Old Bear Stories

Old Bear Stories was a BAFTA award winning stop frame animation television series for children based on the Old Bear and Friends books by Jane Hissey. Jane Hissey also created the television series, starting it on 24 September 1993, and creating 3 seasons, which ended on 24 December 1997 with a double-length Christmas special. In all, 41 episodes were made. The series was produced by Ealing Animation and was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV. Episodes have subsequently been repeated on Channel 5 in the UK, and are also broadcast in the United States and other countries worldwide. The show also aired for a short time on the CBC morning children's block in Canada. It also aired in the United States as part of Cartoon Network's Small World.

Episodes of the series were released on VHS by Carlton Video.

Plot

The animals at the play room have remembered that Old Bear disappeared long ago. He has been put into the loft. They rescue him and bring him back down to the Play room. He becomes the most respected toy and guides the others in their many adventures, both in the play ground and in the garden.

Characters

• Old Bear: an elderly dusty teddy bear, he was put up in the attic when he reached an advanced age, but was rescued by the other toys. They now look up to him as a fearless, yet wise, leader.
• Bramwell Brown: a wise old bear, often considered second to Old Bear. Likes to cook things for the other toys.
• Duck: a gloomy toy duck who sometimes wishes he could fly. Doesn't like to get his feet wet.
• Rabbit: an impulsive toy rabbit.
• Little Bear: a small white bear who wears overly baggy red trousers. The youngest of the all the toys, as he is very much like a young child. Sometimes has some good ideas of what to do.
• Jolly Tall: a toy giraffe who despite his height doesn't like heights - he says his head thinks it was high enough as it is. Jolly has an extra long scarf which Bramwell knitted.
• Sailor: a toy sailor who enjoys sailing in his toy boat.
• Zebra: a female toy zebra.
• Hoot the Owl: a toy owl living in the loft. Originally had a nest made of a bunch of socks that didn't match, until Little Bear gave her an old bobble hat to use instead.
• Ruff the Dog: a bouncy toy dog which resembles a Fox Terrier.
• Dog: a toy black Scottish Terrier who likes to bury his rubber bones in some plant pots.
• Camel: a toy camel who is almost as tall as Jolly Tall. Once tried to use Little Bear's trousers as hump warmers.
• Cat: a toy cat who likes to nap in any place she finds.
• Rabbit's cousin: female cousin of Rabbit, who occasionally stays with the toys. She wears a straw hat, and seems to like to cause mischief, and doesn't like cleaning.
• The dolls: a family of 3 dolls (a father, a mother (Mrs. Doll) and a daughter) who live in a dolls' house in a corner of the play room.

Episodes

1. Old Bear
2. Little Bear Lost
3. There Were Five in a Bed
4. Jolly Tall
5. Little Bear's Trousers
6. The Circus
7. The Rainy Day
8. The Fancy Dress Parade
9. Little Bear's Big Race
10. The Apple Tree
11. The Winter Picnic
12. Jolly Snow
13. The Dolls' House Christmas Tree
14. Ruff
15. The Play
16. The Boat Race
17. Jigsaw
18. Little Bear's Book
19. The Birthday Band
20. Hot and Spotty
21. Hoot
22. Ruff Follows His Nose
23. Spring Clean
24. Old Bear's Chair
25. Market Day
26. The Car
27. Hoot and the Mystery Eggs
28. The Clock
29. The Castle
30. The Colour Chase
31. Little Bear's Snowmen
32. The Painting
33. Duck Tries to Fly
34. The Jolly Dragon
35. Rabbit and the Visitor
36. Little Bear's Cold Day
37. Ruff and the Big Wheel
38. The Birthday Camp
39. The Treasure Hunt
40. The Perfect Presents
41. Little Bear and the Christmas Star

Cast and crew

• Writer: Jane Hissey
• Director: Kevin Griffiths
• Assistant Director: Liz Whitaker
• Producer: Richard Randolphe
• Executive Producer: Peter Gillbe
• Composer: Paul Castle
• Film Editor: Nick Follows
• Puppet Makers: Monique Brown, Alix Hardwood, Val Johnston
• Animators: Fin and Humphrey Leadbitter
• Narrator: Anton Rodgers

Theme Music

The theme tune was composed by Paul Castle and consists of the lyrics:

Please read us a story Old Bear, we'll all gather round

Dear Old Bear.

Sit in your favourite chair,

We'll sit all around, all around dear Old Bear.

listen

The harmony vocals were provided by Alison Goldfrapp of the band Goldfrapp^[1]

Awards

The series was very well critically received and won a lot of awards:

• 1995 Chicago International Children's Film Festival - Outstanding Achievement Award
• 1994 Royal Television Society - Best Children's Series
• 1993 BAFTA - Best Children's Programme
• 1993 New York Film Festival - Gold Medal
• 1993 Chicago International Film Festival - Silver Plaque

See also

• Old Bear and Friends
• Jane Hissey

References

External links

• Old Bear Stories at the Internet Movie Database
• TV.com entry
• Old Bear Stories TV theme song by Paul Castle

Teddy bears Bear manufacturers Build-A-Bear Workshop Chad Valley J. K. Farnell Gund Ideal Toy Company Margarete Steiff GmbH Merrythought Teddy Atelier Stursberg Teddy-Hermann Ty Inc Vermont Teddy Bear Company Types of bear AG Bear Beanie Babies Boyds Bears Care Bears Coffee Bean Bears Forever Friends Freddy Teddy Gund Snuffles Holiday Beanie Babies Me to You Bears WereBears Teddy bear museums Teddy bear museum Dorset Teddy Bear Museum Teddy Bear Museum of Naples Famous teddies Aloysius Archibald Ormsby-Gore Benjamin Bear Berlino Duffy the Disney Bear Fozzie Bear Freddy Fazbear Grizzly Teddy Lotso Microsoft Bear Misha Nassur Nev Paddington Bear Pooky Pudsey Bear Rilakkuma Roosevelt Rupert Bear Rupert (Family Guy) Smokey Sooty SuperTed Teddy (Mr. Bean) Teddy Ruxpin Uszatek Mr Whoppit Winnie-the-Pooh Yogi Bear Film and television The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin Bear Behaving Badly Becky and Barnaby Bear C Bear and Jamal Colargol Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears Issi Noho Old Bear Stories Paddington The Secret World of Benjamin Bear SuperTed Ted Ted 2 The Teddy Bear Master Teddy Edward The Yogi Bear Show Boonie Bears Books Corduroy Old Bear and Friends Teddy Dressing Uppo-Nalle Winkie Winnie-the-Pooh Music "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" "Psycho Teddy" "Teddy Bears' Picnic" "The Teddy Bear Song" Video games Build-A-Bear Workshop Hubert the Teddy Bear: Winter Games Naughty Bear Opération Teddy Bear Related topics The Bear Club Peter Bull Gummy bears Round and round the garden SGUL Teddy Bear Hospital Richard Steiff Sudanese blasphemy case Teddybear Airdrop Minsk 2012 Teddy bear parachuting Teddy Bear Review Teddy bear toss Teddy Grahams Theodore Roosevelt