Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation
Encyclopedia
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation is a 1986 children's animated film produced by LBS Communications, Inc.
and Canadian animation studio Nelvana
. The third animated feature from Nelvana, it was directed by Dale Schott, written by Peter Sauder
and produced by Nelvana's three founders (Michael Hirsh
, Patrick Loubert
and Clive A. Smith
). It starred the voices of Alyson Court
, Cree Summer
, Maxine Miller
and Hadley Kay
.
In the second film based on the Care Bears
franchise, a character called The Great Wishing Star (voiced by Chris Wiggins
) tells the origins of the Care Bears, and the story of their first Caring Mission. True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse lead the other Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, as they come to the aid of Christy, a young camper who is tempted by an evil shape-shifting figure named Dark Heart. The film marked the first appearance of the Care Bear Cubs, who also had their own line of toys.
A New Generation was made over a seven-month period at Nelvana's Toronto facilities, with additional work handled by Taiwan's Wang Film Productions
, and involved several crew members who had worked on the original Care Bears Movie
. Patricia Cullen served as composer, and Los Angeles musicians Dean
and Carol Parks
worked on the film's six songs. The Samuel Goldwyn Company
, a U.S. independent distributor, was originally set to release this follow-up; demands from the film's producers caused the company to give up. To the chagrin of Goldwyn's founder, the worldwide rights were then acquired by Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures
.
Upon its release in March 1986, A New Generation gained mostly negative critical attention; some of its key elements received comparisons to the German legend Faust
and J. M. Barrie
's Peter Pan
. The film grossed only US$8.5 million in North America, about a third of what the previous instalment earned, and over US$12 million worldwide. It was released on video in August 1986, and on DVD in April 2003. This was the last animated feature for Columbia until Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
in 2001. A third film starring the title characters, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland
, was released in 1987.
threatens them — one of the many forms of Dark Heart, an evil spirit. They escape by following a rainbow up to the sky, while the boat transforms into the Cloud Clipper. There, the Great Wishing Star gives the group their "tummy symbols", pictures that indicate each creature's role or speciality. Noble Heart Horse and True Heart Bear, as the characters are named, become founders of the Kingdom of Caring, a land which comprises Care-a-Lot and the Forest of Feelings.
For the Bears' first Caring Mission, True Heart and stowaway Swift Heart Rabbit (one of the Cousins) travel to Earth and visit a summer camp
. There, they meet three of its participants: a girl named Christy, and her friends Dawn and John. A boastful boy nicknamed the "Camp Champ" always defeats them in competitions, and assigns them to trash duty. Christy is unsatisfied at this; she and her friends run away, only to get lost in the woods. True Heart soon finds Dawn and John, and brings them to the Kingdom of Caring. After they arrive, the children hear a bell toll from the Caring Meter, which tells the Bears how much caring is taking place on Earth. Noble Heart and True Heart tell them to babysit the Cubs, before they leave to search for Dark Heart and Christy.
Meanwhile, in the woods, Christy meets Dark Heart (as a human boy) for the first time, and asks him to make her the new Camp Champ. He grants her that wish, telling her she must pay him back with one favor, and heads away while she rejoins her friends. Aware of Dark Heart's potential, Noble Heart and True Heart move the Bear Cubs to Care-a-Lot, and the Cousin Cubs to the Forest of Feelings. Both sets quickly grow up to become the Care Bear Family.
Later, while the Bears prepare a party for the Kingdom's founders, Dark Heart enters Care-a-Lot in disguise so that he can capture the whole Family. A cluster of Star Buddies, assistants to the Bears and Great Wishing Star, drives him off; he then morphs into a raging red cloud. The Bears shoot light at him from their bellies, forming their "Care Bear Stare"; the Cousins also help by using their Call. Afterward, Noble Heart and True Heart decide to search for him, and leave the Bears to handle missions by themselves.
During their patrol, Wish Bear spots Christy stranded in a canoe within a lake; the other Bears and Cousins set out to rescue her. Dark Heart fires lightning bolts before the team, and captures many of them with his magic bag— the favor he wanted Christy to do all along. The few Family members at hand determine that she has teamed up with him. This prompts Tenderheart Bear to hold a conference at the Hall of Hearts; Friend Bear, Secret Bear and Christy's friends later join them.
Dark Heart's influence causes the other children to wreck the camp that night. The Bears and Cousins search for the Family members, before Dark Heart imprisons them — first in cages, then inside big rubies
hanging from a chandelier. Meanwhile, Dawn and John tell Christy of their conviction to rescue the Family from the villain. Feeling guilty, she finally pays him back by admitting what she has done.Despite this, her bargain with Dark Heart is over.
Noble Heart, True Heart, Dawn and John enter Dark Heart's lair amid his impending deed; Christy asks him to free the others. While Noble Heart and True Heart enact their Stare, lightning from his cloud strikes Christy. With little energy left in her, she crashes down the chandelier with a marble. The Family members, finally free from the rubies, help Noble Heart and True Heart out.
At the sight of a dead Christy, Dark Heart becomes remorseful for his actions. He asks the Care Bears to bring her back to life, but is disappointed that their kindness is not even enough. So he, the Family, Dawn and John chant "We care!" enough times to bring her back to life. Soon after, the group quickly leaves the cave as it transforms into an outhouse.
Dark Heart becomes a real boy, and everyone is overjoyed. After a swim in the lake, the campers say goodbye to the Bears and Cousins; the former Dark Heart promises to be a better person at camp. The film ends with a message from its narrator, the Great Wishing Star, and flashbacks
of the Care Bear Family's childhood.
. Early in their tenure, the characters appeared as toys from the Kenner
company, and also in greeting cards by Elena Kucharik
. They starred in two syndicated television specials from a Canadian animation studio, Atkinson Film-Arts
of Ottawa: The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings
(1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine
(1984). After the specials, Toronto's Nelvana
studio produced the first Care Bears Movie
in less than eight months. It was distributed in the United States by The Samuel Goldwyn Company
, an independent outfit, and grossed US$22.9 million at the North American box-office, the largest amount for a non-Disney
animated film at the time. This success guaranteed production of a second film, which was in consideration by May 1985. As with the original, production took place at Nelvana's facilities and Taiwan's Wang Film Productions
; the Canadian studio also hired South Korean personnel to handle inking and painting. This time, over one hundred Nelvana animators worked on the film over a seven-month period that lasted until February 1986; the company itself received credit for the story development. American Greetings and Kenner commissioned Nelvana to make the sequel on contract; television syndicator LBS Communications
, a co-financier of the first one, became the producer and presenter.
Care Bears Movie II was Nelvana's third animated feature film, after 1983's Rock & Rule
and The Care Bears Movie. It marked the directorial debut of Dale Schott, a Nelvana staff member who served as assistant director on the first Care Bears Movie, as well as the Nelvana/Lucasfilm
TV series Ewoks
. Several other crewmembers from the first film returned to the fold; Nelvana's founders (Michael Hirsh
, Patrick Loubert
and Clive A. Smith
) served as producers, while Peter Sauder
wrote the screenplay and Charles Bonifacio
handled animation duties. Jack Chojnacki
, the co-president of American Greetings' licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland, served once again as an executive producer. A roster of Toronto voice actors—among them Cree Summer, Sunny Besen Thrasher, Dan Hennessey and Hadley Kay—appeared in this follow-up. Mickey Rooney
and Georgia Engel, who appeared in the first film, did not return.
At one point, The Samuel Goldwyn Company was about to release A New Generation, but lost the distribution rights after turning down demands from the producers. Eventually, Nelvana went into negotiations with the Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures
, which acquired worldwide theatrical rights in early 1986. This led founder Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.
to remark: "The fact that Columbia is distributing the Care Bears sequel is typical of the greed of the big studios. Someone else has to go in and prove something works, then a studio will charge in." By contrast, Goldwyn acquired the rights to the original film after major U.S. studios passed on it; they did not see the financial potential in a movie aimed strictly for children.
myth in which not only does Faust (or Faustina (Christy), here) manage to weasel out of the pact with the Devil, but succeeds in regenerating him, as well." Elliot Krieger of Rhode Island's Providence Journal also took note of such a theme, headlining his review "Faust goes to summer camp". In regards to continuity issues, a reviewer in The Scarecrow Movie Guide observed a "montage showing the Care Bears and their Cousins growing up together from infancy to full Care Bear maturation—nullifying everything that happened in the first movie". Mike McLane of Florida's Gainesville Sun gave a few suggestions of the storyline's possible religious subtext. He compared the Great Wishing Star to God, the Bears' "beautiful cloud kingdom" of Care-a-Lot to Heaven, and Dark Heart to Satan; he also hinted that the Bears protected humankind like angels did.
Charles Solomon pointed out that the film's climax, in which the Bears help revive Christy, "borrows...flagrantly from Peter Pan
". The Scarecrow contributor took note of this aspect, writing, "There's an excruciating scene where the Care Bears turn to the audience and plead for help in the form of excessive and focused caring." In his critique, Hal Lipper called it the "Tinker Bell Principle", whereupon the audience must come together to save a dying character. In Vincent Canby's opinion, the Great Wishing Star "looks like Tinker Bell if she were a star-shaped beanbag".
format by Kid Stuff Records
. Los Angeles musicians Dean
and Carol Parks
were credited as producers, writers and performers of the film's six songs, which were included on the album. Stephen Bishop
, performer of the Oscar-nominated
"It Might Be You
" from Tootsie
, and Debbie Allen
from the TV series Fame
, were on hand as vocalists. John Braden arranged and edited the album.
The Parks recorded their contributions to the project at their home. At the time of production, they shared their experiences of working on the soundtrack:
Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post
gave a mixed response to the film's music. "The songs are dopey," he said, "but the score [...], which is mostly seven kinds of sprightly, has its occasional moments." Vincent Canby wrote in his review, "[There are] unseen loudspeakers [that] pour out a nonstop Hit Parade of songs to be interred by, including 'I Care for You,' 'Our Beginning' and 'Forever Young.'" But Joe Fox of The Windsor Star recommended it, adding, "[W]henever things start to drag a snappy tune comes along to get everyone interested."
, which also premiered that same weekend. However, when the final weekend box office results were announced Sleeping Beauty outgrossed Care Bears II by $56,000. Its wide-release opening on March 21 brought in $2.5 million from 1,446 theatres, placing seventh on the box office chart. Over the next two weekends it earned little more than $1 million in 12th place. During release, it faced competition from another toy-based film, Atlantic Releasing's GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
. At the time A New Generation opened, Richard Martin of the Ottawa Citizen
commented: "... The first Care Bears movie has become the most successful non-Disney animated feature ever. This second movie from Nelvana could very well surpass that record, since it held the attention of all but the youngest members of the first-night audience and even has something to offer adults." Ultimately, this instalment earned US$8,540,346 in North America—about a third of what the previous one earned; over US$1 million of this total came from Canada. By 1988, it made over US$12 million worldwide.
. It was released in the Netherlands on April 9, 1987, as De Troetelbeertjes Deel 2: Nieuwe Avonturen Van De Troetelbeertjes. The film is also known as Gli orsetti del cuore II in Italy, and Krambjörnarna: på nya äventyr in Sweden.
Germany's Warner-Columbia branch released it under the title Glücks-Bärchis, Teil 2—Jetzt im Abenteuerland on December 11, 1986. It sold 174,550 tickets and ranked 84th place among the year's releases in that market (excluding re-issues), grossing approximately (the equivalent of DM1,300,000, or US$824,000). By comparison, Filmwelt's release of the first film that same year placed 47th with 538,487 tickets. On October 13, 1987, RCA/Columbia Pictures released the local version of Care Bears Movie II on video.
The film was released in Mexico on December 25, 1986 as Los Ositos Cariñositos II, and in April 1987 in the Philippines. By the early 1990s, it was marketed as Ursinhos Carinhosos II in Brazil. In China, it is known under the title of Baby Love Bears .
' Vincent Canby
to begin his review by proclaiming, "Product merchandising marches on." Another reviewer claimed to have seen almost every collectible within the film's first twenty minutes. The film was produced to serve as the franchise introduction of the Care Bear Cubs and the Care Bear Cousin Cubs, who also had their own line of toys from Kenner. The plushes, measuring 11" in height, consisted of Bedtime Cub, Cheer Cub, Funshine Cub and Share Cub; the line of Care Bear Cousin Cubs included Li'l Bright Heart Raccoon, Li'l Proud Heart Cat and Li'l Swift Heart Rabbit. Kenner announced the introduction of the Cubs in 1985, shortly before the film opened, and showcased them at the American International Toy Fair
in February 1986.
In The Motion Picture Guide 1987 Annual, Jay Robert Nash wrote that its title "refers to the new featured characters who, more than coincidentally, have ended up on the toy shelves of stores everywhere." A critic from the Omaha World-Herald
, however, found it misleading and complained that the Cubs "are not 'a new generation' at all". Several critics considered the film a prequel
to the original: the Omaha World Herald reviewer; Edward Jones of Virginia's The Free Lance-Star; Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times
; and Bill Cosford of The Miami Herald
. According to Michael H. Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
, "Care Bears Movie II is what the film industry calls a 'requel,' tracing the origin of the Care Bear family and relatives of other species."
In his Animated Movie Guide, animation expert Jerry Beck
gave Care Bears Movie II a half-star (½) out of four, and offered this consensus:
John Stanley expressed his views likewise in his 1988 film guide, Revenge of the Creature Features:
"Care Bears Movie II is a sort of pre-sequel that, I suspect, requires its audiences to have some prior knowledge of Care Bears," Vincent Canby said in his New York Times review. "Very young kids may love this, but anybody over the age of 4 might find it too spooky." Hal Lipper of the St. Petersburg Times
remarked that it "is an enormously engaging cartoon—quite a feat when you consider the saccharine psychobabble passing for dialogue". The Miami Herald' s Bill Cosford gave it two and a half stars out of four, the same rating he had applied to its predecessor. Edward Jones commented that "The animation can't compare with the best of Disney. Take a look at Sleeping Beauty [...] and you'll see the difference." Likewise, Italian critic Paolo Mereghetti complained, "[This is an] ugly sequel with awkward animation, and not even the small fry will find it fun."
Charles Solomon said, "The new Care Bears film...is even more sloppily made and hawks its goods even more shamelessly. [...] The film makers seem more concerned with showcasing the toys than providing entertainment; shared profits obviously count for more than shared feelings. If someone started selling 'Hate Bears,' there undoubtedly would be a film about them." Gene Siskel
awarded the film zero stars out of four, while Leonard Maltin
gave it a "BOMB" rating in his Movie Guide, and added: "Your kids deserve better entertainment than this treacly stuff about the Kingdom of Caring. Prefab animation from the era of toy merchandising tie-ins." The Gale Group
publication, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever, gave it one bone out of four in its 1992 edition, but revised it to two later on. In 2001, the Los Angeles-based Hastings Bad Cinema Society picked A New Generation as one of The 100 Worst Movies of the 20th Century. "Even suffering through a Barney video would be preferable to sitting through this," said compiler Michael Lancaster.
The film received some positive reviews, however. Writing for The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, Norma Dyess Michaud deemed it "a must-see for preschoolers, especially those who are in the throes of the current Care Bear mania". Richard Martin praised the script and climax, along with the performances of the orphan Cubs. "Their pastel, birthday-cake-and-whipped-cream world has never looked sweeter," he stated. The Philadelphia Daily News
commented that it was "even better than the first one, which was good".
by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video on August 21, 1986, and debuted in 12th place on Billboard
's Top Kid Video Sales chart on September 27 that same year. The film aired during 1987 on the Disney Channel
, a premium television station, and was broadcast in later years on CBS
, HBO, Showtime and The Movie Channel
. It returned on VHS as part of the Columbia TriStar Family Collection on August 13, 1996. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
premiered it on DVD on April 8, 2003; the only special features in this edition were trailers for several of the company's family-oriented titles. This was the last animated feature to be released by Columbia Pictures until Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
in 2001. The film won the 1987 WorldFest-Houston Gold Award for Best Animated Feature.
. In this third film, the Bears and Cousins travel to Wonderland and save its Princess from a wizard; Alice, a girl from the real world, takes her place. Self-financed by Nelvana and released by Cineplex Odeon Films
, it was the last Care Bears movie of the 1980s to go into theatres. It grossed US$2.6 million in the North American market, and US$6 million worldwide by February 1988. The Bears would not appear in another feature production until 2004's direct-to-video effort, Journey to Joke-a-lot
.
Lexington Broadcast Services Company
Lexington Broadcast Services Company was a television production and syndication company founded in 1976 by advertising pioneer Henry Siegel...
and Canadian animation studio Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
. The third animated feature from Nelvana, it was directed by Dale Schott, written by Peter Sauder
Peter Sauder
Peter Sauder is a Canadian film and TV writer, television producer and animator best known for his contributions to Nelvana franchises such as Care Bears , Babar, Strawberry Shortcake and Droids. Peter also wrote the first ever story for another hit Nelvana series, Franklin...
and produced by Nelvana's three founders (Michael Hirsh
Michael Hirsh (producer)
Michael Hirsh is a Belgian-born Canadian citizen. He has been a significant figure in the Canadian television industry, or more specifically children's programming, since the 1980s.-Personal life:...
, Patrick Loubert
Patrick Loubert
Patrick Loubert was one of the founders of the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited, along with Clive A. Smith and Michael Hirsh. He has produced, and executive-produced, much of the company's most memorable fare....
and Clive A. Smith
Clive A. Smith
Clive A. Smith is a British expatriate director and animator who, with Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, founded Canadian animation studio Nelvana in 1971...
). It starred the voices of Alyson Court
Alyson Court
Alyson Stephanie Court is a Canadian actress who first appeared in the 1985 children's film Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, and played summer camper Dawn in the animated film Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation the following year...
, Cree Summer
Cree Summer
Cree Summer Francks , best known as Cree Summer, is a Canadian actress, musician and voice actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as college student Winifred "Freddie" Brooks on the NBC sitcom A Different World...
, Maxine Miller
Maxine Miller
Maxine Miller is a Canadian actress who first appeared in the first three seasons of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. In the 1980s, she voiced True Heart Bear in The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation and appeared on the animated series My Pet Monster.More recently, she guest starred in Showtime's...
and Hadley Kay
Hadley Kay
Hadley Kay is a Canadian-born voice actor who appeared in the first two Care Bears movies: as the voice of magician Nicholas in The Care Bears Movie and as the villain Dark Heart in Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. He also voiced P.C...
.
In the second film based on the Care Bears
Care Bears
The Care Bears are characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears...
franchise, a character called The Great Wishing Star (voiced by Chris Wiggins
Chris Wiggins
Chris Wiggins is an English actor.He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952....
) tells the origins of the Care Bears, and the story of their first Caring Mission. True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse lead the other Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, as they come to the aid of Christy, a young camper who is tempted by an evil shape-shifting figure named Dark Heart. The film marked the first appearance of the Care Bear Cubs, who also had their own line of toys.
A New Generation was made over a seven-month period at Nelvana's Toronto facilities, with additional work handled by Taiwan's Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese animation studios...
, and involved several crew members who had worked on the original Care Bears Movie
The Care Bears Movie
The Care Bears Movie is a 1985 Canadian animated film, the second feature production from the Toronto animation studio Nelvana. One of the first films based directly on a toy line, it introduced the Care Bears characters and their companions, the Care Bear Cousins. In the film, orphanage owners...
. Patricia Cullen served as composer, and Los Angeles musicians Dean
Dean Parks
Dean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
and Carol Parks
Carol Parks
Carol Celeste Parks was an American singer and composer. She was the former wife of musician Dean Parks.-Early life:...
worked on the film's six songs. The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1979.-Background:...
, a U.S. independent distributor, was originally set to release this follow-up; demands from the film's producers caused the company to give up. To the chagrin of Goldwyn's founder, the worldwide rights were then acquired by Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
Upon its release in March 1986, A New Generation gained mostly negative critical attention; some of its key elements received comparisons to the German legend Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
and J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
's Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. The film grossed only US$8.5 million in North America, about a third of what the previous instalment earned, and over US$12 million worldwide. It was released on video in August 1986, and on DVD in April 2003. This was the last animated feature for Columbia until Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a 2001 Japanese-American computer animated science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series of role-playing video games. It was the first photorealistic computer animated feature film and also holds the record for the most...
in 2001. A third film starring the title characters, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland
The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland
The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland is the third theatrically released film in the Care Bears animated franchise. It was released in the United States and Canada on August 7, 1987 by Cineplex Odeon Films, and is based on Lewis Carroll's Alice stories...
, was released in 1987.
Plot
Aboard their boat, a yellow bear and a purple horse look after orphaned baby animals known as the Care Bear Cubs and Care Bear Cousin Cubs. On the way, a red sea serpentSea serpent
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.Sightings of sea serpents have been reported for hundreds of years, and continue to be claimed today. Cryptozoologist Bruce Champagne identified more than 1,200 purported sea serpent sightings...
threatens them — one of the many forms of Dark Heart, an evil spirit. They escape by following a rainbow up to the sky, while the boat transforms into the Cloud Clipper. There, the Great Wishing Star gives the group their "tummy symbols", pictures that indicate each creature's role or speciality. Noble Heart Horse and True Heart Bear, as the characters are named, become founders of the Kingdom of Caring, a land which comprises Care-a-Lot and the Forest of Feelings.
For the Bears' first Caring Mission, True Heart and stowaway Swift Heart Rabbit (one of the Cousins) travel to Earth and visit a summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
. There, they meet three of its participants: a girl named Christy, and her friends Dawn and John. A boastful boy nicknamed the "Camp Champ" always defeats them in competitions, and assigns them to trash duty. Christy is unsatisfied at this; she and her friends run away, only to get lost in the woods. True Heart soon finds Dawn and John, and brings them to the Kingdom of Caring. After they arrive, the children hear a bell toll from the Caring Meter, which tells the Bears how much caring is taking place on Earth. Noble Heart and True Heart tell them to babysit the Cubs, before they leave to search for Dark Heart and Christy.
Meanwhile, in the woods, Christy meets Dark Heart (as a human boy) for the first time, and asks him to make her the new Camp Champ. He grants her that wish, telling her she must pay him back with one favor, and heads away while she rejoins her friends. Aware of Dark Heart's potential, Noble Heart and True Heart move the Bear Cubs to Care-a-Lot, and the Cousin Cubs to the Forest of Feelings. Both sets quickly grow up to become the Care Bear Family.
Later, while the Bears prepare a party for the Kingdom's founders, Dark Heart enters Care-a-Lot in disguise so that he can capture the whole Family. A cluster of Star Buddies, assistants to the Bears and Great Wishing Star, drives him off; he then morphs into a raging red cloud. The Bears shoot light at him from their bellies, forming their "Care Bear Stare"; the Cousins also help by using their Call. Afterward, Noble Heart and True Heart decide to search for him, and leave the Bears to handle missions by themselves.
During their patrol, Wish Bear spots Christy stranded in a canoe within a lake; the other Bears and Cousins set out to rescue her. Dark Heart fires lightning bolts before the team, and captures many of them with his magic bag— the favor he wanted Christy to do all along. The few Family members at hand determine that she has teamed up with him. This prompts Tenderheart Bear to hold a conference at the Hall of Hearts; Friend Bear, Secret Bear and Christy's friends later join them.
Dark Heart's influence causes the other children to wreck the camp that night. The Bears and Cousins search for the Family members, before Dark Heart imprisons them — first in cages, then inside big rubies
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
hanging from a chandelier. Meanwhile, Dawn and John tell Christy of their conviction to rescue the Family from the villain. Feeling guilty, she finally pays him back by admitting what she has done.Despite this, her bargain with Dark Heart is over.
Noble Heart, True Heart, Dawn and John enter Dark Heart's lair amid his impending deed; Christy asks him to free the others. While Noble Heart and True Heart enact their Stare, lightning from his cloud strikes Christy. With little energy left in her, she crashes down the chandelier with a marble. The Family members, finally free from the rubies, help Noble Heart and True Heart out.
At the sight of a dead Christy, Dark Heart becomes remorseful for his actions. He asks the Care Bears to bring her back to life, but is disappointed that their kindness is not even enough. So he, the Family, Dawn and John chant "We care!" enough times to bring her back to life. Soon after, the group quickly leaves the cave as it transforms into an outhouse.
Dark Heart becomes a real boy, and everyone is overjoyed. After a swim in the lake, the campers say goodbye to the Bears and Cousins; the former Dark Heart promises to be a better person at camp. The film ends with a message from its narrator, the Great Wishing Star, and flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
of the Care Bear Family's childhood.
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Hadley Kay Hadley Kay Hadley Kay is a Canadian-born voice actor who appeared in the first two Care Bears movies: as the voice of magician Nicholas in The Care Bears Movie and as the villain Dark Heart in Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. He also voiced P.C... |
Dark Heart / "The Boy" |
| Chris Wiggins Chris Wiggins Chris Wiggins is an English actor.He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952.... |
Great Wishing Star |
| Cree Summer Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks , best known as Cree Summer, is a Canadian actress, musician and voice actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as college student Winifred "Freddie" Brooks on the NBC sitcom A Different World... |
Christy |
| Alyson Court Alyson Court Alyson Stephanie Court is a Canadian actress who first appeared in the 1985 children's film Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, and played summer camper Dawn in the animated film Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation the following year... |
Dawn |
| Michael Fantini | John |
| Sunny Besen Thrasher Sunny Besen Thrasher Sunny Besen Thrasher was a Canadian child actor who starred as Paul Edison in Nelvana's live-action series, The Edison Twins, and supplied voices in the first two Care Bears movies.... |
Camp Champ |
| Maxine Miller Maxine Miller Maxine Miller is a Canadian actress who first appeared in the first three seasons of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. In the 1980s, she voiced True Heart Bear in The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation and appeared on the animated series My Pet Monster.More recently, she guest starred in Showtime's... |
True Heart Bear |
| Pam Hyatt Pam Hyatt Pam Hyatt is a voice actress who played Noble Heart Horse in 1986's The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. More recently, she has starred in the English version of InuYasha as Kaede, guest-starred in USA Network's The Dead Zone and voices Campe and Atropos in Class of the Titans.Hyatt is the... |
Noble Heart Horse |
| Dan Hennessey Dan Hennessey Dan Hennessey is a Canadian voice actor who, early on in his career, performed with a children's comedy troupe,... |
Brave Heart Lion |
| Billie Mae Richards Billie Mae Richards Billie Mae Richards was a Canadian voice actress, who also appeared onstage and on television.-Career:... |
Tenderheart Bear |
| Eva Almos | Friend Bear |
| Bob Dermer Bob Dermer Bob Dermer is a children's entertainment actor who first made his contributions to Canadian television starting with the 1976 series Readalong.... |
Grumpy Bear |
| Patrice Black | Share Bear/Funshine Bear |
| Nonnie Griffin Nonnie Griffin Nonnie Griffin was born in 1933 in Canada. She studied at the Toronto Conservatory in her native land, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and even with famed mime artist Marcel Marceau.... |
Harmony Bear |
| Jim Henshaw Jim Henshaw Jim Henshaw is a professional actor, screenwriter and film and television producer.The first Actor graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, he began his professional career in 1971... |
Bright Heart Raccoon |
| Melleny Brown Melleny Brown Born in Toronto, Canada, Melleny Brown is a singer, songwriter, artist, music producer, video producer and voice actress.... |
Cheer Bear |
| Janet-Laine Green Janet-Laine Green Janet-Laine Green) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and teacher, active for over 25 years. Best known for her roles in She's the Mayor, Seeing Things and This is Wonderland, this Toronto-based film and television personality has also been a voice actor for animated series such as Jacob... |
Wish Bear |
| Marla Lukofsky Marla Lukofsky Marla Lukofsky is a Canadian veteran stand-up comedian. She was one of Canada's stand-up pioneers in the 1970s, the same decade she discovered her talent and was a member of the Yuk Yuk Club.... |
Playful Heart Monkey |
| Gloria Figura | Bedtime Bear |
Development
The Care Bears franchise was created in 1981 by Those Characters from Cleveland, a division of the greeting card company American GreetingsAmerican Greetings
American Greetings Corporation, Inc. is the world's largest publicly-traded greeting card company. It is based in Brooklyn, Ohio and sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, party products , and electronic expressive content...
. Early in their tenure, the characters appeared as toys from the Kenner
Kenner
Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...
company, and also in greeting cards by Elena Kucharik
Elena Kucharik
Elena Kucharik is a children's illustrator from the U.S., known for her artwork across the entire line of Care Bears items from the 1980s. She was co-creator of that franchise along with Linda Denham...
. They starred in two syndicated television specials from a Canadian animation studio, Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, The company is best known for the first two Care Bears television specials, The Land Without Feelings and The Freeze Machine, and the four syndicated specials that inspired The Raccoons...
of Ottawa: The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings
The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings
The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings is the first television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Atkinson Film-Arts of Canada, it was premiered on syndication in April 1983...
(1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine
The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine
The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine is the second television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Atkinson Film-Arts of Canada, it premiered in syndication in April 1984.-Overview:...
(1984). After the specials, Toronto's Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
studio produced the first Care Bears Movie
The Care Bears Movie
The Care Bears Movie is a 1985 Canadian animated film, the second feature production from the Toronto animation studio Nelvana. One of the first films based directly on a toy line, it introduced the Care Bears characters and their companions, the Care Bear Cousins. In the film, orphanage owners...
in less than eight months. It was distributed in the United States by The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1979.-Background:...
, an independent outfit, and grossed US$22.9 million at the North American box-office, the largest amount for a non-Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
animated film at the time. This success guaranteed production of a second film, which was in consideration by May 1985. As with the original, production took place at Nelvana's facilities and Taiwan's Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese animation studios...
; the Canadian studio also hired South Korean personnel to handle inking and painting. This time, over one hundred Nelvana animators worked on the film over a seven-month period that lasted until February 1986; the company itself received credit for the story development. American Greetings and Kenner commissioned Nelvana to make the sequel on contract; television syndicator LBS Communications
Lexington Broadcast Services Company
Lexington Broadcast Services Company was a television production and syndication company founded in 1976 by advertising pioneer Henry Siegel...
, a co-financier of the first one, became the producer and presenter.
Care Bears Movie II was Nelvana's third animated feature film, after 1983's Rock & Rule
Rock & Rule
Rock & Rule is a 1983 Canadian animated film from the animation studio Nelvana. It was produced and directed by the company's founders, Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith. The film features the voices of Greg Salata, Susan Roman, and Don Francks, with Catherine O'Hara, Chris...
and The Care Bears Movie. It marked the directorial debut of Dale Schott, a Nelvana staff member who served as assistant director on the first Care Bears Movie, as well as the Nelvana/Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
TV series Ewoks
Star Wars: Ewoks
Star Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
. Several other crewmembers from the first film returned to the fold; Nelvana's founders (Michael Hirsh
Michael Hirsh (producer)
Michael Hirsh is a Belgian-born Canadian citizen. He has been a significant figure in the Canadian television industry, or more specifically children's programming, since the 1980s.-Personal life:...
, Patrick Loubert
Patrick Loubert
Patrick Loubert was one of the founders of the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited, along with Clive A. Smith and Michael Hirsh. He has produced, and executive-produced, much of the company's most memorable fare....
and Clive A. Smith
Clive A. Smith
Clive A. Smith is a British expatriate director and animator who, with Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, founded Canadian animation studio Nelvana in 1971...
) served as producers, while Peter Sauder
Peter Sauder
Peter Sauder is a Canadian film and TV writer, television producer and animator best known for his contributions to Nelvana franchises such as Care Bears , Babar, Strawberry Shortcake and Droids. Peter also wrote the first ever story for another hit Nelvana series, Franklin...
wrote the screenplay and Charles Bonifacio
Charles Bonifacio
Charles Bonifacio is a Canadian animator who worked on Nelvana productions such as Rock and Rule, Inspector Gadget, Star Wars: Ewoks and the first two Care Bears movies of the 1980s. He was director of animation on The Care Bears Movie and on Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation...
handled animation duties. Jack Chojnacki
Jack Chojnacki
Jack Chojnacki served as the co-president of Those Characters from Cleveland Inc., a division of U.S. greeting card company American Greetings , in the 1980s...
, the co-president of American Greetings' licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland, served once again as an executive producer. A roster of Toronto voice actors—among them Cree Summer, Sunny Besen Thrasher, Dan Hennessey and Hadley Kay—appeared in this follow-up. Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
and Georgia Engel, who appeared in the first film, did not return.
At one point, The Samuel Goldwyn Company was about to release A New Generation, but lost the distribution rights after turning down demands from the producers. Eventually, Nelvana went into negotiations with the Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, which acquired worldwide theatrical rights in early 1986. This led founder Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.
Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.
Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. is an American film producer.Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of actress Frances Howard and the pioneer motion picture mogul Samuel Goldwyn...
to remark: "The fact that Columbia is distributing the Care Bears sequel is typical of the greed of the big studios. Someone else has to go in and prove something works, then a studio will charge in." By contrast, Goldwyn acquired the rights to the original film after major U.S. studios passed on it; they did not see the financial potential in a movie aimed strictly for children.
Allusions
According to Richard Freedman of the Newhouse News Service, "This must be the first version of the FaustFaust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
myth in which not only does Faust (or Faustina (Christy), here) manage to weasel out of the pact with the Devil, but succeeds in regenerating him, as well." Elliot Krieger of Rhode Island's Providence Journal also took note of such a theme, headlining his review "Faust goes to summer camp". In regards to continuity issues, a reviewer in The Scarecrow Movie Guide observed a "montage showing the Care Bears and their Cousins growing up together from infancy to full Care Bear maturation—nullifying everything that happened in the first movie". Mike McLane of Florida's Gainesville Sun gave a few suggestions of the storyline's possible religious subtext. He compared the Great Wishing Star to God, the Bears' "beautiful cloud kingdom" of Care-a-Lot to Heaven, and Dark Heart to Satan; he also hinted that the Bears protected humankind like angels did.
Charles Solomon pointed out that the film's climax, in which the Bears help revive Christy, "borrows...flagrantly from Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
". The Scarecrow contributor took note of this aspect, writing, "There's an excruciating scene where the Care Bears turn to the audience and plead for help in the form of excessive and focused caring." In his critique, Hal Lipper called it the "Tinker Bell Principle", whereupon the audience must come together to save a dying character. In Vincent Canby's opinion, the Great Wishing Star "looks like Tinker Bell if she were a star-shaped beanbag".
Music
As with the original film, Patricia Cullen composed the score for Care Bears Movie II. The soundtrack album was released in LPGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
format by Kid Stuff Records
Kid Stuff Records
Kid Stuff Records was a record label of the 1980s devoted to children's music. The label's albums were mostly tie-ins for franchises such as Care Bears, The Pink Panther Show, Strawberry Shortcake, Fat Albert, Garfield, E.T...
. Los Angeles musicians Dean
Dean Parks
Dean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
and Carol Parks
Carol Parks
Carol Celeste Parks was an American singer and composer. She was the former wife of musician Dean Parks.-Early life:...
were credited as producers, writers and performers of the film's six songs, which were included on the album. Stephen Bishop
Stephen Bishop (musician)
Stephen Bishop is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and guitarist.-History:Bishop was born in San Diego, California, and attended Will C. Crawford High School...
, performer of the Oscar-nominated
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
"It Might Be You
It Might Be You
"It Might Be You" is a popular song with music written by Dave Grusin, and lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was performed by singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop in the 1982 film, Tootsie, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange....
" from Tootsie
Tootsie
Tootsie is a 1982 American comedy film that tells the story of a talented but volatile actor whose reputation for being difficult forces him to go to extreme lengths to land a job. The movie stars Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange, with a supporting cast that includes Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman,...
, and Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
from the TV series Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
, were on hand as vocalists. John Braden arranged and edited the album.
The Parks recorded their contributions to the project at their home. At the time of production, they shared their experiences of working on the soundtrack:
Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
gave a mixed response to the film's music. "The songs are dopey," he said, "but the score [...], which is mostly seven kinds of sprightly, has its occasional moments." Vincent Canby wrote in his review, "[There are] unseen loudspeakers [that] pour out a nonstop Hit Parade of songs to be interred by, including 'I Care for You,' 'Our Beginning' and 'Forever Young.'" But Joe Fox of The Windsor Star recommended it, adding, "[W]henever things start to drag a snappy tune comes along to get everyone interested."
| Song | Vocal(s) by | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Our Beginning" | Carol Parks | |
| "Flying My Colors" | Dean and Carol Parks | Additional lyrics: Alan O'Day Alan O'Day Alan O'Day is an American singer-songwriter, best known for writing and singing "Undercover Angel," a song which was number 1 in 1977. He also wrote songs for several other notable performers, such as 1974's Helen Reddy number 1 hit "Angie Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' number 3 hit "Rock And... Background vocals: Amanda and Acacia Parks |
| "I Care for You" | Stephen Bishop | Background vocal: Carol Parks |
| "Growing Up" | Stephen Bishop | Background vocal: Carol Parks |
| "The Fight Song" | Debbie Allen | Background vocals: Carol, Acacia and Amanda Parks |
| "Forever Young" | Carol Parks |
Release
North America
Initially intended for a mid-year release, Care Bears Movie II opened on March 7, 1986 in the U.S. and Canada, grossing US$243,161 from 55 theatres, and US$449,649 by its first few days. At this stage, it managed to rank above a reissue of Disney's 1959 production Sleeping BeautySleeping Beauty (1959 film)
Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault...
, which also premiered that same weekend. However, when the final weekend box office results were announced Sleeping Beauty outgrossed Care Bears II by $56,000. Its wide-release opening on March 21 brought in $2.5 million from 1,446 theatres, placing seventh on the box office chart. Over the next two weekends it earned little more than $1 million in 12th place. During release, it faced competition from another toy-based film, Atlantic Releasing's GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords is an animated movie based on the Gobots toy and TV franchise. This movie was produced by Hanna-Barbera and released to theaters in 1986 by Clubhouse Pictures...
. At the time A New Generation opened, Richard Martin of the Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
commented: "... The first Care Bears movie has become the most successful non-Disney animated feature ever. This second movie from Nelvana could very well surpass that record, since it held the attention of all but the youngest members of the first-night audience and even has something to offer adults." Ultimately, this instalment earned US$8,540,346 in North America—about a third of what the previous one earned; over US$1 million of this total came from Canada. By 1988, it made over US$12 million worldwide.
Overseas
Care Bears Movie II made its debut in the United Kingdom, via Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors, on July 25, 1986; it later appeared on home video in that country under the RCA/Columbia Pictures and Video Collection International labels. Warner-Columbia Film of France released it on April 8, 1987 as Les Bisounours II—Une nouvelle génération; publishing rights were held by Hachette LivreHachette Livre
-France:*Calmann-Lévy*Deux Coqs d'Or*Disney Hachette Edition*EDICEF*Editions 1*Editions du Chêne**E.P.A*Éditions Dunod*Editions Foucher*Editions Stock*Fayard**Editions Mille et Une Nuits**Editions Mazarine**Pauvert*Gautier-Languereau*Grasset...
. It was released in the Netherlands on April 9, 1987, as De Troetelbeertjes Deel 2: Nieuwe Avonturen Van De Troetelbeertjes. The film is also known as Gli orsetti del cuore II in Italy, and Krambjörnarna: på nya äventyr in Sweden.
Germany's Warner-Columbia branch released it under the title Glücks-Bärchis, Teil 2—Jetzt im Abenteuerland on December 11, 1986. It sold 174,550 tickets and ranked 84th place among the year's releases in that market (excluding re-issues), grossing approximately (the equivalent of DM1,300,000, or US$824,000). By comparison, Filmwelt's release of the first film that same year placed 47th with 538,487 tickets. On October 13, 1987, RCA/Columbia Pictures released the local version of Care Bears Movie II on video.
The film was released in Mexico on December 25, 1986 as Los Ositos Cariñositos II, and in April 1987 in the Philippines. By the early 1990s, it was marketed as Ursinhos Carinhosos II in Brazil. In China, it is known under the title of Baby Love Bears .
Critical response
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation was part of the franchise's marketing scheme at the time of release. This led The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
to begin his review by proclaiming, "Product merchandising marches on." Another reviewer claimed to have seen almost every collectible within the film's first twenty minutes. The film was produced to serve as the franchise introduction of the Care Bear Cubs and the Care Bear Cousin Cubs, who also had their own line of toys from Kenner. The plushes, measuring 11" in height, consisted of Bedtime Cub, Cheer Cub, Funshine Cub and Share Cub; the line of Care Bear Cousin Cubs included Li'l Bright Heart Raccoon, Li'l Proud Heart Cat and Li'l Swift Heart Rabbit. Kenner announced the introduction of the Cubs in 1985, shortly before the film opened, and showcased them at the American International Toy Fair
American International Toy Fair
The American International Toy Fair is one of a few major toy industry trade shows held around the world. It is held annually in mid February in New York City's Toy Center, located at 23rd Street at the crossover of Fifth Avenue and Broadway and at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and is...
in February 1986.
In The Motion Picture Guide 1987 Annual, Jay Robert Nash wrote that its title "refers to the new featured characters who, more than coincidentally, have ended up on the toy shelves of stores everywhere." A critic from the Omaha World-Herald
Omaha World-Herald
The Omaha World-Herald, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the...
, however, found it misleading and complained that the Cubs "are not 'a new generation' at all". Several critics considered the film a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the original: the Omaha World Herald reviewer; Edward Jones of Virginia's The Free Lance-Star; Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
; and Bill Cosford of The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
. According to Michael H. Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
, "Care Bears Movie II is what the film industry calls a 'requel,' tracing the origin of the Care Bear family and relatives of other species."
In his Animated Movie Guide, animation expert Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
gave Care Bears Movie II a half-star (½) out of four, and offered this consensus:
John Stanley expressed his views likewise in his 1988 film guide, Revenge of the Creature Features:
"Care Bears Movie II is a sort of pre-sequel that, I suspect, requires its audiences to have some prior knowledge of Care Bears," Vincent Canby said in his New York Times review. "Very young kids may love this, but anybody over the age of 4 might find it too spooky." Hal Lipper of the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
remarked that it "is an enormously engaging cartoon—quite a feat when you consider the saccharine psychobabble passing for dialogue". The Miami Herald
Charles Solomon said, "The new Care Bears film...is even more sloppily made and hawks its goods even more shamelessly. [...] The film makers seem more concerned with showcasing the toys than providing entertainment; shared profits obviously count for more than shared feelings. If someone started selling 'Hate Bears,' there undoubtedly would be a film about them." Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
awarded the film zero stars out of four, while Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
gave it a "BOMB" rating in his Movie Guide, and added: "Your kids deserve better entertainment than this treacly stuff about the Kingdom of Caring. Prefab animation from the era of toy merchandising tie-ins." The Gale Group
Gale (publisher)
Gale is an educational publishing company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the United States, in the western suburbs of Detroit. It was part of the Thomson Learning division of the Thomson Corporation, a Canadian company, but became part of Cengage Learning in 2007.The company, formerly known...
publication, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever, gave it one bone out of four in its 1992 edition, but revised it to two later on. In 2001, the Los Angeles-based Hastings Bad Cinema Society picked A New Generation as one of The 100 Worst Movies of the 20th Century. "Even suffering through a Barney video would be preferable to sitting through this," said compiler Michael Lancaster.
The film received some positive reviews, however. Writing for The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, Norma Dyess Michaud deemed it "a must-see for preschoolers, especially those who are in the throes of the current Care Bear mania". Richard Martin praised the script and climax, along with the performances of the orphan Cubs. "Their pastel, birthday-cake-and-whipped-cream world has never looked sweeter," he stated. The Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
commented that it was "even better than the first one, which was good".
Home media
Care Bears Movie II was released on videocassette and BetamaxBetamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video on August 21, 1986, and debuted in 12th place on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Top Kid Video Sales chart on September 27 that same year. The film aired during 1987 on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
, a premium television station, and was broadcast in later years on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, HBO, Showtime and The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia....
. It returned on VHS as part of the Columbia TriStar Family Collection on August 13, 1996. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
premiered it on DVD on April 8, 2003; the only special features in this edition were trailers for several of the company's family-oriented titles. This was the last animated feature to be released by Columbia Pictures until Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a 2001 Japanese-American computer animated science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series of role-playing video games. It was the first photorealistic computer animated feature film and also holds the record for the most...
in 2001. The film won the 1987 WorldFest-Houston Gold Award for Best Animated Feature.
Sequel
In 1987, Nelvana followed A New Generation with The Care Bears Adventure in WonderlandThe Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland
The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland is the third theatrically released film in the Care Bears animated franchise. It was released in the United States and Canada on August 7, 1987 by Cineplex Odeon Films, and is based on Lewis Carroll's Alice stories...
. In this third film, the Bears and Cousins travel to Wonderland and save its Princess from a wizard; Alice, a girl from the real world, takes her place. Self-financed by Nelvana and released by Cineplex Odeon Films
Cineplex Odeon Films
Cineplex Odeon Films was the film distribution unit of the Canadian cinema chain Cineplex Odeon Corporation....
, it was the last Care Bears movie of the 1980s to go into theatres. It grossed US$2.6 million in the North American market, and US$6 million worldwide by February 1988. The Bears would not appear in another feature production until 2004's direct-to-video effort, Journey to Joke-a-lot
Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot
Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot is a 2004 children's animated feature, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment. Directed by Mike Fallows and written by Jeffrey Alan Schecter, this was the fourth film to star the Care Bears, and their first in over 15 years...
.
See also
- The Care Bears television seriesThe Care Bears (TV series)The Care Bears is an animated television series based on the Care Bears franchise, which aired between 1985 and 1988 in syndication; on the ABC network in the United States; and on Global in Canada. The 1985 episodes were produced by DIC Entertainment; the ABC/Global episodes were made by...
- Canadian films of the 1980s
- List of Nelvana franchises
- List of animated feature-length films
- Younger and junior versions of cartoon characters
External links
- Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation at Keyframe: The Animation Resource