Old Bear and Friends
  (1996 - 1998)
 
  producers: Optomen Television
                    & Ealing Animation for
                    Carlton Television
  animation: stop-motion animation

   OLD BEAR AND FRIENDS
   1996 - 1998 / 39 x 10mins

   LITTLE BEAR AND THE CHRISTMAS STAR
   1998 / 1 x 30min special

 
   "Tell us a story Old Bear, we'll all gather round..."
 

   Old Bear is a worn and frayed old Steiff teddy bear, who lives in a nursery with his
   soft toy friends Bramwell Brown, Duck, Rabbit, Little Bear, Jolly Tall the giraffe,
   Hoot the owl and Ruff the dog. Their busy days involve helping each other, playing
   games, making jigsaw puzzles, celebrating birthdays, solving mysteries, performing
   plays and much more besides.

   This charming stop-motion series is adapted from the popular picture stories
   by Jane Hissey, and as is so often the case with this kind of British series,
   the translation is perfect, right down to the last worn thread of fur. All of the nursery
   toys are "real" toys, familiar from many-a-childhood, and brought to life by the
   skillful crew at Ealing Animation. The production is steeped in the sepia of
   childhood nostalgia. From the opening bars of its hummable theme, "Old Bear
   and Friends" carries the viewer away downstream, with gentle characters and
   stories, and the warm, cossetting tones of Anton Rodgers' narration. Little wonder 
   the series picked up a BAFTA and animation awards around the globe...

   The first book in Jane hissey's series, "Old Bear", was published in 1988.
   In a lovely little touch, the film makers have Old Bear choose a Jan Hissey
   book from the shelf during the title sequence. Old Bear settles down to read
   the tale to his nursery friends, and we embark on another story with them.

   Some adventures take the toys out of the nursery altogether and into the garden,
   or indeed, in the case of "The Boat Race", all the way to the perils of a full
   flowing river.

   The three series were followed by a Christmas special. "Little Bear and the
   Christmas Star" follows the exploits of the nursery toys one Christmas Eve.

   By the way, those with a hankering for teddy bear nostalgia might also want to
   track down The Upstairs, Downstairs Bears from FilmFair...