I have my two-year old nephew to thank for getting me into this. He has since moved on to the Tweenies and Bob the Builder, but my fiance and I are firm Bear addicts and I have even been known to relegate Eastenders when this is on. That’s serious!
Created by Jim Henson (him of the Muppets and Sesame Street) this is a children’s programme with fantastic loveable characters which teaches children about social values (how to share and so on), relationships, love, friendships, as well as more practical things (shapes, numbers, and so on.) It is on at 8am on channel 5, or at least it used to be, I no longer get channel
5, but I watch it on the disney channel at various times of day. There is a huge amount of merchandise available in the Disney Store, all of which I want!
A rundown on the characters:
Bear
Bear is huge, so huge that you doubt if he can get in the big blue house without knocking its roof off, but somehow he manages it. He’s the daddy in the house, although quite how he came upon the other animals is never revealed. He’s comforting, always good for a hug, knows how to diffuse arguments, can think of fun things to do, and makes a great triple-berry pie. His big nose likes to smell the viewer at the beginning of each programme, and his trademark line “Whats that smell?” leads to him telling you that you smell of freshly baked cookies/fresh milk/pancakes and icecream or something else along those lines. Always comforting to know you smell as good as a baby, even when you are 25. Bear is a great dancer, and singer, and does a mean rap. (honest!) He is famous for his Bear cha cha cha and his advice on potty training is a big hit with parents.
Ojo Ojo is the girl. She’s quite rubbish. She has a whiny squeaky lispy voice and is supposed to be a cute bear cub. But I hate her. She starts fights with Trilo, and she’s a bit stupid. She also has a teddy bear called snow bear. Grr.
Pip and Pop The otters live in the Big Blue House but they have their own otter pond in the garden. They are pretty cool. They do things together, being identical twins, and are purple and furry, and quite argumentative. They are a bit like the unruly teenage boys of the house, although they don’t actually steal cars and eat pizza.
Tutter Tutter is a teeny weeny blue mouse, with his own mouse hole in the Big Blue House and a huge big voice which is quite scratchy and a bit annoying. He is a pretty insecure mouse who needs quite a lot of reassurance from Bear. He is over-ambitious and seems to think he can do anything, and he’s quite brave. Grandma Flutter is his grandma who occasionally makes appearances at the big blue house. They love each other very much (and sing about it a lot.)
Treelo Is the best! He’s a fun loving lemur who speaks in a language that is all his own, and only Bear can really understand what he is saying. (although I can have a pretty good stab at it.) He is always smiling and likes to appear suddenly from a great height.
Shadow Is pants. She does the “stories” element in every programme, e.g. the boring educational bit where you learn a nursery rhyme. Bear always has to call out “Where oh where oh where is shadow?” and she always appears on the wall…. Why not try the ceiling? Too predictable for me, but then I am 23 years older than the intended viewer.
Luna Granny’s favourite character, luna is the moon, who Bear tells about his day every evening when he goes up to the attic. She is sort of wrinkly and smiley, in a comforting granny type way. She always has a few wise words to end the programme on, and helps Bear sing his goodbye song. (she’s never once in all my knowledge told him to get lose, she’s too busy doing the ironing.)
Bear's Imagine That! just won a Parents' Choice Gold Award. The gold awards are given to products that are judged as the highest quality, most appealing products in their genre. Criteria for judgments include the highest production standards, universal human values and a unique, individual quality that pushes the product a notch above others.
"Love to Dance Bear" is named "Toy of the Year" in the category of "stuffed animal" for ages 3 & 4 by FamilyFun Magazine.
There is also an official Bear in the Big Blue House fan club. It can be found at http://www.creationent.com/bear/index.html
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