The Little Polar Bear facts for kids
The Little Polar Bear (in Dutch: Lars de kleine ijsbeer) is a franchise about a polar bear cub named Lars who first starred in a number of books written by Dutch author, Hans de Beer.
The first of several animated adaptations of the books is a Japanese original video animation, released on April 28, 1990, with animation production by I.G Tatsunoko (now known as Production I.G).
It later became an animated TV series for BBC TV, Lars, der kleine Eisbär, in the 1990s. The show proved to be popular in Germany.
The show was later revived between 2001 and 2003. For its first film, subtitled Der Kinofilm, Warner Bros. and animation studio Rothkirch Cartoon Film bought the rights to adapt the children's books into a feature-length film, released in 2001.
Following the success of the feature, several direct-to-video features were released, one of the new characters included was a tiger cub. In 2005, another film, The Little Polar Bear 2: The Mysterious Island (German: Der kleine Eisbär 2: Die geheimnisvolle Insel) was released and also proved successful.
The score to The Little Polar Bear (1) was composed by Nigel Clarke & Michael Csanyi-Wills and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and was nominated for several awards.
Original BBC TV series adaptation
Quick facts for kids The Little Polar Bear |
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| Genre | Animation |
| Created by | Hans de Beer (Novel) |
| Written by | Birgit Quastenberg Josef Schelle Hans de Beer |
| Directed by | Theo Kerp |
| Voices of | Susan Sheridan Jimmy Hibbert |
| Theme music composer | Manfred Schoof |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | German English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Siegmund Grewenig |
| Producer(s) | Theresa Plummer Andrews |
| Running time | 5-6 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Rothkirch/Kringel Cartoon Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC TV |
In the mid-1990s there was a TV adaptation for the BBC, featuring the voice talents of Susan Sheridan and Jimmy Hibbert. The Animation of the series was by Sinan Gungor
Voices
- Susan Sheridan - Lars, Lena, Peeps, Mummy Polar Bear,
- Jimmy Hibbert - Daddy Polar Bear, various male voices
- Vanessa Feltz - Brownie Brown Bear
Characters
- Lars - the little polar bear, main character of the show
- Frieda, Lars' mother
- Mika, Lars' father
- Lena - the Arctic hare
- Peeps - the snow goose
- Brownie Brown Bear
Episodes
| No. | Cartoons | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Ice Floe" | 1994 | |
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Lars is carried across the sea on a drifting sheet of ice, until he reaches an island. There he makes friends with Hippo and is given a lift home by Orca.
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| 2 | "The Snow Storm" | 1994 | |
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While playing in the snow, Lars meets Lena. They both get trapped in a snow storm, but Lars manages to find his way home.
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| 3 | "The Egg" | 1994 | |
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Lars stumbles across a goose egg and warms it, till out hatches a gosling he names Peeps.
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| 4 | "The Polar Station" | 1994 | |
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Lars ventures into the Polar Station. Lena is almost caught by a man, but Lena and Lars make their escape back to the safety of their home.
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| 5 | "The Net" | 1994 | |
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While swimming, Lars is caught in a fish net and loaded onto a fishing freighter. He is met by the ship's cat Nemo, who helps him off the ship.
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| 6 | "The Trap" | 1994 | |
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In a game of hide n' seek, Lena and Peeps get caught in a cage trap. Lars manages to release them and take them to safety from the hunting dogs.
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| 7 | "The Mission" | 1994 | |
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Lars goes to the forest to get some honey medicine for his ill parents. Daddy Brown Bear provides the medicine and Brownie accompanies Lars back home.
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| 8 | "The Ice Cave" | 1994 | |
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While exploring Lars, Lena and Peeps plunge deep into an ice grotto. They make a hasty exit as the cave collapses and Orca takes them to safety.
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| 9 | "The Hunter" | 1994 | |
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Lars and Brownie are captured by a hunter. Lars releases himself and Brownie, then they release all the other captured animals, before making their way home.
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| 10 | "The Labyrinth" | 1994 | |
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Lena and Peeps are carried off into an ice labyrinth surrounded by thick fog. As Lars finds them, the fog disperses.
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| 11 | "The Weather Balloon" | 1994 | |
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As Lars examines a weather balloon, Peeps gets carried off in it. The seagulls save Peeps, while Lars recovers the seagull's bell clapper.
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| 12 | "The Boat" | 1994 | |
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Lena finds a deserted boat and with Lars and Peeps sails. Lars jumps overboard with the life belt and then saves Lena and Peeps from an iceberg.
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| 13 | "The Barrel" | 1994 | |
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On a journey to find fish, Lars comes across a wooden barrel full of dried herrings. Lena helps Lars to move it, to provide food for Daddy and Mummy Polar Bear.
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| 14 | "The Book" | 1994 | |
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More icy escapades with Lars the polar bear and his friends.
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| 15 | "The Honeycomb" | 1994 | |
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TBA
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| 16 | "The Flower" | 1994 | |
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Lars stumbles across a rare flower and patiently waits for it to grow. Lena and Peeps help Lars protect the flower.
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| 17 | "The Teddy Bear" | 1994 | |
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In the icy land of the North Pole, Lars, Lena and Peeps come across a box, and a teddy bear
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| 18 | "The Sled Dog" | 1994 | |
| 19 | "The Camp Fire" | 1994 | |
| 20 | "The Competition" | 1994 | |
| 21 | "The Concert" | 1994 | |
Film
| The Little Polar Bear | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Piet De Rycker Thilo Rothkirch |
| Produced by | Willi Geike |
| Written by | Piet De Rycker Bert Schrickel Thomas Wittenburg |
| Music by | Nigel Clarke Michael Csányi-Wills |
| Editing by | Bettina Behrens Nadia Hennrich |
| Studio | Warner Bros. Rothkirch Cartoon Film |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures (Germany) Warner Home Video (United States) |
| Release date(s) | October 4, 2001 (Germany) April 11, 2003 (United Kingdom) December 2, 2003 (United States) |
| Running time | 77 minutes |
| Country | Germany United States |
| Language | German English |
The Little Polar Bear is a 2001 German-American film based on the books of the same name. It is directed by Piet De Rycker and Thilo Rothkirch and produced by Willi Geike. The film was distributed in Germany by Warner Bros. Germany through the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment unit on 4 October 2001.
Warner Bros also produced an English dub of the movie that was released in America and Britain in 2003.
Sequels
- The Little Polar Bear: Lars and the Little Tiger (2002)
- The Little Polar Bear: The Dream of Flying (2002)
- The Little Polar Bear: Nanouk's Rescue (2003)
- The Little Polar Bear: A Visitor from the South Pole (2002)
- The Little Polar Bear: The Mysterious Island (2005)
Voice cast
| Character | German Version | English Version |
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| Lars |
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Wesley Singerman |
| Robby | Maximilian Artajo | Brianne Siddall |
| Kalle | Jochen Busse | |
| Nalle | Mike Krüger | |
| Palle | Bernd Stelter | |
| Mika | Ingolf Lück | Michael McConnohie |
| Manili | Vanessa Petruo | |
| Greta | Jeanette Biedermann | RuDee Sade |
| Caruso | Dirk Bach | Joe Ochman |
| Pieps | Sandro Blümel | Sandy Fox |
| Henry | Harry Rowohlt | Steve Blum |
| Lena | Adak Azdasht | Kimberly J. Brown |
| Sopho / Sophocles | Wolfgang Völz | Ralph Votrian |
| Großmutter | Barbara Adolph | |
| Mutter Eisbär | Anke Engelke | |
| Lemmings |
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| Seagulls / Möwe |
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Additional English Voices
- Daran Norris ... Brutus
- Neil Kaplan ... Bert
- Tom Fahn ... Boris
- Rebecca Forstadt ... Anna
- Steve Blum ... Henry
- Mari Devon ... Nina
- Edie Mirman ... Grandmother
- Steve Bulen ... Other
- Richard Cansino ... Other
- Melora Harte ... Other
Voices in Brazil
- Cáio César ...Lars
- Charles Emmanuel...Robby
- Luísa Palomanes...Greta
