The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas
The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas is an animated Christmas TV special.[1] It premiered on NBC on December 17, 1973, in the United States.[2] It was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, executive producer Norman Sedawie, and starred the voices of Tommy Smothers, Arte Johnson and Barbara Feldon, with narration by Casey Kasem.[3]
| The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation Comedy Adventure Musical |
| Written by | John Barrett Larry Spiegel |
| Directed by | Gerry Chiniquy Hawley Pratt |
| Voices of | Bob Holt Kelly Lange Michael Bell Casey Kasem Caryn Paperny Arte Johnson Tom Smothers Barbara Feldon |
| Composer | Doug Goodwin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | David H. DePatie Friz Freleng |
| Producer | Ted Geisel |
| Production company | DePatie–Freleng Enterprises |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | December 17, 1973 |
The story focuses on Theodore Edward Bear (Ted E. Bear for short) who is curious about Christmas and decides to go searching for it while the other bears hibernate for the winter.
In the early 1980s, a plush Ted E. Bear was sold in stores. A Halloween sequel, The Great Bear Scare, was released in October 1983. It later aired on the Disney Channel until the late 1990s.
Rights to the special are now owned by Lionsgate. It is currently available through the Lionsgate channel on YouTube and on Tubi. It was formerly available on Netflix.
Cast
- Robert Holt as Santa Claus and Mayor C. Emory Bear
- Kelly Lange as Weather Bear
- Michael Bell as Honey Bear
- Casey Kasem as the narrator
- Caryn Paperny as Girl
- Arte Johnson as Professor Werner von Bear
- Tom Smothers as Ted E. Bear
- Barbara Feldon as Patti Bear
References
- 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. pp. 23–24. ISBN 9781476672939.
- Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- Nina David, ed., TV Season 1974-75, Oryx Press, 1976.