Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!
The series' title card
Created by	Joe Ruby Ken Spears
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voices of	Daws Butler Paul Winchell William Callaway John Stephenson Joe E. Ross
Theme music composer	Hoyt Curtin
Composer(s)	Hoyt Curtin
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Producer(s)	Charles A. Nichols
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 11, 1971 (1971-09-11) – January 8, 1972 (1972-01-08)

Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! is a fun animated TV show from America. It was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. The show was made by Hanna-Barbera and first aired on CBS. It ran for one season from September 11, 1971, to January 8, 1972.

The show is about three clever bears. Their voices were done by Daws Butler, Paul Winchell, and William Callaway. The zoo director, Mr. Peevly, was voiced by John Stephenson. His assistant, Botch, was voiced by Joe E. Ross. The show had 16 episodes, each about 30 minutes long.

After the TV show, Gold Key Comics made a comic book series. It started in November 1971 and had 13 issues. Many people compared the show to other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. These included Top Cat and Yogi Bear. Later, the show was shown again on channels like Boomerang and Cartoon Network. You can also find it online and on DVD.

What is the show about?
Who are the main characters?
How was the show made?
Episodes of the show
Where else have the Hair Bears appeared?
See also

What is the show about?

The series follows the adventures of the Hair Bear Bunch. This group includes three bear cousins. They live at the Wonderland Zoo. The zoo is run by the director, Mr. Peevly, and his zookeeper, Lionel Botch. The bears are the "wacky heroes" of the show.

The three bears often escape from their fancy cage. They ride around on their "invisible motorcycles." But they always manage to get back to their cage. They return before Mr. Peevly or Lionel Botch can catch them. Even the Zoo Superintendent visits Peevly and Botch sometimes.

The bears prank and fool Mr. Peevly and Mr. Botch for different reasons. They want to make their living conditions better. They also try out "get-rich-quick schemes." The bears even wear clothes! A writer named Christopher P. Lehman said Hanna-Barbera dressed them in "counterculture apparel." This was to keep up with popular fashion at the time.

Sometimes, the bears (usually Hair) would press a secret switch. This would open up a hidden cave. Inside, it was much more luxurious. It had modern furniture, unlike their usual simple home.

Who are the main characters?

The show features five main characters. They appear throughout the series:

Hair Bear (voiced by Daws Butler): He is the leader of the Hair Bear Bunch. He wears an afro hairstyle. Daws Butler made his voice sound like Sergeant Bilko from The Phil Silvers Show.
Bubi Bear (voiced by Paul Winchell): He is more sensible than Hair Bear. Sometimes he speaks in sounds that are hard to understand.
Square Bear (voiced by Bill Callaway): He is the most clumsy of the three bears. But he is usually the one who makes their "invisible motorcycles" appear. People have described him as "dopey" and "laid-back."
Mr. Peevly (voiced by John Stephenson): He is the easily annoyed zoo director at Wonderland Zoo. The three bears constantly try to outsmart him. Most of the time, they succeed!
Lionel Botch (voiced by Joe E. Ross): He is a zookeeper and Mr. Peevly's silly assistant. He always does work for Mr. Peevly. But Peevly often puts him in dangerous situations for his own benefit. Mr. Peevly also scolds Botch whenever he asks about getting a promotion.

How was the show made?

The show was produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Their company was Hanna-Barbera Productions. Charles A. Nichols was the main producer. Robert "Bob" Givens helped by creating the layout for the storyboards.

Hoyt Curtin wrote the show's official theme song. He also composed all the music for the series. Besides the main voice actors, other famous Hanna-Barbera voice actors helped out. These included Janet Waldo, Joan Gerber, Lennie Weinrib, Hal Smith, and Vic Perrin. They played many smaller characters.

Five writers worked on Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!. They were Joel Kane, Heywood Kling, Howard Morgenstern, Joe Ruby, and Ken Spears. Joseph Barbera originally wanted Joe Flynn to voice Mr. Peevly. This was because the character was based on Flynn's Captain Binghamton. But when Flynn auditioned, Barbera was not impressed. So, John Stephenson got the part instead.

Gold Key Comics made comic books based on many Hanna-Barbera shows. They also adapted other "Saturday morning" cartoons. These included The Funky Phantom and The Harlem Globetrotters. The comic book version of Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! was called The Hair Bear Bunch. It started in 1972 and had 13 different issues.

The show also used a laugh track. This was created by Hanna-Barbera themselves.

Episodes of the show

The show had 16 episodes. Here are some of them:

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"Keep Your Keeper"	September 11, 1971 (1971-09-11)
The Hair Bear Bunch trick Mr. Peevly. They make him think he has a fake disease called Zoolarium. When Mr. Peevly goes on vacation, a strict new zookeeper arrives. The bears then try to get Mr. Peevly to come back.
2	"Rare Bear Bungle"	September 18, 1971 (1971-09-18)
The Hair Bear Bunch gets a new roommate, Rare Bear. But Hair Bear thinks he is a spy for Mr. Peevly.
3	"Raffle Ruckus"	September 25, 1971 (1971-09-25)
Hair Bear tells Mr. Peevly to hold a raffle to get money for the zoo. Hair Bear wins and becomes the owner of the zoo. He then learns how hard it is to run a zoo.
4	"Bridal Boo Boo"	October 2, 1971 (1971-10-02)
Hair Bear tries to set up Mr. Peevly with a girlfriend. This is to keep him busy. But Mr. Peevly ends up with a tough lady named Bertha. She brings strict rules to the Wonderland Zoo.
5	"No Space Like Home"	October 9, 1971 (1971-10-09)
The Hair Bear Bunch applies for an adventure. It turns out to be a space trip to Mars. Mr. Peevly and Botch sneak along. They land on an alien planet where Mr. Peevly becomes the new leader.
6	"Love Bug Bungle"	October 16, 1971 (1971-10-16)
Mr. Peevly puts a gorilla named Arnie in the bears' cave. Hair Bear finds out Arnie is in love with Gloria the Gorilla. He tries to help them get together.
7	"I'll Zoo You Later"	October 23, 1971 (1971-10-23)
The Hair Bear Bunch plans to go to the National Forest. They hide in a cabin. It turns out to be a hideout for bank robbers. Mr. Peevly and Botch also catch up to them there.
8	"Ark Lark"	October 30, 1971 (1971-10-30)
Mr. Peevly puts on a play of Noah's Ark with the zoo animals. Hair Bear secretly puts wheels on the Ark. He then drives it to Pleasure Island.
9	"Gobs of Gabaloons"	November 6, 1971 (1971-11-06)
Mr. Peevly wants the animals to build him a swimming pool. The Hair Bear Bunch finds a treasure map. It leads to Redbeard's treasure. They try to get to the treasure under Mr. Peevly's office.
10	"Panda Pandamonium"	November 13, 1971 (1971-11-13)
The Hair Bear Bunch finds a baby panda named Percy. His cage fell off a train. Mr. Peevly makes the bears watch Percy until he can be taken to another zoo.
11	"Closed Circuit TV"	November 20, 1971 (1971-11-20)
Mr. Peevly sets up cameras around the zoo. He wants to catch the Hair Bear Bunch escaping. Hair Bear finds the cameras and uses them to make his own TV show.
12	"The Bear Who Came to Dinner"	November 27, 1971 (1971-11-27)
Hair Bear has Square Bear pretend to be hurt. This is so they don't get sent to the National Forest. Mr. Peevly lets Square Bear stay at his house.
13	"Unbearably Peevly"	December 4, 1971 (1971-12-04)
Mr. Peevly and Botch dress up as bears to catch the Hair Bear Bunch. The bears pretend to fall for it. Things get worse when Peevly and Botch are mistaken for escaped circus bears.
14	"Goldilocks and the Three Bears"	December 11, 1971 (1971-12-11)
The Hair Bear Bunch gets involved in a play. The actress playing Goldilocks changes the script. Now the bears have to save Goldilocks from an evil prince.
15	"The Diet Caper"	December 18, 1971 (1971-12-18)
The Hair Bear Bunch tries to dig a tunnel into town for food. They end up in a haunted house at an amusement park. They then trick Mr. Peevly and Botch into going there too.
16	"Kling Klong versus the Masked Marvel"	January 8, 1972 (1972-01-08)
Hair Bear wants to win $500. He trains Bananas the Gorilla for a wrestling match. When the Masked Marvel gets sick, Botch has to take his place in the ring.

Where else have the Hair Bears appeared?

The Hair Bear Bunch have made special guest appearances in other shows and specials:

They were at a party honoring Fred Flintstone. This was in the TV special Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue (1977).
Hair Bear appeared as a robot in the Dexter's Laboratory episode "Chubby Cheese."
The Hair Bear Bunch also had a short appearance in the pilot episode of Welcome to Eltingville.
Hair Bear was in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Juror in Court." He was accused of damaging property.
The Hair Bear Bunch appear in the newer cartoon series Jellystone!.