We Bare Bears

We Bare Bears
Created by Daniel Chong
Based on The Three Bare Bears
by Daniel Chong
Directed by
  • Tony Pulham (art)
  • Manny Hernandez (also supervising)
Creative director(s) Lauren Sassen
Voices of
Theme music composer Ivan Barias
Opening theme "We'll Be There"
by Estelle
Composer(s) Brad Breeck
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 113 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Daniel Chong
Producer(s)
Running time 11 minutes
Production company(s) Cartoon Network Studios
Rough Draft Korea
Saerom Animation
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network Cartoon Network
Picture format 1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format Stereo
First shown in November 6, 2014 (pilot)
Original release July 27, 2015 (2015-07-27) – present (present)

We Bare Bears is an American animated sitcom created by Daniel Chong for Cartoon Network. The show follows three bear siblings, Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear (respectively voiced by Eric Edelstein, Bobby Moynihan, and Demetri Martin), and their awkward attempts at integrating with the human world in the San Francisco Bay Area. Based on Chong's webcomic The Three Bare Bears, the pilot episode made its world premiere at the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival, where it won in the "Young Amsterdam Audience" category. The series premiered on July 27, 2015.[1]

Plot

We Bare Bears follows three adoptive bear brothers: Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear. The bears attempt to integrate with human society, such as by purchasing food, making human companions or trying to become famous on the Internet, although these attempts see the bears struggle to do so due to the civilized nature of humans and their own animal instincts.[2] However, in the end, they figure out that they have each other for support.[3] One notable aspect of the show's humor is the bears' ability to form a "bear stack". As its name shows, the bears stack on top of each other, which serves as their unique way of transportation.[2] Occasionally, the bears share adventures with their friends, such as child prodigy Chloe Park, bigfoot Charlie, internet sensation Nom Nom, park ranger Tabes, and produce saleswoman Lucy. Some flashback episodes chronicle the adventures of the bears as cubs trying to find a home.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
PilotNovember 6, 2014 (2014-11-06)
126July 27, 2015 (2015-07-27)February 11, 2016 (2016-02-11)
226February 26, 2016 (2016-02-26)April 11, 2017 (2017-04-11)
344April 11, 2017 (2017-04-11)February 19, 2018 (2018-02-19)
4TBAJuly 30, 2018 (2018-07-30)TBA
Shorts155July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06)December 1, 2015 (2015-12-01)
5June 30, 2016 (2016-06-30)
5April 27, 2017 (2017-04-27)

Production

(From top to bottom) Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear (pictured left) forming their "bear stack".[2]

The show was created by cartoonist Daniel Chong, who had previously worked as a story artist for Pixar and Illumination Entertainment. The show is based on his webcomic The Three Bare Bears, which also features the identifying characters. This webcomic was uploaded online from 2010 to 2011.[4] Billed as a comedy, the show is a production of Cartoon Network Studios, which developed the program with Chong as part of their shorts development program. It was announced during the network's 2014 upfront.[3]

Nom Nom and Charlie were initially voiced by Ken Jeong and Tom Arnold, respectively, before getting recast sometime before airing. The show's visual simplistic look was inspired by classic hand-drawn animation akin to Peanuts and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.[5]

Broadcast

The pilot episode made its world premiere as part of two separate venues of the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival at the EYE Film Institute Netherlands: the "Animated Shorts 5",[6] and the "Animated Shorts for Kids" ages 9 to 12.[7] The short was screened alongside the Dutch premiere of Clarence, the Steven Universe episodes "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem", and a live interview with the creator of the latter series, Rebecca Sugar.

International

We Bare Bears promotional event at Victoria Square, Birmingham

We Bare Bears premiered on Cartoon Network in Canada on July 27, 2015[8] and on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom and Ireland on September 7, 2015.[9][10] The series debuted on Cartoon Network channels in Australia and New Zealand and the Philippines on November 16.[11][12] It premiered on Cartoon Network in India on November 29, 2015, and in Italy on December 8, 2015. We Bare Bears premiered in Pakistan on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2016 and airs on every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 PM, according to Pakistan Standard Time.[13] In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it airs on Cartoon Network (Pay-TV) and Disney Channel (Free-TV). In the Czech Republic it airs on Cartoon Network (Pay-TV) and ČT Déčko (Free-TV).

Home media

DVD releases

Region 1
DVD title Season(s) Aspect ratio Episode count Total running time Release dates
Viral Video[14] 1 16:9 12 132 minutes October 4, 2016
Region 4
DVD title Season(s) Aspect ratio Episode count Total running time Release dates
Season 1[15] 1 16:9 26 288 minutes June 9, 2017

Reception

Critical

We Bare Bears has received generally positive reviews from critics. The pilot was described by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands as "hilarious and endearing",[16] and it won in the "Young Amsterdam Audience" category.[17] The show has been praised by Mashable for tackling "modern millennial anxieties" and for representing racial minorities.[18]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Refs
2016 Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production Madeline Sharafian, Manny Hernandez, and Bert Youn (for "Burrito") Nominated
BAFTA Children's Awards International We Bare Bears Won
2017 17th Kidscreen Awards Best Animated Series We Bare Bears Won
Best Writing We Bare Bears Won
24th International Trickfilm Festival Stuttgart Best International Animation Series For Kids We Bare Bears Won [19]
Kids' Choice Awards Mexico Favorite Cartoon We Bare Bears Nominated [20]
2018 Annie Awards Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children "Episode: Panda's Art" Won
Prix Jeunesse International Festival and Competition Best Fictional Show for 11-to-15 year olds We Bare Bears Nominated [21]
70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Short-format Animated Program "Hurricane Hal" Nominated

In other media

Penguin Random House announced in 2014 that it would publish books based on various programs for Cartoon Network, including We Bare Bears. The books were produced out of the company's Cartoon Network Books imprint, a division of the Penguin Young Readers Group, and is based on a partnership with the network that started in 2013.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "CartoonNetworkPR on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Annecy: Daniel Chong on Cartoon Network's Big New Play, 'We Bare Bears' (EXCLUSIVE)".
  3. 1 2 "Cartoon Network Unveils Upfront Slate For 2014–15". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ Chong, Daniel. The Three Bare Bears (Online comic). Blogger. Archived from the original on June 4, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ "We Bare Bears - Interview with Daniel Chong, the Show Creator". YouTube. Cartoon Network Australia. November 9, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  6. ↑ "KLIK! Festival: Animated Shorts 5". EYE Film Institute Netherlands. 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014 – via archive.today (subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries).
  7. ↑ "KLIK! Festival: Animated Shorts for Kids (9–12)". EYE Film Institute Netherlands. 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014 – via archive.today (subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries).
  8. ↑ Cartoon Network Canada (July 27, 2015). "Don't miss the NEW series, WE BARE BEARS, premiering tonight at 7PM et/pt!". Facebook.
  9. ↑ White, Grant (August 4, 2015). "UK Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Cartoonito Announce September Highlights". Toonzone.
  10. ↑ "Cartoon Network UK September 2015 Highlights". RegularCapital.com. Turner Broadcasting System Europe (Press Release). Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  11. ↑ Turner Broadcasting System. "Cartoon Network Highlights November 2015". US Campaign Archive. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Catch the premiere of 'We Bare Bears' on November 16, only on Cartoon Network". Click the City. October 27, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  13. ↑ Bhatnagar, Richa (November 23, 2015). "Cartoon Network Launches We Bare Bears in India". Cinespeaks. Mumbai. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  14. ↑ "We Bare Bears DVD news: Box Art for Volume 1: Viral Video". TVShowsOnDVD.com. July 28, 2016. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  15. ↑ "We Bare Bears: Season 1". Madman Entertainment. June 9, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  16. ↑ "KLIK! Festival: Cartoon Network: Next Generation". EYE Film Institute Netherlands. November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014 – via archive.today (subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries).
  17. ↑ "We Bare Bears wint 'Young Amsterdam Audience Award 2014'" [We Bare Bears wins 'Young Amsterdam Audience Award 2014']. TV-Visie (in Dutch). Exsite. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  18. ↑ Ng, Yi Shu. "'We Bare Bears' is a kids' show tackling modern millennial anxieties". Mashable. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  19. ↑ "We Bare Bears Wins Best International Animation Series For Kids At 24th International Trickfilm Festival Stuttgart - RegularCapital". May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  20. ↑ "We Bare Bears Nomination Finalist Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Mexico 2017 - RegularCapital". August 6, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Finalists". prixjeunesse.de. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  22. ↑ Cartoon Network Partners with Penguin Young Readers Group on New Book Imprint. Children's Book Council. September 22, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
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