The Berenstain Bears (1985 TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Berenstain Bears |
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The main shot from the opening, showing all four main characters.
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| Genre | Children's series Comedy |
| Based on | Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain |
| Developed by | Joe Cates |
| Directed by | Buzz Potamkin |
| Creative director(s) | Chris Cuddington |
| Voices of |
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| Opening theme | "We Are The Berenstain Bears" |
| Ending theme | "We Are The Berenstain Bears" (instrumental) |
| Composer(s) | Elliot Lawrence |
| Country of origin | Australia United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Buzz Potkin |
| Editor(s) | Robert Ciaglia |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | The Joseph Cates Company Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 14, 1985 – December 6, 1986 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
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The Berenstain Bears Show is a fun animated TV series for kids. It's also known simply as "The Berenstain Bears." This show is based on the popular children's books written by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
The series was made by Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia. It first aired in the United States on CBS from September 14, 1985, to December 6, 1986. There were 26 half-hour episodes, which means 52 shorter stories. Reruns of the show continued until September 5, 1987. Each episode usually had two parts: one based on a book and one brand-new story.
This show was even nominated for awards! In 1987, it was up for a Daytime Emmy award. It was also nominated for a Humanitas Prize. These awards recognized its quality in children's programming.
Another Berenstain Bears TV series came out later. It aired in Canada from 2002 to 2003 and in the U.S. from 2003 to 2004.
Contents
Meet the Berenstain Bears Family
The show takes place in a big forest where only talking bears live. The main characters are the Berenstain Bears family. They live in a country area called Bear Country.
The family includes:
- Mama Bear
- Papa Q. Bear
- Brother Bear
- Sister Bear
The series teaches important lessons, just like the books. It also makes Bear Country bigger and shows how the characters grow. Each episode often focuses on problems the family faces, especially the two cubs, Brother and Sister.
Other Bear Country Friends
Many characters from the books and TV specials appear in the show. Some of these include:
- Actual Factual
- Big Paw
- Mayor Horace J. Honeypot
- Farmer Ben
- Cousin Fred
- Grizzly Gramps & Gran
New characters were also added for the TV series. These include Officer Marguerete, Scout Leader Jane, and Lizzy Bruin. There are also Queen Nectar and Old Jake the Catfish. Even though Queen Nectar and Jake are not bears, they can talk and interact with the cubs.
Who Are the Bad Guys?
The main "bad guys" in the series are Raffish Ralph and Weasel McGreed. Raffish Ralph is a "swindler," which means he tries to trick people. Weasel McGreed appeared in six episodes. Another character, Too-Tall Grizzly, is sometimes a problem. He acts like a school bully.
Other stories in the show include "The Bear Detectives" solving mysteries with their dog Snuff. You also see Papa Q. Bear trying to collect honey. Sometimes, the bears interact with other forest animals. Weasel McGreed even tries to take over Bear Country in some episodes!
Episodes of the Show
If you want to see a full list of all the episodes, you can check out the main article:
Voice Actors: Who Plays Who?
The talented voice actors brought the Berenstain Bears to life!
- Brian Cummings voices Papa Q. Bear, Actual Factual, Bigpaw, Horace J. Honeypot, Too-Tall, and other characters.
- Ruth Buzzi voices Mama Bear, Grizzly Gran, Scout Leader Jane, Queen Nectar, Teacher Jane, and more.
- David Mendenhall voices Brother Bear.
- Christina Lange voices Sister Bear.
- Marissa Mendenhall voices Lizzy Bruin and other characters.
- Josh Rodine voices Cousin Fred.
- John Stephenson voices Bill Bunny.
- Frank Welker voices Raffish Ralph, Weasel McGreed, Grizzly Gramps, Farmer Ben, Mr. Skunk, and many other voices.
How the Show Was Made
Before the TV series, the Berenstain Bears first appeared in holiday TV specials. These specials aired on NBC from 1979 to 1983. Stan and Jan Berenstain created and wrote them. Joe Cates produced them, and Buzz Potkin directed them. They made one holiday special each year for five years.
After a special called The Berenstain Bears Play Ball, the team started working on a TV series. It was based on the books and the earlier TV specials. Joe Cates and Buzz Potkin produced this new series too. Elliot Lawrence continued to create music for the episodes.
Joe Cates first tried to get NBC to fund the TV series. But NBC had new leaders, and they weren't interested. However, CBS liked the idea! They decided to pick up the series for a first season of 13 episodes. CBS wanted the show to attract new viewers to their Saturday morning cartoon lineup.
Creative Decisions and Changes
CBS executives wanted the show to have new, original stories. They wanted these stories to go along with the episodes based on the books. Some planned episodes, like "Too Much TV" and "Too Much Junk Food," were turned down by CBS. This was because they thought the topics were about unhealthy habits. Stan and Jan Berenstain were a bit frustrated by this. But many of these original ideas later became new Berenstain Bears books!
The show was produced by Southern Star Productions/Hanna-Barbera Australia. They used new voice actors for the characters. In this TV series, the characters do not speak in rhyme. The show also had a more modern look compared to the very first books.
The series greatly expanded Bear Country. It showed many new characters and places. It also explored the economy and government of Bear Country. Because of this, the episodes felt faster-paced. The characters seemed much busier than in the TV specials. The stories were told without a narrator and were about 11–12 minutes long.
One big change in the show was how Papa Bear was shown. He was often the "comic relief," meaning he was there to make people laugh. He was even funnier than in the books. Stan Berenstain wasn't a big fan of this change. He preferred how Papa Bear was shown in the 2002 TV series. Some characters, like Raffish Ralph, were first introduced in this TV series. They later appeared in future Berenstain Bears books.
Where the Show Aired
The show aired for a short time on TLC's Ready Set Learn! block. This was from November 2, 1998, to January 8, 1999. It was removed because of a disagreement about the contract.
In the early to mid-2000s, reruns of the show were seen on the DIC Kids Network. This was a programming block that aired on some FOX, UPN, and The WB stations. However, these episodes were edited and sped up by DIC (now called "WildBrain"). As of 2025, the series has not been shown on American television for over 15 years.
In Australia, where Southern Star is based, the series was shown on Network Ten.
Watching at Home: Home Media Releases
Some episodes of the show were released on VHS tapes and DVDs. Different companies released them, like Random House Home Video and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Sometimes, these home versions had small changes, like different designs for the episode title cards.
You can also watch all the episodes for free on YouTube. They are available on the official Berenstain Bears channel. The video quality might be different for some episodes.
