| Care Bears Nutcracker Suite | |
|---|---|
 Original 1988 VHS cover | |
| Genre | Animated special Christmas |
| Written by | John de Klein |
| Directed by | Joseph Sherman Laura Shepherd |
| Theme music composer | Tom Szczesniak Ray Parker Jim Morgan Acrobat Music Patricia Cullen |
| Composer | Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Clive A. Smith |
| Running time | 62 minutes[1] |
| Production company | Nelvana Limited[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | The Disney Channel |
| Release | December 10, 1988[2] |
| Network | Global Television Network |
| Release | December 25, 1988[3] |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Care Bears Nutcracker Suite is an animated television film featuring the Care Bears characters. Produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana in 1988, it is loosely based on the 1892 Nutcracker ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (adapted in turn from E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King").[4] The film was directed by Joseph Sherman and Laura Shepherd, and produced by Nelvana's founders: Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith. It serves as the series finale to the The Care Bears Family animated series.
In this special, a schoolteacher tells some children a version of the Nutcracker story which features the Care Bear Family. While helping a sad girl named Anna, the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins meet a wooden soldier and a group of malicious rats from a place called Toyland. Entering this place, Anna and the Family learn that an evil Vizier is planning to destroy it with the help of his rodent army, and has his sights on a powerful ring that has been long hidden from the denizens.
Care Bears Nutcracker Suite premiered on video and television in December 1988 across North America, and was met with indifferent reception. The special premiered on DVD in France in 2004, and then in November 2006 by Lions Gate Home Entertainment under a new English title, Care Bears: The Nutcracker. This was Nelvana's last Care Bears production until Journey to Joke-a-lot in 2004.
- ^ a b Sherman, Joseph; Shepherd, Laura (directors). Care Bears Nutcracker Suite. Kids Klassics (distributor) / Nelvana Limited.
- ^ The TV Listing Group Inc. (December 9, 1988). "This week on television". The Union Democrat. Saturday. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
- ^ MacVicar, Neil (December 24, 1988). "Holiday viewing". The Globe and Mail. CTVglobemedia.
SUNDAY: THE CARE BEARS FAMILY / If the tots are getting restless, this hour-long special featuring the loving and loveable critters may be the ticket. It will be shown without commercials (Global at 10:30 a.m.).
- ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 40. ISBN 9781476672939.