Little Bear

**Little Bear** is a Canadian-American children's television series, based off the Little Bear series of books written by **Else Holmelund Minarik**, and illustrated by **Maurice Sendak** from 1950 to 2010. The series first premiered on November 6, 1995, and ended on November 7, 2003. The series was originally produced by the **CBC** and **Nelvana**. The series debuted on **Noggin**, also known as **Nick Jr.** in 1995, while it aired on **CBS** from 2000-2003. A direct-to-video/DVD full-length feature film titled **The Little Bear Movie** was released in 2001.

## Premise

Set in the 19th century wilderness of the United States, a young bear cub named Little Bear, goes on adventures of fantasy and curiosity, while learning new things and seeing new sights with his friends Hen, Cat, Duck, and Owl. He mostly spends quality time with his parents, Mother Bear and Father Bear, and sometimes with the rest of his family, helping around the house, telling stories, and playing in his bedroom.

## Characters

**Main**

* **Little Bear** (voiced by Kristin Fairlie) - Little Bear is a 6-year-old small, curious and imaginative grizzly bear cub who lives in the forest with his family and friends. Throughout the series, he has grown somewhat, as his voice is slightly deeper, and he rarely takes naps. He is the only character whose parents are shown other than the exception of Duck's mother in one show who is a chicken. Little Bear lives in a stucco, wood, plaster, and brick house. He is always kind and loves to play and explore with his friends. His catchphrase is "Hmmmm... Interesting!"
* **Emily** - Emily is a 7-year-old little girl who is Little Bear's best friend. In the summer, Emily vacations with her parents by the river near Little Bear's home. Emily carries around a doll named Lucy everywhere she goes and is very attached to her. Emily gave Little Bear Lucy when she was leaving to return to school but then took her back, saying that she just remembered that "Lucy has to go to school", too. Emily eventually moves to the forest permanently and lives there with her grandmother.
* **Owl** - Owl is a male owl who is sometimes pompous, yet he is very wise. He lives in a treehouse, and can be quite serious at times. Although Owl enjoys fun games, he will only participate if the gameplay is sensible. It is also shown that reading is his hobby.
* **Duck** - Duck is a female duck with yellow feathers, an orange beak and a long neck. Slow and smart at the same time, Duck is one who gets herself into comical situations. She lives in a nest, although in one episode, she expressed longing for a house and tried to live in a house boat. It floated downriver filled with frogs and Duck lived happily in her nest. She loves playing "princess" and pretend. She was hatched in a nest of chicks, because "some eggs got mixed up", and Little Bear taught her to fly when she was a duckling. She never has any ducklings of her own, but she is sometimes seen babysitting a group of them.
* **Cat** - Cat is a laidback, slothful male cat who enjoys prowling at night, playing tricks on passersby, and eating. When he and his friends must get to a certain place in the woods, Cat often leads them through one of his shortcuts. His catchphrase is "Boo!"
* **Hen** - Hen is a fussy, feisty chicken who lives in a large chicken coop. She is classy, sophisticated and enjoys cleanliness, though her several nieces and nephews often mess up her spotless house. However, she never turns down the opportunity for fun. Hen has also been shown to be fond of opera, but it seems that she is not good at singing it.
* **Mother Bear** - Mother Bear is Little Bear's mother. She enjoys cooking and is always there to help Little Bear if he needs it. She also seems to be very tidy and does not like it when the house becomes messy. She normally wears a pink shirt and a blue skirt with a white apron.
* **Father Bear** - Father Bear is Little Bear's father and Mother Bear's husband. His occupation is a fisherman and sometimes takes Little Bear out fishing. He has been to many places and likes to keep things that are old, even if they have to be thrown away. He usually wears a blue suit with a purple tie and brown shoes. Throughout the run of the show he is sporadically absent in appearance, as he is away, fishing.

**Recurring**

* **No Feet** - No Feet is a friendly, gentle and green male garter snake that lives in Mother Bear's garden. Little Bear gets along with him very well.
* **Grandmother Bear** - Grandmother Bear is Little Bear's grandmother and Mother Bear's mother, and Grandfather Bear's wife. She likes to cook and tell stories.
* **Grandfather Bear** - Grandfather Bear is Little Bear's grandfather and Mother Bear's father. He once worked at a circus with his wife and sister. He wears a green suit but with khakis and a dark red tie with brown shoes.
* **Rusty Bear** - Rusty Bear is Father Bear's younger brother and Little Bear's uncle. He mentions that he lives in the woods, and that he would prefer to live there because it is quiet and peaceful. He is a very large bear, slightly taller and huskier than Father Bear. He has a deep voice, wears overalls, and has a red handkerchief around his neck. He is only seen in a few of the Little Bear episodes. Little Bear is fascinated with Rusty's outdoor ethic, and whenever he shows up, Little Bear is tempted to emulate his rustic character.
* **Granny** - Granny is Emily's grandmother, who she lives with in the summer and then permanently, has traveled the world and has many odd pieces of furniture. She is the owner of Tutu.
* **Tutu** - Tutu is Emily and Granny's dog. She acts very hyper and she can understand humans. According to Granny, she only speaks French, yet she understands English.
* **Mitzi** - Mitzi is a 5-year-old mischievous, sometimes rather unthoughtful tomboyish monkey who lives in a tree house in the forest around Little Bear's home. She feels bad after slighting somebody's feelings or misleading them. She sometimes has green or white eyes. Mitzi is the last to join the supporting cast, not appearing until the end of season two.
* **Moose** - Moose is a male Eastern moose, who sometimes helps Little Bear and his friends when they are in need.

**Others**

* **Otters** - Four Northern river otter siblings that sporadically appear, reside in the local river. They are frequent in episodes focusing on water activities. They are very mischievous and love to goof off.
* **Mermaid** - Mermaid is a mermaid who Little Bear occasionally meets when he goes to the lake, she is friendly and takes Little Bear to see places underwater.
* **Frog** - Frog is a male frog that dispenses Zen-like wisdom between his meditations. He resides at Little Bear's favorite swimming spot, 'Hop-Frog pond'. He is also very wise, and good friend to Little Bear.
* **Little Ick** - Little Ick is a baby raccoon who only appears in an episode where his mother went to visit his grandmother and dropped him off with Mother Bear. Little Bear and Little Ick form a bit of a sibling relationship together like Little Bear feeling left out because Mother Bear seems to be paying more attention to Little Ick. Little Ick is the baby raccoon's nickname from Little Bear because "Ick" is the only thing the baby can say.
* **Marshmallow** - Marshmallow is a baby white skunk who is found by Owl and Little Bear in an episode and plays with Duck, Little Bear, Owl, and Cat in the episode "Little Footprints". In the episode "The Wedding" she's the flower girl in Mr. and Mrs. Skunk's wedding.
* **Mighty** - Mighty is a humpback whale who is an old friend of Father Bear. He appears in the episode "A Whale of a Tale" where Father Bear takes Little Bear fishing. He tells Little Bear the story of how he met Mighty when he accidentally caught him in his fishing net. A storm appears and Mighty and his son, Little Whale, help pull Father Bear and Little Bear back to shore. Although he only appeared in one episode, Mighty appeared in the opening titles of the show.
* **Mr. Wind** - A cloud that blows forth. According to Mother Bear, he and Father Bear have known each other many times. He is a very angry wind.
* **Mr. Skunk** - Mr. Skunk is, as his name suggests, a skunk. He initially believed nobody wanted to kiss him until he got kissed by Mother Bear and began to feel more confident as a result. He’s married to Mrs. Skunk. In The Kiss, Mr. Skunk fell in love with Miss. Skunk and they agreed to marry each other.
* **Mrs. Skunk** - Mrs. Skunk is the wife of Mr. Skunk. In the episode "The Kiss" she is picking a bouquet of flowers for her wedding. Little Bear asks her who she’s marrying and she replies with "I don’t know yet, but it’ll be someone wonderful". When Hen kisses her during their game of "Kissing Tag" she tries to kiss Little Bear but when he playfully runs away she meets Mr. Skunk and they share a kiss and fall in love with each other and decided to get married.

## Home Media

Home media releases of Little Bear from 1997 to the 2000's. There were also rare releases of the Little Bear VHS tapes, each containing four episodes, by **Nick Jr.** and seven VHS releases in Australia by **ABC Kids**. **Treehouse Direct** released eight DVD sets in 2012 and other 13 DVD sets were all released in Canada. Five DVD sets were released in the United States from 2001-2006.

**VHS**

* **Meet Little Bear! VHS**
* **Little Bear Family Tales - VHS**
* **Little Bear Winter Tales - VHS**
* **Parties & Picnics - VHS**
* **Little Bear: Favorite Tales - VHS**
* **Goodnight, Little Bear - VHS**
* **Friends - VHS**
* **Little Bear: More Favorite Tales - VHS**
* **Little Bear Summertime Tales - VHS**
* **Little Goblin Bear - VHS**
* **A Kiss For Little Bear - VHS**
* **Little Bear's Band - VHS**
* **Rainy Day Tales - VHS**
* **Tales of Friendship - VHS**
* **Little Sherlock Bear - VHS**
* **Little Bear: Favorite Tales - Volume 3 - VHS**
* **Little Artist Bear - VHS**
* **Snacktime Tales - VHS**
* **Let's Play A Game - VHS**
* **Feel Better, Little Bear - VHS & DVD**
* **Campfire Tales - VHS**
* **The Little Bear Movie - VHS**
* **Little Bear: Favorite Tales - Volume 4 - VHS**
* **All In The Family - VHS**
* **Pretend Time - VHS**
* **Outdoor Discoveries - VHS**
* **Friendship Tales - VHS**
* **Little Bear's Mermaid - VHS (ABC Kids)**
* **Lost And Found - VHS**
* **Imagination Time - VHS**
* **Stories To Grow On - VHS**
* **Game Time - VHS**
* **Show Time - VHS**
* **Just Me Stories - VHS**
* **The Big Bear Sitter - VHS (ABC Kids)**
* **Weather Tales - VHS**
* **Special Days - VHS**
* **Your Friend, Little Bear - VHS (ABC Kids)**
* **Indoor Time - VHS**
* **Hide And Seek - VHS (ABC Kids)**
* **Hooray For Little Bear! VHS & DVD**
* **Exploring - VHS (ABC Kids)**
* **Make-Believe Adventures - VHS**
* **Birthday Celebrations - VHS**
* **Not-So-Scary Stories - VHS**
* **Fishing Adventures - VHS**
* **Little Bear The Magician - VHS (ABC Kids)**
* **A Present For Mother Bear - VHS (ABC Kids)**
* **Cat's Short Cut - VHS**
* **Seasonal Tales - VHS**
* **Camping Adventures - VHS**

**DVD**

* **The Little Bear Movie - DVD**
* **Halloween Stories - DVD**
* **Outdoor Fun - DVD (Canada)**
* **Mysterious Moments - DVD (Canada)**
* **Hooray For Little Bear - DVD (Canada)**

All the episodes, as well as the movie, are all available for free on the Treehouse Direct channel by Nelvana/Corus Entertainment and on the Little Bear Official Channel on Youtube.

## Book series

**Little Bear** was also a series of children's books, primarily involving the interaction of Little Bear (a small cub) and Mother Bear (his mother), written by **Else Holmelund Minarik** and illustrated by **Maurice Sendak**. Initially, the stories were simple, but eventually became more sophisticated in subsequent books as the plot and characters expanded.

The first four Little Bear books consist of four stories, each of which involves Little Bear and a slowly expanding cast of support characters, each named after their respective species. The Little Bear character and his immediate family display many bear-like characteristics and mannerisms, but only on occasion. They live in a culture and technology which seems to be the woodland equivalent of a Little House on the Prairie setting, but with richer items. Little Bear is depicted as friendly and adventurous with his animal friends.

This series of books went on to spawn a television series in the late 1990s, Little Bear, including episodes and a "feature length" direct-to-video release, the movie entitled The Little Bear Movie. The series was produced by Nelvana and starred **Kristin Fairlie** as the voice of Little Bear.

The five original Little Bear books were illustrated by Maurice Sendak. In 2010, two years before Else's death, Minarik published a sixth book, **Little Bear And The Marco Polo**, which was illustrated by **Dorothy Doubleday**.

* **Little Bear (1957)**
* **Father Bear Comes Home (1959)**
* **Little Bear's Friend (1960)**
* **Little Bear's Visit (1961)**
* **A Kiss For Little Bear (1968)**
* **Little Bear And The Marco Polo (2010)**

Other books by **Else Holmelund Minarik...**

* **Little Bear's Loose Tooth**
* **To Grandmother's House**
* **Lucky Little Bear**
* **Little Bear's New Friend**
* **Father Bear's Special Day**
* **The Toys' Wedding**
* **Father's Flying Flapjacks**
* **Little Bear's Scary Night**
* **Little Bear's Bad Day**
* **Mother Bear's Picnic**
* **Get Well Soon, Little Bear**
* **The Cricket Who Came To Dinner**
* **Spring Cleaning**
* **Little Bear's Egg**
* **Little Bear Makes A Mask**
* **The Search For Spring**
* **I Miss You, Father Bear**
* **Asleep Under The Stars**
* **Little Bear's Valentine**
* **Emily's Birthday**
* **Little Bear's Picture**
* **A Present For Mother Bear**
* **The Butterfly Garden**
* **Lost In Little Bear's Room**
* **Little Bear And The Missing Pie**
* **The Snowball Fight**
* **April Fools!**
* **Little Bear Makes A Scarecrow**

## Film

In 2001, the show was adapted into a direct-to-video film by **Paramount Home Entertainment**, **Alliance Atlantis** and **Nelvana** titled **The Little Bear Movie**. In the movie, Little Bear and Father Bear go camping in the wilderness, where Little Bear encounters various new sights and sounds: An eagle's flight, a wolf's howl...and a wild little bear named Cub and his friend Little Moose fishing in a stream. Although they are from different worlds, Little Bear and Cub become fast friends. When Little Bear learns that Cub is separated from his parents due to a storm, he organizes a search party to find them. Joined by Duck, Cat, Owl, and Hen, along with some new friends named the fox twins, Poppy and Pete, Little Bear and Cub begin an unforgettable search journey.

The Little Bear Movie never had launched its soundtrack. The film contains two pieces of unknown music and the instrumental soundtrack of the series. The song "It's A Great Big World" was sung in the ending credits of the movie.

(1) **Great Big World** and (2) **Everybody Wants To Paint My Picture**:

Composed by: **Marc Jordan** and **Antony Vanderberg**

Performed by: **Shawn Colvin**

## Music/Soundtrack

Austrian composer Franz Schubert's Allegro vivace from his Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major is used as the theme tune to Little Bear, which was used in the Canadian broadcast of the series. The theme was arranged for wind and strings by composer **Arnold Black**. A separate opening theme tune was used in the American broadcast of the series. The music score in the series is composed by Lesley Barber. There are also excerpts of works by composers Chopin, Bach and Mozart.

## Video Games

In 1999, **The Learning Company** developed two edutainment games based on the Little Bear franchise titled "**Maurice Sendak's Little Bear Rainy Day Activities**" for ages 3 & up and "**Maurice Sendak's Little Bear: Preschool Thinking Adventures**" In 2000, the same company developed another edutainment title "**Little Bear: Toddler Discovery Adventures**" for ages 18 months to 3 years.

## Tours & Live

In Canada, **Little Bear** has been turned into a live theatrical show, "**Little Bear: Winter Tales**" which originally toured across Canada in 2007. The show toured Canada again in late 2009.

Both tours are presented by **Paquin Entertainment**, and were produced by **Koba Entertainment**.

## Gallery

Little Bear - TV PosterThe Little Bear Movie - PosterLittle Bear - Maurice Sendak's Little Bear LogoLittle Bear - Opening TitleLittle Bear - Meet Little Bear! VHS (1997)Little Bear - Family Tales - VHS (1997)Little Bear - Winter Tales - VHS (1997)Little Bear - Parties & Picnics - VHS (1998)Little Bear - Goodnight, Little Bear - VHS (1998)Little Bear - Friends - VHS (1999)Little Bear - Summertime Tales - VHS (1999)Little Bear - Little Goblin Bear - VHS (1999)Little Bear - A Kiss For Little Bear - VHS (2000)Little Bear - Little Bear's Band - VHS (2000)Little Bear - Rainy Day Tales - VHS (2000)Little Bear - Little Sherlock Bear - VHS (2001)Little Bear - Let's Play A Game - VHS (2001)Little Bear - Little Artist Bear - VHS (2002)Little Bear - Campfire Tales - VHS (2002)Little Bear - Snacktime Tales - VHS (2002)Little Bear - Feel Better, Little Bear - VHS (2003)Little Bear - Fishing Adventures - VHS (2002)Little Bear - Imagination Time - VHS (2002)Little Bear - Pretend Time - VHS (2002)Little Bear - Sleepy Time Tales - VHS (2003)Little Bear - Birthday Celebrations - VHS (2003)Little Bear - Stories To Grow On - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Friendship Tales - VHS (2002)Little Bear - Lost And Found - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Camping Adventures - VHS (2004)Little Bear - All In The Family - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Special Days - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Outdoor Discoveries - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Not-So-Scary Stories - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Game Time - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Show Time - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Just Me Stories - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Let's Celebrate - VHS (2004)Little Bear - Make-Believe Adventures - VHS (2005)Little Bear - Weather Tales - VHS (2005)Little Bear - Seasonal Tales - VHS (2005)Little Bear - Indoor Time - VHS (2005)Little Bear - Hide And Seek - VHS (1997) (ABC Kids)Little Bear - Exploring - VHS (1998) (ABC Kids)Little Bear - Little Bear's Mermaid - VHS (1999) (ABC Kids)Little Bear - A Present For Mother Bear - VHS (1999) (ABC Kids)Little Bear - Your Friend, Little Bear - VHS (2001) (ABC Kids)Little Bear The Magician - VHS (2001) (ABC Kids)Little Bear - The Big Bear Sitter - VHS (2002) (ABC Kids)Little Bear - Halloween Stories - DVD (2006)Little Bear - Outdoor Fun - DVD (2002)Little Bear - Mysterious Moments - DVD (2002)Little Bear - Hooray For Little Bear! DVD (2002)Little Bear - Little Bear's Loose Tooth - Story Book (August 2002)Little Bear - Mother Bear's Picnic - Story Book (April 2003)Little Bear - Emily's Birthday - Story Book (June 2004)Little Bear - Little Bear's Scary Night - Story Book (September 2002)Little Bear - The Butterfly Garden - Story Book (March 2004)Little Bear - The Snowball Fight - Story Book (December 2002)Little Bear - Father's Flying Flapjacks - Story Book (April 2002)Little Bear - The Toys' Wedding - Story Book (March 2004)Little Bear - Get Well Soon, Little Bear! Story Book (December 2002)Little Bear - Little Bear Makes A Scarecrow - Story Book (September 2002)Little Bear - Father Bear's Special Day - Story Book (April 2003)Little Bear - Little Bear Makes A Mask - Story Book (August 2003)Little Bear - A Present For Mother Bear - Story Book (April 2002)Little Bear - I Miss You, Father Bear - Story Book (September 2003)Little Bear - Little Bear And The Missing Pie - Story Book (September 2002)Little Bear - Asleep Under The Stars - Story Book (June 2004)Little Bear - Little Bear's Bad Day - Story Book (September 2003)Little Bear - Little Bear's Egg - Story Book (April 2003)Little Bear - Little Bear's Valentine - Story Book (December 2002)Little Bear - April Fools! Story Book (December 2002)Little Bear - Little Bear's New Friend - Story Book (April 2002)Little Bear - The Cricket Who Came To Dinner - Story Book (September 2003)Little Bear - Lost In Little Bear's Room - Story Book (March 2004)Little Bear - The Search For Spring - Story Book (April 2002)Little Bear - Spring Cleaning - Story Book (April 2003)Little Bear - To Grandmother's House - Story Book (April 2002)Little Bear - Lucky Little Bear - Story Book (April 2002)Little Bear - Little Bear's Picture - Story Book (August 2003)Little Bear - Original Book (1957)Little Bear - Father Bear Comes Home - Story Book (1959)Little Bear - Little Bear's Friend - Story Book (1960)Little Bear - Little Bear's Visit - Story Book (1961)Little Bear - A Kiss For Little Bear - Story Book (1968)Little Bear - Little Bear And The Marco Polo - Story Book (2010)Little Bear - Boxed Set - Story Book Pack (June 1992)