Care Bears are a set of fictional characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears. The Care Bears appeared in their own television series from 1985 to 1988, in addition to three feature films: The Care Bears Movie (1985), A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).
Each Care Bear comes in a different color and has a specialized insignia on its belly that represents its duty and personality. This insignia was known as their "tummy symbol". However, the movie Oopsy Does It! renamed them "belly badges". Adding to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins", which feature a lion, rabbit, penguin, raccoon, and other such animals created in the same style as the teddy bears.
In 2002, the bears were reintroduced with new toys. Made by Play-Along Toys, the new toys offered features such as illuminated bellies upon touch, aerobic bears, and glow-in-the-dark bears. As part of this comeback, the Bears have appeared in two computer-animated movies: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004) and The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie (2005). In 2007, the franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary; another relaunch took place, as well as the release of Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!.
As of 2010, Care Bears are still being marketed. During 2008 and 2009, Canada's Cookie Jar Group and France's MoonScoop Group attempted to acquire the franchise from AGC, with no apparent success.
The Care Bears were initially created in 1981 by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), the licensing division of American Greetings Corp. Jack Chojnacki, the president of TCFC, introduced the first Care Bear to six businessmen...three from AGC, and three from the toy company Kenner...in February 1981. On the employees' reaction to the toy, Chojnacki recalled in early 1985: "It had a high 'aaaaaah' factor."
Muriel Fahrion, the artist who helped create Strawberry Shortcake's look, was also among the franchise's first concept artists. Working with TCFC Creative VP Ralph Shaffer, Muriel designed the first six bears, creating the best-selling greeting card themes for their belly graphics. Susan Trentel, Muriel's sister and doll designer of Strawberry Shortcake, designed the Care Bears plush. Once out of the concept stage children's book illustrator Elena Kucharik became the primary artist for the Care Bears creating hundreds of full color illustrations for cards, books and a myriad of licensed products. TCFC's creative team of artists and writers worked to create numerous characters in the line, which was a joint development by Those Characters From Cleveland and MAD (Marketing and Design Service of the toy group of General Mills).
As they had done with Strawberry Shortcake, once titled "Project I," AGC called the Care Bears development "Project II" as they strove to make the character program secret until advertising was ready. At the start of the franchise, Care Bears was already established as its working title.
In 1982, the Care Bears were announced as a toyline for production by Parker Brothers and Kenner the following spring, as well as pre-licensed characters and media stars. At that time, American Greetings touted their debut as "the biggest character launch in the history of retailing". On a US$5 million advertising budget, the company introduced the characters to the general public in February 1983, with an appearance at New York City's Toy Fair; 26 licensees were involved upon launch. Six books featuring the Care Bears were among the first offerings from the publishing division of Parker Brothers, a board game company then owned by General Mills. On television, the original ten Bears starred in their first syndicated special, Atkinson Film-Arts' The Land Without Feelings; Kenner produced and sponsored it.
In 1984, AGC introduced a spin-off line, the Care Bear Cousins; another syndicated special, The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine, came out that same year. A miniseries based on the toys was distributed by Lexington Broadcast Services Company. A year later, the Bears and Cousins starred in their first film, The Care Bears Movie, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. It became the highest-grossing animated film made outside the Disney market at the time of its release. Later that autumn, a television series from DIC Entertainment which was co-produced by Nelvana and based on the characters was made and ran for 22 episodes in syndication. Professor Coldheart and Frostbite did not appear in the movie but they appeared semi-regularly in the series with a new villain named Auntie Freeze.
In 1986, Nelvana completely took over the animation rights for the franchise with a second movie entitled A New Generation. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film featured a new villain, Dark Heart, and introduced more of the Care Bears and Care Bears Cousins, namely Harmony Bear, True Heart Bear, and Noble Heart Horse.
Later that year, a TV series titled The Care Bears (also from Nelvana) premiered on the ABC network, lasting two seasons and consisting of over 70 episodes, introducing a new villain; the evil wizard No Heart and his sidekick Beastly. In the second season, No Heart's niece Shreeky is introduced.
The Care Bears' third film, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, debuted in 1987. A TV special, Care Bears Nutcracker Suite, premiered on the Disney Channel in 1988.
Over 40 million Care Bears were sold between 1983 and 1987, and during the decade, American Greetings printed over 70 million of their cards. In whole, the sales of their merchandise reached over $2 billion during the 1980s. This made them one of the most successful toylines of its time, alongside "My Little Pony" and "Transformers".
In early 1991, Those Characters from Cleveland and Kenner embarked on a relaunch of the franchise, involving seven bears. One of the 1980s characters, Proud Heart Cat, was released as a bear and sported the symbol of a heart-shaped American flag. The publishing company Random House released two tie-in books: The Care Bears and the Big Cleanup (1991) by Bobbi Katz, and The Care Bears and the Whale Tale (1992) by Peggy Kahn.
In 1999, the rights to the Care Bears franchise were bought by Jay Foreman, the president of Fort Lauderdale-based Play Along Toys, for less than $1 million; he also planned to acquire fellow AGC property Strawberry Shortcake. Three years later, American Greetings relaunched the Care Bear brand as part of the Bears' 20th anniversary celebration with a series of plush toys and movies. The artwork and design of the bears were changed for relaunch. Also, Funshine Bear's gender was changed from female to male, Champ Bear's colours were changed from tan to true blue, with his tummy symbol changed to a winner's cup with a star, and Share Bear's tummy symbol was changed from a milkshake with two straws to two lollipops crossed. The change to Share Bear's symbol stems from Play Along Toys' suggestion of the change on the grounds that sharing a milkshake may spread germs. Apart from that, many other minor changes were made to the designs, mostly involving lightening the colors of the bears and minor redesigns to the tummy symbols.
In the midst of this revival, Play Along released brand new toys based on the newly redesigned Bears, sold at stores such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Toys "R" Us, Target, KB Toys, and Mervyns. The new merchandise included the Bears doing aerobics; Tenderheart Bear as a patient (casting the child that is playing with the toy as the doctor); Champ Bear as a fireman; and the Care Bears themselves as Cubs. Over 70 million plush Bears have been sold since the re-launch. In addition, Lionsgate Home Entertainment and subsidiary FHE Pictures, in association with Nelvana, have made two direct-to-DVD computer-animated films, Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot in 2004 and The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie in 2005. Various other music CDs featuring the bears and video games were also produced.
New versions of the various cousins were produced (with Proud Heart being changed back into a cat, in a different color and the same symbol he had in the 1980s franchise). However the revival of the line was not as successful as that of the bears' revival. The cousins were not featured in the 2007 relaunch of the franchise.
In 2007, American Greetings relaunched Care Bears again, first with a series of dolls, then a new movie, Oopsy Does It! and immediately before with a new TV series Adventures in Care-a-lot. The animation and artwork is completely different from the originals giving the Care Bears have smaller body structures and redesigned tummy symbols, which are now called belly badges. Also, instead of Nelvana, the film and the animated series are produced by SD Entertainment.
As part of the franchise's 25th anniversary celebrations, the Bears were redesigned by the AG Properties illustration team, as was the logo of the franchise. The line consists of fifteen of the thirty-nine bears (as seen in Oopsy Does It!). Six of the bears were chosen to be the focus of the franchise: Oopsy Bear, Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear, Share Bear, and Good Luck Bear. The other bears include Wish Bear, True Heart Bear, Bedtime Bear, Love-a-lot Bear, Harmony Bear, Amigo Bear, Surprise Bear, Superstar Bear, Heartsong Bear, and Hopeful Heart Bear, although the remaining 24 bears are also stated to have a release in the near future according to Play Along Toys.
Their new theme song is performed by former Letters to Cleo member, Kay Hanley, and the music video premiered on Fox and Nickelodeon. In August 2007, they appeared in 20th Century Fox's theatrical release of Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!. This was followed by the television series from SD Entertainment, Adventures in Care-a-lot. The series premiered on CBS' KEWLopolis block on September 15, 2007.
The Care Bears universe was rebooted upon the 2007 relaunch. Prior plot devices like the Cloudmobiles, Caring Meter, the Cloud Keeper, and even Care-a-lot castle were not referred to or mentioned as of the new series. In its place is the gathering tree, which is where the Care Bears now gather to meet or hold festivities. Also, the Care Bears have, up until the point of the first direct-to-DVD release for the new franchise (Grizzle-ly Adventures), never had humans visit Care-a-lot, and a new villain named Grizzle (who seeks to conquer Care-a-lot and nothing else) was introduced. A February 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal states that in the new version, "they live in a village, centered on a big tree; with no castle in sight".
However, the Caring Meter made its return in Grizzle-y Adventures, and the second direct-to-DVD release of the franchise, Ups and Downs, included a passing remark regarding the Forest of Feelings. In addition, Care-a-lot castle reappeared in certain scenes in the new game for the V.Smile Baby Infant Development System, Play Day.
In late 2009, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears will be re-imagined with the launch of a new series, "Care Power Team". This re-imagining, while re-using the Adventures in Care-a-lot designs, will now have the bears sport "enhanced belly badges" and see the bears taking on emergencies.
The franchise consists mainly of the Care Bears themselves, as well as the later additions the Care Bear Cousins. Both of them live in the Kingdom of Caring, which is made up of Care-a-lot (the home of the Care Bears proper) and the Forest of Feelings (home to the Care Bear Cousins).
Accompanying them are the Star and Heart Buddies, who look out for the Bears and Cousins whenever they are on missions in caring; and the Birds, who are usually seen in the Forest of Feelings with the Care Bear Cousins and watch over them. A less recurring character is The Cloud Keeper, the portly gentleman who maintains Care-a-lot. He only appeared in some of the franchise's early publications and on the DiC-produced TV episodes. The Cloud Keeper was created by Barbara Bleser for General Mills (CPG).
The ten original Care Bears consisted of Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Cheer Bear, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Grumpy Bear, Love-a-lot Bear, Tenderheart Bear, and Wish Bear. Later on, additional bears joined them, as well as the Cousins.
For the new 2007 TV series, Adventures in Care-a-lot, five of the Care Bears were chosen to be the main characters of the show. As seen on the Care Bears website, they are Share Bear, Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear, and the new bear introduced in the movie, Oopsy Bear. However, the other Care Bears still make appearances in the series. The unofficial role of leader of the bears, as of the new series, was transferred from Tenderheart Bear to Cheer Bear. The cousins were not relaunched in the 2007 series.
Some elements of the Care Bears franchise pay homage to the legend of King Arthur. For example, the name of the main characters' residence, Care-a-lot, is a play on King Arthur's legendary Camelot castle. The Care Bear Family sits around a heart-shaped table, similar to the Round Table used by Arthur and his knights. In addition, Sir Lancelot's name inspired that of Love-a-lot Bear.
Throughout the movies and series, various villains have tried to stop the Bears and Cousins on their missions. On the first two specials and DiC television series, they battled against Professor Coldheart, his assistant Frostbite, and occasionally Auntie Freeze; in Nelvana's version, they faced Wizard No Heart, his bumbling assistant Beastly and his ill-tempered niece Shreeky, and minor villains such as Dr. Fright and Sour Sam. In the movies, they went up against Nicholas and the Evil Spirit in The Care Bears Movie, Dark Heart in A New Generation, The Wizard of Wonderland and his assistants Dim & Dumb in The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, and the Rat King and Evil Vizier in Care Bears Nutcracker Suite. Following the 2002 revival, Sir Funnybone the rat was introduced as a villain in the movie Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot, while The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie broke from tradition in which it did not have a villain. For the 2007 revival, The new movie, Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! introduced new villains, Grizzle and WingNut, who persists into the new TV series, Adventures in Care-a-lot.
Magic spells
The Care Bears' ultimate weapon is the "Care Bear Stare," in which the collected Bears stand together and radiate light from their respective tummy symbols. These combine to form a ray of love and good cheer which could bring care and joy into the target's heart. The Care Bear Stare has several different looks. One has a beam coming from the tummy being made up of several replicated images of the symbol. Another variation forms a rainbow when multiple Bears and/or Cousins are involved. A yellow beam with red hearts is sometimes seen as well. The movies Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot and The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie do not feature the Care Bear stare, but it does return in Oopsy Does It!. In the new series, Care Bears Adventures in Care-a-lot, the stare appears as a beam of light in the color of the bear from which it originates.
In the original animated specials and the DiC series, the Care Bear Stare is initiated by the phrase "Care Bears...prepare to stare!" while in the Nelvana series and later versions it is initiated by the phrase "Care Bears Countdown!"
During the movies and the DiC series, the Care Bear Cousins call their weapon the "Care Bear Cousin Call." In the DiC series, the call looks identical to the Care Bear Stare and is often performed at the same time without it being referred to as the call. In the first movie, the Cousins, excluding Swift Heart Rabbit, simply made whatever animal noise is common to their species since they did not have any tummy symbols; those are later given to them by the Care Bears at the end of the movie. In the second movie, the Call looks like a musical score which radiates from their tummy symbols. By the start of the Nelvana series, the Care Bear Cousin Call was no longer used and the Cousins simply performed the Care Bear Stare.
Although commonly used on villains, the stare and call have been also been used on humans and the Care Bears themselves. It was occasionally used in the DiC series to cure Care Bears and humans who were placed under the effects of Professor Coldheart's uncaring magic. It also occurred once in Adventures in Care-a-lot, when it was used to temporarily cheer Grumpy up in the episode "Tell-Tale Tummy"; other episodes include "Re-booted" and "Forget It".
In addition to the Care Bear Stare, the Care Bears can also use their tummy symbols to summon other assistance such as heart-shaped balloons, cloud cars, rainbow bridges and sending out a distress signal.
Caring Meter
Shown prominently in most of the Care Bears movies and TV episodes made in the 80s, the Caring Meter is typically in the dead center of Care-a-lot inside the Care Bears' main meeting hall. This meter shows how much caring there is both in Care-a-lot and on Earth. In the 1980s movies/cartoons, it is shown as an un-numbered clock-like meter. In The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie, the meter is shown with a raincloud (less caring) side and a rainbow (more caring) side. Ideally, the Caring Meter should be all the way towards the rainbow side. Whenever the Bears see the meter drop towards the raincloud side, they try to prevent it from getting worse by going on "caring missions" to try to get more people to care or for the Bears themselves to do caring deeds. If the meter drops near zero, Care-a-lot will suffer disasters, such as thunderstorms, buildings and rainbows crumbling (earlier movies) or the bright colors of Care-a-lot gradually turning into black and white (later movies). If the meter were to reach all the way to zero (there is no caring anywhere), then Care-a-lot would be gone forever.
Initially, no mention was made of the Caring Meter in Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! and the first season of Adventures in Care-a-lot. With the release of Grizzle-y Adventures, the franchise's first direct-to-DVD release, the Caring Meter has returned, and the Care Bears have begun to interact with humans once again.
Apart from toys, greeting cards and animated media, the Care Bears have been prominently featured in merchandising as well, some of which includes gummy bears, party goods, cell phone covers, interior decoration sets, stickers, clothing accessories and many other goods. During the early 2000s relaunch, the classic Care Bear toys were available at stores such as Carlton Cards, Claire's, and Spencer's Gifts; several Care Bears plushies came with a video tape featuring one or two episodes of Nelvana's Care Bears series.
When the franchise was introduced in the 1980s, a mistake was made while manufacturing the stuffed animals causing Bedtime Bear (blue) and Wish Bear (aqua) to swap colors. As soon as the mistake was discovered, the two bears returned into their appropriate hues. Later, a children's story was written explaining why the bears had switched tints.
In his 1986 essay, The Shortcake Strategy, Tom Englehardt referred to the Care Bears dolls as "highly specialized" toys. "So specializd [are they] that instead of being complex individual personalities, they are no more than carefully labeled fragments of a personality," he stated. "Together, they must engage in a series of specialized interventions as complex as those of any real-life medical unit."
Many children's books have been based on, and have featured, the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins. Some early publications include "Meet the Care Bear Cousins" (based on the first movie), "Sweet Dreams for Sally," "The Witch Down the Street," "The Trouble with Timothy," and "A Sister for Sam." All of these titles were published by toy makers Parker Brothers, who was a licensee of the characters. Over 45 million Care Bears books were sold during the 1980s. As of 2006, Scholastic Press has published books based on the Bears' first two CGI films, as well as the new toys, while Modern Publishing publishes a small number of activity and baby books featuring the bears for the toddler market. Publications International and Penny Candy Press are also known to have published a few sound books featuring the bears in the past.
In Playing by Different Rules, a 1988 book chronicling the Parker Brothers/General Mills merger, Ellen Wojahn wrote that Parker's Care Bears books (along with those based on sister property Strawberry Shortcake) "were, in fact, little more than illustrated brochures for Kenner's projects...and who knew [by 1984] how long the likes of these characters would remain popular?"
Between November 1985 and January 1989, the Care Bears appeared in a 20-issue comic book series published by Marvel's Star Comics; the books were drawn by DC Comics artist Howard Post. The November 13, 1986 issue featured a crossover with another American Greetings property, the Madballs.
At the height of the '80s Care Bears craze, Kid Stuff Records released several LPs based on the franchise. These included "Introducing the Care Bears," "The Care Bears Care For You," "Adventures in Care-a-lot," "The Care Bears' Birthday Party," and "The Care Bears' Christmas" (all from 1983), and 1986's "Friends Make Everything Better" (released as a promotion with Trianimic). They released the soundtrack albums for the first two movies. The albums based on the toys were bestsellers in children's music during their prime
All of the albums from 1983 featured writing, production, and performance credits from Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (also known as Flo & Eddie; former Mothers of Invention from Frank Zappa's 1970-1972 period).
In the midst of the 2002 revival, Madacy Kids released brand new Care Bear CDs. In 2004, Meet the Care Bears, Care Bears Holiday Hugs, Care Bears Christmas Eve, and the Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot soundtrack album came out, as well as Care Bears Nighty-Night the following year.
The cover of both Care Bears Holiday Hugs and Care Bears Nighty-Night advertises another two CDs, called Care Bears Share A Smile and Care Bears Let's Be Friends. As of April 2008, Both Share A Smile and Let's Be Friends have been folded into a single album and released as a digital download from Amazon.com and Walmart.com, however it is at this date not available as a physical CD. This has caused some difficulties to international fans as Amazon.com and Walmart.com will not sell digital downloads to fans who reside outside North America.
A Care Bears game was planned for the Atari 2600 in 1983. It was preliminarily completed and ready for beta testing, but the project was canceled before testing could begin. The beta prototype subsequently disappeared into obscurity and the only known existing prototype to date is an early alpha of the game. No other games featuring the bears were ever made during the period.
In 2004, the Bears starred in their first official game, Care-a-lot Jamboree for the PC. A few months later, another game featuring the Care Bears for the PC, Let's Have a Ball! was released. In the same year they were featured in Care Bears: A Lesson in Caring for the V.Smile educational game console.
In 2005, they appeared in Catch a Star (also for the PC) and Care Bears: Care Quest (for the Game Boy Advance).
Like the movies, no game for any systems was produced in 2006, and no new game was released in time for the 2007 relaunch. However, in August 2008, a new game, Care Bears Play Day, was released for the V.Smile Baby Infant Development System, finally breaking the two years of silence for the franchise on the gaming front.
Various interactive smart toys with the Bears have been introduced by Play Along since the 2002 revival. One of them, Care Bears Share-A-Story, was introduced by Play Along in July 2005. The toy is based upon the same basic idea of a Teddy Ruxpin. The head, mouth and eyes of the Care Bear move around as a cartridge plays fairy tales such as Goldilocks and the Three Care Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Three Little Pigs. A hardback book version of the story comes with it so the parent and child can read along as the story plays. The toy ships with the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and additional story cartridges and books are to be purchased separately. Also, apparently only Share Bear was ever made as such a toy.
Additionally, Care Bears Sing-along pals were also introduced. These Care Bears plush toys sing three different songs and could synchronize wirelessly with other singing Care Bears of the series to sing together in a group (the effective wireless coverage being three feet, although the range might deteriorate due to environmental conditions and remaining battery strength). While initially introduced in a rather large variety of designs, at the moment only the Share Bear, Cheer Bear and Funshine Bear models are still being made, with the physical appearance of the bears redesigned to match the 25th anniversary looks.
Another Care Bear smart toy is the Care Bears Tenderheart Smart Check-up. The toy comes with an interactive plush Tenderheart bear and various toy medical equipment. The interactive plush has soft-touch points throughout the body and can be fully played with without the toy medical equipment.
Lastly, there are a line of Care Bears smart toys that would play hide and seek with the owner. The line, called Hide 'N Seek Care Bears, comes in two designs: Secret Bear and Surprise Bear. Both bear comes with a wireless handpiece. To play the toy, a third party, usually the parent, must partake in the game by hiding the bear. The child then has to find the bear, with the handpiece occasionally providing hints on how close the child is to the bear through audible instructions.
During the mid-2000s, the Care Bears starred in their own stage show, called "Care Bears Live," organized by VEE Corporation. The tour ended in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2006.
In December 1983, American Greetings and CPG Products lost a lawsuit against Easter Unlimited, importers of a line known as "Message Bears". According to New York City judge Leonard B. Sand, those toys lacked the "heart-shaped 'toushee tags'" used to identify the Care Bears.
On July 23, 2008, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears (along with Strawberry Shortcake) would be sold to Cookie Jar Entertainment in an acquisition due to take place on September 30, 2008. By April 2009, it was announced that Cookie Jar Entertainment had problems in financing the acquisition and that a French company called MoonScoop has also expressed interest in the franchise. The deadline for Cookie Jar's acquisition was April 30, and MoonScoop's attempt June 7. In mid-August 2009, MoonScoop sued American Greetings, claiming the latter backed out of the planned US$95 million deal; AGC and Cookie Jar sued each other in the process as well. In late April 2010, the Cleveland company "won summary judgment on MoonScoop SAS' contract", as well as "promissory estoppel claims" in the case; MoonScoop filed for an appeal the following month.
The Nickelodeon series Rugrats features a children's show called The Dummi Bears, starring animated bear characters with personalities that poked fun at the Care Bears. A feature film with these characters, "The Land Without Smiles", is mentioned in the 1991 episode "At the Movies".
In the comic strip Pearls Before Swine, Pig suggests that Harmony Bear be sent to bring peace to the Middle East.
On Eek! The Cat, there is a recurring group of characters called the Squishy Bearz, who are a parody of the Care Bears.
The TV Show Robot Chicken poked fun at the Care Bears in various skits. In one skit, the Care Bears decide to ethnically cleanse Care-a-lot by wiping out the Care Bear Cousins. In another skit, a man dies and finds himself reincarnated as a bear that's a spoof of the Care Bears. Also, one skit has a sketch that's a mock advertisement for Intensive Care Bears.
In The Simpsons episode "The Fat and the Furriest," a Care Bear, who introduces himself as an Intensive Care Bear and brandishes a tire iron which Homer incorrectly calls a crowbar, appears as one of the bears Homer sees in his hallucination.
In the Family Guy episode "Brian Sings and Swings," all of Meg's toys run away to avoid watching the video of her ballet recital; one of them, a Care Bear named Sunshine Bear, chooses to throw itself into the path of an oncoming truck rather than go back to Meg.
A Care Bear appears in the Flash animation The Ultimate Showdown by Neil Cicierega and Shawn Vulliez. He uses a Care Bear Stare to defeat Jackie Chan and zombie Abraham Lincoln.
On Cartoon Network's Kids Next Door, the Rainbow Monkeys serve as the equivalent of the Care Bears.
On Disney's The Suite Life on Deck, Cody has "Share Bear" boxers.
Most of the characters from the Internet flash cartoon series Happy Tree Friends have heart-shaped noses, which are based on the facial features of the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins.
An online webcomic called Bear Nuts! loosely satirizes the concept and design of the Care Bears, placing similar ceatures in a zoo exhibit with much more adult-themed names and "belly badges". Such bears include Prozac Bear (with a belly badge of a pill), Evil Bear (with an inverted pentagram as his belly badge, as well as horns and red eyes), Lech Bear (having a pair of women's panties as his belly badge), Death Bear (with a skull as his belly badge) and a few others.
The Bad Idea Bears in the Broadway musical Avenue Q are parodies of the Care Bears.
An adventure for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles role-playing game featured the evil "Terror Bears".
Lotso-Huggin' Bear, the main villain in the Pixar film Toy Story 3, resembles a pink Care Bear.
