The Berenstain Bears (2003 TV series)
| The Berenstain Bears | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
Children's show Comedy |
| Created by | Stan and Jan Berenstain |
| Directed by |
Scott Glynn Gary Hurst Kervin Faria |
| Voices of |
Michael Cera Michael D'Ascenzo Tajja Isen Camilla Scott Benedict Campbell Amanda Soha Mike McCulkin Corinne Conley Gage Knox Nikki Marshall Mark Rendall |
| Theme music composer | Stan Meissner |
| Opening theme | "The Berenstain Bears" by Lee Ann Womack |
| Ending theme | "The Berenstain Bears" (Instrumental) |
| Composer(s) |
Ray Parker Tom Szczesniak |
| Country of origin |
Canada United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 62 (81 shorts) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Stan and Jan Berenstain Steven Ching Scott Dyer Michael Hirsh |
| Producer(s) |
Lan Lamon Supervising producers: Patricia R. Burns Jocelyn Hamilton Michelle Melanson Cynthia Taylor |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Nelvana AGOGO PBS |
| Distributor |
Nelvana PBS |
| Release | |
| Original network |
PBS Kids Treehouse TV |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | January 6, 2003 – September 28, 2004 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Berenstain Bears (1985 TV series) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Berenstain Bears is a Canadian/American Gemini Award-nominated animated television series based on the children's book series of the same name by Stan and Jan Berenstain. The series follows the lives of a family of anthropomorphic bears who learn a moral or safety-related lesson during the course of each episode.
The series debuted on PBS Kids in the United States on January 6, 2003 and ended on September 28, 2004.
Synopsis
The series is set in a world populated solely by anthropomorphic bears and primarily centers around the Berenstain Bears, a family residing in the rural community of Bear Country consisting of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear, and Sister Bear. Albeit numerous episodes are based on the books and promote the same morals as encouraged in the picture books from which their plots originated, the program's faithfulness to the original series is slightly mixed on account of a number of later episodes follow original storylines. Nonetheless, they mostly portray the same environment depicted in the original Berenstain Bears storybooks quite accurately and concentrate on the messages and lessons learned by the family through their different experiences, such as gratitude and responsibility, as well as the daily lives of the bears.
Production
The show was produced by the Canadian animation company Nelvana for the PBS Kids and the Treehouse TV channel. Eighty 15 minute episodes were produced adapted from the books and also a few new stories as well, similar to the 1985 production.[1] However, due to Canadian laws requiring Nelvana to employ only Canadian writers and artists, the Berenstains' involvement in the program was limited; They sought to exert their influence on some details, according to Stan. "Our bears don't wear shoes, and Papa wouldn't wear his hat in the house...And we try to keep complete, total banality out of the stories." Common practicalities of animation did force some minor costume changes from the books, such as eliminating polka dots and plaids. (This issue also occurred in previous animated series and specials. Only a limited amount of polka dots was allowed in the five specials.)[1] The show's theme song is performed by Lee Ann Womack.[1]
The series is supposed to supplement the 1985 series because new books were released since then. Even though the two series have radically different production style as well as a change of in-universe elements. Another issue is the two series are never seen together.
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Michael Cera as Brother Bear
- Michael D'Ascenzo as Brother Bear
- Tajja Isen as Sister Bear
- Benedict Campbell as Papa Q. Bear
- Camilla Scott as Mama Bear
Recurring cast
Family
- Leslie Carlson as Grizzly Gramps
- Corinne Conley as Grizzly Gran
- Marc McMulkin as Cousin Freddy
Friends
- Amanda Soha as Lizzy Bruin
- Nikki Marshall as Queenie
- Mark Rendall as Ferdy Factual
- Gage Knox as Too-Tall
- Patrick Salvagna as Skuzz
- James Eckhouse as Smirk
Citizens
- Chris Wiggins as Squire Grizzly
- Ellen-Ray Hennessy as Miss Grizzle
Music
Country music singer-songwriter Lee Ann Womack sings the series' theme song, which was written by Stan Meissner.
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Gemini Awards | Best Pre-School Program or Series | Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain, Michael Hirsh, Steven Ching, Scott Dyer | Nominated |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role - Young Actress | Tajja Isen | Nominated |
Episodes
- Nº = Overall episode number
- Ep = Episode number by season
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 27 | January 6, 2003 | September 17, 2003 | |
| 2 | 24 | September 18, 2003 | October 20, 2003 | |
| 3 | 11 | April 5, 2004 | September 28, 2004 | |
Season 1 (2003)
| Nº | Ep | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Birthday Boy" | 6 January 2003 |
| 2 | 2 | "Too Much Junk Food" | 7 January 2003 |
| 3 | 3 | "Trouble with Pets" | 8 January 2003 |
| 4 | 4 | "Mama's New Job" | 9 January 2003 |
| 5 | 5 | "Lend a Helping Hand" | 10 January 2003 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Trouble with Grown ups" | 13 January 2003 |
| 7 | 7 | "Trouble at School" | 14 January 2003 |
| 8 | 8 | "Too Much TV" | 15 January 2003 |
| 9 | 9 | "Moving Day" | 16 January 2003 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Sitter" | 17 January 2003 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Excuse Note" | 20 January 2003 |
| 12 | 12 | "A Week at Grandma's" | 21 January 2003 |
| 13 | 13 | "Double Dare" | 22 January 2003 |
| 14 | 14 | "The Big Road Race" | 23 January 2003 |
| 15 | 15 | "The Jump Rope Contest" | 24 January 2003 |
| 16 | 16 | "The Slumber Party" | 27 January 2003 |
| 17 | 17 | "At the Giant Mall" | 28 January 2003 |
| 18 | 18 | "Go to School" | 29 January 2003 |
| 19 | 19 | "The Talent Show" | 30 January 2003 |
| 20 | 20 | "Too Much Vacation" | 31 January 2003 |
| 21 | 21 | "Papa's Pizza" | 3 February 2003 |
| 22 | 22 | "Visit the Dentist" | 4 February 2003 |
| 23 | 23 | "House of Mirrors" | 5 February 2003 |
| 24 | 24 | "Get the Gimmies" | 7 February 2003 |
| 25 | 25 | "Go to the Movies" | 15 September 2003 |
| 26 | 26 | "The Giddy Grandma" | 16 September 2003 |
| 27 | 27 | "In the Attic Treasure" | 17 September 2003 |
Season 2 (2003)
| Nº | Ep | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 1 | "The Bad Dream" | 18 September 2003 |
| 29 | 2 | "The Haunted Lighthouse" | 19 September 2003 |
| 30 | 3 | "Say Please and Thank You" | 22 September 2003 |
| 31 | 4 | "The Green Eyed Monster" | 23 September 2003 |
| 32 | 5 | "Trick or Treat" | 24 September 2003 |
| 33 | 6 | "The Baby Chipmunk" | 25 September 2003 |
| 34 | 7 | "The Hiccup Cure" | 26 September 2003 |
| 35 | 8 | "By the Sea" | 27 September 2003 |
| 36 | 9 | "Go to Camp" | 29 September 2003 |
| 37 | 10 | "White Water Adventure" | 30 September 2003 |
| 38 | 11 | "Hug and Make up" | 1 October 2003 |
| 39 | 12 | "Out for the Team" | 2 October 2003 |
| 40 | 13 | "The In-Crowd" | 3 October 2003 |
| 41 | 14 | "Gotta Dance" | 6 October 2003 |
| 42 | 15 | "Big Bear, Small Bear" | 7 October 2003 |
| 43 | 16 | "Visit Fun Park" | 8 October 2003 |
| 44 | 17 | "The Bad Habit" | 9 October 2003 |
| 45 | 18 | "The Prize Pumpkin" | 10 October 2003 |
| 46 | 19 | "Draw It" | 13 October 2003 |
| 47 | 20 | "Lost in a Cave" | 14 October 2003 |
| 48 | 21 | "Trouble with Money" | 15 October 2003 |
| 49 | 22 | "A Wishing Star" | 16 October 2003 |
| 50 | 23 | "Go to the Doctor" | 17 October 2003 |
| 51 | 24 | "Count Their Blessings" | 20 October 2003 |
Season 3 (2004)
| Nº | Ep | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 1 | "Go to the Movies / Pet Show" | 5 April 2004 |
| 53 | 2 | "The Car Trip / Pick Up and Put Away" | 6 April 2004 |
| 54 | 3 | "Hug and Make Up / Big Road Race" | 7 April 2004 |
| 55 | 4 | "Gotta Dance / The Bad Dream" | 8 April 2004 |
| 56 | 5 | "White Water Adventure / Say Please and Thank You" | 9 April 2004 |
| 57 | 6 | "Showdown at Birder's Wood / Help Around the Workshop" | 6 September 2004 |
| 58 | 7 | "That Stump Must Go / Draw It" | 7 September 2004 |
| 59 | 8 | "Papa's Pizza / The Female Fullback" | 8 September 2004 |
| 60 | 9 | "Bears for All Seasons / Grow It" | 9 September 2004 |
| 61 | 10 | "Go Up and Down / Big Bear, Small Bear" | 10 September 2004 |
| 62 | 11 | "Too Much Vacation / The Trouble with Grown Ups (final episode released on Stan and Jan Berenstain's both lifetime)" | 28 September 2004 |
Broadcast
The show can currently be seen on YTV (2006–07; 2009–present) in Canada and Sprout in the United States. The series was also seen on Treehouse TV (Canada; 2002–09) (and often fluctuated between the two channels), Knowledge (British Columbia), Tiny Pop and KidsCo (UK), and OBS (South Korea). Originally, it aired together with Seven Little Monsters but the two shows were eventually separated.
References
- 1 2 3 Gillies, Judith S. (January 4, 2003). "Grin 'n' 'Bear' it: The Berenstains come to WTTW". The Washington Post.
External links
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