Little Bear (TV series)

Little Bear
Genre
Based onThe series of books
by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak[1]
Voices of
Theme music composer
ComposerLesley Barber
Country of originCanada[2]
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes65 (195 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Michael Hirsh
  • Patrick Loubert
  • Clive A. Smith
Running time24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBC Television
ReleaseOctober 7, 1995 (1995-10-07)[3] –
June 1, 2001 (2001-06-01)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Little Bear, also known as Maurice Sendak's Little Bear,[4] is a Canadian children's animated television series co-produced by Nelvana Limited in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.[5] It is based on the Little Bear series of books, which were written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. In the United States, the show premiered on Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Jr. block on November 6, 1995, until the final episode aired on June 1, 2001. The show also aired on CBS on Saturday mornings from September 16, 2000, until September 15, 2001.[6]

Every half-hour episode of Little Bear is divided into three seven-minute segments. Most segments are new stories, but some are retellings of Else Holmelund Minarik's books (both she and Sendak were "closely involved in the creative process" when developing the new stories).[7]

A direct-to-video feature film titled The Little Bear Movie was released in 2001.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman and Littlefield. pp. 362–363.
  2. ^ "A Firm From the Great White North Takes Off". Los Angeles Times. June 16, 2000.
  3. ^ Brown, Louise (October 7, 1995). "Welcome, Little Bear Pre-schoolers Will Appreciate the Simple, Heart-warming Adventures of Beloved Storybook Pal, Little Bear". The Toronto Star.
  4. ^ "Maurice Sendak's Little Bear". Paramount+. September 10, 2001. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  5. ^ "Little Bear end credits". YouTube. December 15, 2014. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021.
  6. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 504–505. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  7. ^ Lechner, Ernesto (May 26, 2000). "'Bear's' Cozy World Draws in Toddlers". Los Angeles Times.