 11" in height) consisted of Bedtime Cub, Cheer Cub, Funshine Cub and Share Cub; the line of Care Bear Cousin Cubs included Li'l Bright Heart Raccoon, Li'l Proud Heart Cat and Li'l Swift Heart Rabbit.

Kenner announced the introduction of the Cubs in 1985, shortly before the film opened and showcased them at the American International Toy Fair in February 1986.

In The Motion Picture Guide 1987 Annual, Jay Robert Nash wrote that its title *"refers to the new featured characters who, more than coincidentally, have ended up on the toy shelves of stores everywhere."* A critic from the Omaha World-Herald, however, found it misleading and complained that the Cubs *"are not 'a new generation' at all".*

Several critics considered the film a prequel to the original: the Omaha World Herald reviewer; Edward Jones of Virginia's The Free Lance-Star; Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times, and Bill Cosford of The Miami Herald.

According to Michael H. Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, *"Care Bears Movie II is what the film industry calls a 'requel,' tracing the origin of the Care Bear family and relatives of other species."*

In his Animated Movie Guide, animation expert Jerry Beck gave the film a half-star (½) out of four, and offered this consensus: *"Unfortunately not many critics cared for the television standard limited animation, bland songs, and blatent [sic] product placement in this film. Strictly for toddlers over age six, [it] tries too hard to cram new characters into the plotline. The characters are obviously introduced to create toy lines. This is the weakest of the Care Bear movies. Avoid at all costs."*

John Stanley expressed his views likewise in his 1988 film guide, "Revenge of the Creature Features", saying: *"[This] inferior sequel [is] rather charmless. This is strictly Saturday Morning at the Cartoons, a blatant commercial for Care Bear toys and related products ... [T]he bulbs are out as far as ideas are concerned."*

Hal Lipper of the St. Petersburg Times remarked that it *"is an enormously engaging cartoon—quite a feat when you consider the saccharine psychobabble passing for dialogue".*

The Miami Herald's Bill Cosford gave it two and a half stars out of four, the same rating he had applied to its predecessor.

Edward Jones commented that *"The animation can't compare with the best of Disney. Take a look at Sleeping Beauty [...] and you'll see the difference."*

Likewise, Italian critic Paolo Mereghetti complained, *"[This is an] ugly sequel with awkward animation, and not even the small fry will find it fun."*

Charles Solomon said: *"The new Care Bears film...is even more sloppily made and hawks its goods even more shamelessly. [...] The film makers seem more concerned with showcasing the toys than providing entertainment; shared profits obviously count for more than shared feelings. If someone started selling 'Hate Bears,' there undoubtedly would be a film about them."*

Gene Siskel awarded "Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation" zero stars out of four (along with a "Thumbs Down").

Leonard Maltin gave it a "BOMB" rating in his Movie Guide, and added: "*Your kids deserve better entertainment than this treacly stuff about the Kingdom of Caring. Prefab animation from the era of toy merchandising tie-ins."*

Common Sense Media gave the film slightly negative reviews, as the group response: *"Young preschoolers may be frightened by this movie, which offers very little in the way of learning."*

Despite the negative feedback, "Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation" received some positive reviews.

Writing for The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Norma Dyess Michaud deemed it *"a must-see for preschoolers, especially those who are in the throes of the current Care Bear mania."*

Richard Martin praised the script and climax, along with the performances of the orphan Cubs. He stated: *"Their pastel, birthday-cake-and-whipped-cream world has never looked sweeter."*

The Philadelphia Daily News commented that it was *"even better than the first one, which was good."*