We Bare Bears is an American multinational animated series created by Daniel Chong for Cartoon Network. The show follows three bear siblings, Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear, and their awkward attempts at integrating with the human world in the San Francisco Bay Area. The series was based on Chong's webcomicThe Three Bare Bears, and the pilot episode made its world premiere at the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival, where it won in the "Young Amsterdam Audience" category. The show premiered on July 27, 2015 and ended on May 27, 2019, after four seasons and 140 episodes. On May 30, 2019, Cartoon Network announced that would be released in mid-2020 and that an untitled spin-off series that focuses on the three bears as when they were cubs is in development. On May 21, 2020, We Bare Bears: The Movie was announced to release digitally on June 30, 2020; serving as a series finale to the series itself.
Plot
We Bare Bears follows three adoptive brother bears: Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear. The bears attempt to integrate with human society, such as by purchasing food, making human companions or trying to become famous on the Internet, although these attempts see the bears struggle to do so due to the civilized nature of humans and their own animal instincts. However, in the end, they figure out that they have each other for support. The Bears often form a "bear stack", which they use to get around the city. The stack has become perhaps the most recognizable image from the show, although they do travel walking on their own. Occasionally, the bears share adventures with their friends, such as child prodigy Chloe Park, bigfoot Charlie, internet sensation Koala Nom Nom, park ranger Tabes, and produce saleswoman Lucy. Some flashback episodes chronicle the adventures of the bears as cubs trying to find a home.
Episodes
Production
The show was created by cartoonist Daniel Chong, who had previously worked as a story artist for Pixar and Illumination Entertainment. The show is based on his webcomic The Three Bare Bears, which also features the identifying characters. This webcomic was uploaded online from 2010 to 2011. Billed as a comedy, the show is a production of Cartoon Network Studios, which developed the program with Chong as part of their shorts development program. It was announced during the network's 2014 upfront. Nom Nom and Charlie were initially voiced by Ken Jeong and Tom Arnold, respectively, before getting recast sometime before airing. The show's visual simplistic look was inspired by classic hand-drawn animation akin to Peanuts and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Broadcast
The pilot episode made its world premiere as part of two separate venues of the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival at the EYE Film Institute Netherlands: the "Animated Shorts 5", and the "Animated Shorts for Kids" ages 9 to 12. The short was screened alongside the Dutch premiere of Clarence, the Steven Universe episodes "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem", and a live interview with the creator of the latter series, Rebecca Sugar.
International
We Bare Bears premiered on Cartoon Network in Canada on July 27, 2015 It also aired on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom and Ireland on September 7, 2015. The series debuted on Cartoon Network channels in Australia and New Zealand and the Philippines on November 16, 2015 It was premiered on Cartoon Network in India on November 29, 2015, and in Italy on December 8, 2015. It was also premiered in Pakistan on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2016 and airs on every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 pm, according to Pakistan Standard Time. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it airs on Cartoon Network and Disney Channel. In the Czech Republic it airs on Cartoon Network and ČT Déčko. Another dubbed version in Filipino aired on October 19, 2016, on 5 alongside the 2016 reboot of The Powerpuff Girls. Both shows also premiered on CNN Philippines' weekend morning block starting September 1, 2018, except that it is broadcast in English and not dubbed in Filipino. In December 2018, Indonesia still aired this series on NET. with the name "NETOON" and dubbed version in Indonesia.
Home media
Reception
Critical
We Bare Bears has received generally positive reviews from critics. The pilot was described by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands as "hilarious and endearing", and it won in the "Young Amsterdam Audience" category. The show has been praised by Mashable for tackling "modern millennial anxieties" and for representing racial minorities.
Awards and nominations
In other media
announced in 2014 that it would publish books based on various programs for Cartoon Network, including We Bare Bears. The books were produced out of the company's Cartoon Network Books imprint, a division of the Penguin Young Readers Group, and is based on a partnership with the network that started in 2013.
