Care Bears Nutcracker Suite
Encyclopedia
Care Bears Nutcracker Suite is the third and final television special to feature the Care Bears
Care Bears
The Care Bears are 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...

 characters. Produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...

, it is loosely based on the Nutcracker ballet
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...

 (adapted in turn from E. T. A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is a story written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls...

). It was directed by Joseph Sherman
Joseph Sherman
Joseph Howard Sherman was a Jewish Canadian poet and visual arts editor. He was named to the Order of Canada in 2003.Selected Publications...

 and Laura Shepherd, and produced by Nelvana's founders: Michael Hirsh
Michael Hirsh (producer)
Michael Hirsh is a Belgian-born Canadian citizen. He has been a significant figure in the Canadian television industry, or more specifically children's programming, since the 1980s.-Personal life:...

, Patrick Loubert
Patrick Loubert
Patrick Loubert was one of the founders of the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited, along with Clive A. Smith and Michael Hirsh. He has produced, and executive-produced, much of the company's most memorable fare....

 and Clive A. Smith
Clive A. Smith
Clive A. Smith is a British expatriate director and animator who, with Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, founded Canadian animation studio Nelvana in 1971...

.

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
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....

 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
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment and most former Artisan Entertainment releases. Its library of more than 8000 films owes some of its size to output deals with other studios...

 under a new English title, Care Bears: The Nutcracker. This was Nelvana's last Care Bears production until Journey to Joke-a-lot
Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot
Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot is a 2004 children's animated feature, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment. Directed by Mike Fallows and written by Jeffrey Alan Schecter, this was the fourth film to star the Care Bears, and their first in over 15 years...

 in 2004.

Plot

At a school called P.S. 5, a teacher named Miss Walker tells some children a version of E. T. A. Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is a story written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls...

, involving the Care Bear Family. As the story begins, the Care Bears and their Cousins prepare for Christmas in their home of Care-a-lot; the two youngest bears, Hugs and Tugs, are searching for an ornament. While the others spend time in the Hall of Hearts decorating a tree, another bear called Funshine suddenly alerts them of an unhappy girl named Anna. Enlisting Grumpy Bear to go along, she takes a Cloud Mobile down to Earth.

When the two bears visit Anna, they learn that her past friend Sharon has moved, and her brother Peter is fond of acting as a pirate. As they talk about the virtues of friendship, a burst of light startles them. Eventually, a tall wooden soldier called the Nutcracker emerges from a black portal, along with a band of rats (led by the Rat King
Rat King
The Rat King is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multimedia franchise. The character was created by Jim Lawson and first appeared in the comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 written by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and has made various appearances since, in...

) who are after him. When the group hides from their foes, the soldier recollects his memory and explains that he arrived from a place called Toyland; the rodents work for an evil Vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....

 who is plotting to conquer and destroy that land.

Soon, Funshine and Grumpy send out beams of light from their stomach, sending a "Care Bear Stare" to their assistants in Care-a-lot; Lotsa Heart Elephant, Brave Heart Lion and Tenderheart Bear (along with stowaway Hugs and Tugs) later join them. The baby bears are asked to stay behind with Peter, but those three venture into Toyland nonetheless.

At his castle, the Vizier wants to know the whereabouts of a powerful ring worn by Toyland's former Prince, so that he can control the place. His captive, a small creature called the Sugar Plum Fairy, refuses to tell him; he is more outraged when the Rat King arrives without the Nutcracker. The Vizier soon takes notice when the soldier and his friends enter Toyland, and take a train through its various sights.

When they stop for the night, the friends contend with a group of toy jesters who also want the train, but advise them to leave Toyland. One of them later explains how they tried to save their land, after the Vizier and the rats overthrew its Prince and captured his castle. To make sure the Vizier never got it, the Fairy hid the Prince's ring away from view. The Nutcracker is determined to end the Vizier, despite the rats' barricade.

Upon reaching the castle by raft, the group secretly sneaks inside and frees the Sugar Plum Fairy. With her help, the Bears and Cousins try to get a walnut containing the ring, but the Vizier seizes it and turns them into firewood. This leaves Peter, Hugs and Tugs to fight with the rats for the item. Soon, the Fairy saves it from the Vizier, and when the Nutcracker wears it on his finger, he turns back into the Prince of Toyland. The Bears and Cousins break free from the ruler's spell, and use their Stare on the villains to save the place. Afterward, they and the humans say good-bye to the Prince; as Anna returns, she realises it was a dream and wakes up to meet a new neighbour, Alan Prince, who looks exactly like the Prince in Anna's dream.

When Miss Walker finishes her tale, one of the children wants to know asks what happened to Anna. Suddenly a grownup Alan appears at the door. As he and the teacher, now revealed to be Anna, leave the stage together, the other children start rehearsing Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...

's ballet
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

. Unknown to all of them, the Care Bear Family has been listening all along.

Cast

Actor Source
Tracey Moore
Tracey Moore
Tracey Ann Moore in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian animated voice actress. She was the voice of Princess Toadstool in the two North American cartoon television series, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World...

 
Melleny Brown
Melleny Brown
Born in Toronto, Canada, Melleny Brown is a singer, songwriter, artist, music producer, video producer and voice actress....

Dan Hennessey
Dan Hennessey
Dan Hennessey is a Canadian voice actor who, early on in his career, performed with a children's comedy troupe,...

John Stocker
Bob Dermer
Bob Dermer
Bob Dermer is a children's entertainment actor who first made his contributions to Canadian television starting with the 1976 series Readalong....

Billie Mae Richards
Billie Mae Richards
Billie Mae Richards was a Canadian voice actress, who also appeared onstage and on television.-Career:...

Pauline Rennie
Pauline Rennie
Pauline Rennie is a Canadian actress whose career included voice roles on The Care Bears. Rennie also provided the voice of Fizgerald Fieldmouse on Maggie Muggins, as well as voices on Mary Grannan's follow-up 1960 series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Just Mary.-Roles:* Maggie Muggins...

Susan Roman
Susan Roman
Susan Roman is a Canadian voice actress best known for voice acting the role of Lita/Sailor Jupiter in the North American DiC dub of the anime, Sailor Moon. She is one of the few voice actors to remain throughout the entire run of the series...

Luba Goy
Luba Goy
-Life and career:Goy was born in Haltern, Germany to Ukrainian parents and raised in Ottawa. They emigrated to Canada in 1951. She is a graduate of the Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, and later graduated from Canada's National Theatre School, before acting in theatre productions in...

Chris Wiggins
Chris Wiggins
Chris Wiggins is an English actor.He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952....

Michael Beattie
Marion Bennet
Tara Strong
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...

Don Francks
Don Francks
Donald Harvey Francks or Iron Buffalo is a Canadian actor, vocalist and jazz musician.- Life and work :Francks was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a drummer, poet, native nations champion, motorcyclist, author and peace activist...

Abby Hagyard
Abby Hagyard
Abby Hagyard is a Canadian television actress, voice artist, and comedienne.-Background:Hagyard's interest in acting began when she was 19 years old and enrolled in a modeling class with her mother. She modeled for two years and then had a secretarial position in Playboy's New York offices. In...

Jim Henshaw
Jim Henshaw
Jim Henshaw is a professional actor, screenwriter and film and television producer.The first Actor graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, he began his professional career in 1971...

Keith Knight
Keith Knight (actor)
Keith Knight was a Canadian actor. He made his screen debut as Larry 'Fink' Finkelstein in the 1979 comedy Meatballs, voiced the White Rabbit in The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, and voiced Pigface in the BBC drama Ace Lightning. He was also known for voicing Lowly Worm in The Busy World of...

Adam Simpson
Sunny Besen Thrasher
Sunny Besen Thrasher
Sunny Besen Thrasher was a Canadian child actor who starred as Paul Edison in Nelvana's live-action series, The Edison Twins, and supplied voices in the first two Care Bears movies....


Production

Care Bears Nutcracker Suite is loosely based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffmann, as well as the Nutcracker ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Animation was produced by Toronto's Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...

; South Korea's Hanho Heung-Up; Taiwan's Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese animation studios...

; and the Shanghai Animation Film Studio in China. The special was presented by Neil B. Saul of The Saul Group
The Saul Group
The Saul Group was a broadcast syndication service that operated in the U.S. during the 1980s. Headed by president Neil B. Saul, the company was based in New York City and worked on behalf of toy companies through media purchases and advertising sales...

, and produced by Nelvana in association with Canada's Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...

. American Greetings
American Greetings
American Greetings Corporation, Inc. is the world's largest publicly-traded greeting card company. It is based in Brooklyn, Ohio and sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, party products , and electronic expressive content...

 staff members Jack Chojnacki
Jack Chojnacki
Jack Chojnacki served as the co-president of Those Characters from Cleveland Inc., a division of U.S. greeting card company American Greetings , in the 1980s...

 (of Those Characters from Clevland) and Harvey Levin (a vice-president) were credited as creative consultants. This is the only Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...

 production of a Care Bears special; the first two, The Land Without Feelings
The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings
The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings is the first television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Atkinson Film-Arts of Canada, it was premiered on syndication in April 1983...

and The Freeze Machine
The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine
The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine is the second television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Atkinson Film-Arts of Canada, it premiered in syndication in April 1984.-Overview:...

, were produced by Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, The company is best known for the first two Care Bears television specials, The Land Without Feelings and The Freeze Machine, and the four syndicated specials that inspired The Raccoons...

 in the early half of the 1980s. After Nutcracker Suite, Nelvana would not venture into another Care Bears project until 2004's Journey to Joke-a-lot
Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot
Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot is a 2004 children's animated feature, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment. Directed by Mike Fallows and written by Jeffrey Alan Schecter, this was the fourth film to star the Care Bears, and their first in over 15 years...

.

Release

Care Bears Nutcracker Suite was originally planned for a theatrical release, but premiered on home video and television instead. The special debuted on the U.S. premium cable network, Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

, on December 10, 1988. In Canada, it aired commercial-free on the Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...

 network on December 25, as part of the regular Care Bears series. The special was shown likewise on Malaysia's TV3
TV3 (Malaysia)
Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad or TV3 began broadcasting on 1 June 1984 as Malaysia’s first commercial television station. It is part of Media Prima Berhad group of companies. It now transmits opened broadcasting business private 24-hours a day, 7 days a week since 1 January 2010...

 in December 1989.

The North American VHS and Beta
Betamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...

 editions were released in December 1988 by Kids Klassics, a division of GoodTimes Entertainment
GoodTimes Entertainment
GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was a home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well-known due to its distribution of media from third parties and classics...

. This was one of the label's three Christmas titles for that year; the others were Christmas Comes to Pac-Land
Christmas Comes to Pac-Land
Christmas Comes to Pac-Land is an animated television special and spinoff of the Saturday morning animated series, Pac-Man based on the original video game. It premiered on ABC in prime time on December 16, 1982...

and A Flintstone Christmas
A Flintstone Christmas
A Flintstone Christmas is a 60-minute animated Christmas television special featuring The Flintstones. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and aired on NBC on December 7, 1977. This special is not to be confused with the episode "Christmas Flintstone" which aired during the show's run...

. The film was released on Region 2 DVD in France (on June 2, 2004), with Warner Vision's edition of Les Calinours au pays de casse-noisette. On November 7, 2006, Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment and most former Artisan Entertainment releases. Its library of more than 8000 films owes some of its size to output deals with other studios...

 released the special on DVD for the first time in North America, under the title Care Bears: The Nutcracker.

On its original airing, Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 writer Kathryn Baker deemed the Nutcracker special "Strictly for those who prefer jelly beans to Christmas dinner." In 1991, Chris Hicks of Utah's Deseret News gave it 1½ stars out of four, commenting that "Even my young children find this one too saccharine". The special is mentioned in Craig Nelson's Bad TV: The Very Best of the Very Worst, in a section entitled "The Curse of the Top Five Annual Christmas Specials" (along with those based on The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...

and The Poky Little Puppy
The Poky Little Puppy
The Poky Little Puppy is a children's book written by Texas author Janette Sebring Lowrey and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. It was first published in 1942 as one of the first 12 books in the Simon and Schuster series Little Golden Books...

).

See also

  • The Nutcracker Prince
    The Nutcracker Prince
    The Nutcracker Prince is a 1990 animated romantic fantasy film made by Lacewood Productions and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was directed by Paul Schibli and based on the story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A...

    , a theatrically released Canadian animated feature based on the same source material
  • Canadian films of the 1980s
  • List of productions of The Nutcracker
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