By Susan Brewer
Plush Care Bears came in several sizes, and were sold packaged in open-fronted cardboard display boxes. Today, the most commonly found sizes are the 13" and 6" bears. Never cheap, when they were on sale in Hamleys in the 1980s, the larger model cost £13.99 and the small bear, £7.99 - expensive when you convert it to present day values. The fur plush was of an extremely good quality, with a very velvety pile. Care Bears had large, round heads, small ears, white muzzles and plastic heart-shaped noses in various colours. Most of the bears had lovely, friendly smiling mouths, often with a small cloth tongue. Grumpy, of course, had a cross expression, but still managed to look kind. The character-type eyes were printed onto flat plastic ovals, and the eyebrows were embroidered. The most unusual eye moulding appeared on Good Luck Bear, who had one plastic eye shaped into a wink! Each bear had a wispy tuft of nylon hair between its ears. Heads and limbs were unjointed, with heartshaped pads on the feet. Care Bears were quite plump, very cuddly, and had small tails. Perhaps their most attractive features were the large, colourful embroidered motifs set in a white furry circle on their tummies. Some of these motifs were extremely elaborate and beautifully rendered.
Naturally, look-a-like bears soon flooded the market once it was realised that the public had taken Care Bears to their hearts, but the genuine ones bore labels reading `American Greetings Corp'. Furthermore, each had a little red heart-shaped plastic button fixed to its bottom, reading `Care Bear'. Today, even though the labels have often faded through frequent washing, that red heart is still a good way of checking that you have an original. Some of the nicest bears were Grams, the scarf-wearing granny bear who had a red rose embroidered on her front, and Hugs and Tugs, the nappy-wearing twin babies. None of these are particularly common today, with Grams being by far the hardest to obtain, especially complete with her scarf which soon tended to be lost. Forest Friend, who had a bear and a rabbit as his logo, and Sea Friend (a wave and a sun) were specially created British environmental bears, made by Tonka, and not sold in the United States. Perhaps the most commonly found today are Bedtime, Funshine, Birthday, Cheer, Wish and Love-a-Lot. Slightly later additions were Champ, Share, Surprise, Harmony, and I Love You, and these are more difficult to find than the original series.
The idea behind the Care Bears was undeniably twee. Publicity blurbs stated that they were `Roly-poly little bears who live high in a land of rainbows and fluffy clouds called Care-a-lot'. The bears regularly came to earth to make humans feel better, and to help them share their feelings with others. If you were tired, Bedtime Bear would give you a cuddle and if you felt you needed some encouragement, you would get a visit from Cheer, while if you were in a bad mood, then Grumpy would come to see you. The bears had their names printed on their labels, but these tended to fade once washed and the name disappeared. In addition, there are a few very rare bears which were only issued in the United States. When the Care Bear movie came out in 1985, more characters were introduced. These were the Care Bear Cousins who lived in the Forest of Feelings and, like the bears, had embroidered logos and came in two sizes They were made in the same high quality plush which was used for the bears. The Cousins were not bears, they were assorted creatures such as Lotsa Heart Elephant, Cozy Heart Penguin, Brave Heart Lion, Gentle Heart Lamb, Swift Heart Rabbit and Bright Heart Raccoon. The cousins appeared mainly in the same pastel shades as the bears though the penguin is quite a deep shade of mauve. Later, more Cousins came along, including Treat Heart Pig, Proud Heart Cat, Noble Heart Horse, Loyal Heart Dog and Playful Heart Monkey, but some of these seem to have been only released in America, while the horse, a UK exclusive, is ultra-rare.
Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins did not only come in plush. They also were produced as a series of vinyl figures in two sizes. The smaller size, two inches tall, was moulded all-in-one, with the figure generally holding an object such as a cake, candle, flower or star. The larger, three-and-a-half inch figures, were articulated and sturdily made from a good quality vinyl. Each bear had a minute red heart on its bottom, just like its plush counterpart. At first there were thirty-six figures in the miniatures set, comprising thirteen different bears in assorted poses plus three human-type forms, one good and one bad - the Cloudkeeper and Professor Coldheart - but later more were added. Generally, these vinyl figures were much more brightly coloured than the plush versions. A series of toys were made to accompany these little bears. They included a large, red heart-shaped Care-a-lot play set which contained a swing, seesaw, roundabout and a blue twisty slide, a Cloud Mobile (a toy car resembling a cloud) and a Rainbow Roller (a moving cloud with a rotating rainbow.)
Perhaps the best thing about these bears was the friendly aura of love that surrounded them - even if it was a calculated marketing ploy. The intention was to teach children that loving, sharing and giving are important qualities - whether or not they succeeded is a moot point, but it would be nice to think that they did spread some happiness and sunshine in children's lives. Whatever, they certainly didn't tarnish the traditional purpose of a teddy bear, which is to be a loving, gentle friend and companion. If you have room for a Care Bear or two, they will brighten up a predominantly brown collection and will certainly give the rest of your Hug something to growl about!
Article reprinted with the kind permission of ‘Teddy Bear Times’ Magazine.