The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine

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The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine
The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine DVD Cover.jpg
A poster for the original May 1984 video release of the special
Written byPeter Sauder
Directed byPino van Lamsweerde,
Paul Schibli (animation)
StarringRick Jones (as Tenderheart Bear, Birthday Bear & Good Luck Bear)
Bob Dermer (as Frostbite)
Noreen Young (as Baby Hugs)
Les Lye (as Professor Coldheart)
Abby Hagyard (as Friend Bear, Wish Bear & Love-A-Lot Bear)
Dominic Bradford (as Paul)
Brodie Osome (as Lumpy)
Pauline Rennie (as Grams Bear; uncredited)
Narrated byBob Dermer (as Cloud Keeper)
Theme music composer and (songs),
(score)
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers

Paul Pressler (associate)
Those Characters from Cleveland, LLC
Cinematography
Editors
Jennifer Irwin

Running time30 min.
Production companyAtkinson Film-Arts
DistributorLBS Communications
Release
Original networkSyndication
Picture formatNTSC
Original releaseApril 1984 (1984-04)[1]
Chronology
Preceded byThe Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984)
Followed byCare Bears (1985)

The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine is the second animated television special to feature the Care Bears characters.[2] Made by Ottawa's Atkinson Film-Arts studios, it premiered in syndication in April 1984.[3] The special introduces two new Care Bears characters, Hugs and Tugs.[4]

Plot[]

Paul, a young boy, vows to get even with his bullies. Through this, the mad scientist Professor Coldheart tricks him into fixing his "Careless Ray Contraption" after his bumbling henchman Frostbite breaks it by accident. The Care Bears, led by Tenderheart Bear, must do all that they can to stop Coldheart's plan of freezing every child in town with his machine. Hugs and Tugs, two baby Care Bears are kidnapped by Coldheart to be trapped in ice, and after finding it out from their caretaker Grams Bear, the Care Bears must not only stop Coldheart and convince Paul not to get even, but must also rescue Hugs and Tugs.

Overview[]

The special, a follow-up to the previous installment The Land Without Feelings (from 1983), sees the return of the ten original Bears and the rarely seen Cloud Keeper, as well as the blue-skinned love-hating villain Professor Coldheart. In addition, the special introduces Baby Hugs, Baby Tugs, their caretaker Grams Bear, and Professor Coldheart's dwarf henchman, Frostbite.

Release and reception[]

The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine aired on over 100 U.S. TV stations in April 1984, and was sponsored by the Kenner company.[1] That same year, it won an award for Best Children's Program at the 13th National ACTRA Awards.[5] A tie-in book based on the special (ISBN 0-910313-15-6) was written by , illustrated by and published by Parker Brothers as a part of the Tales from the Care Bears series.

The special was released on VHS and Beta by Family Home Entertainment in May 1984.[6] This, and The Land Without Feelings, were among the ten best-selling children's videos on the U.S. market in 1985.[7] It was released for the first time on DVD, as a special feature, on MGM Home Entertainment's 2007 re-issue of The Care Bears Movie. The print featured on the disc is the syndicated edit, not the original broadcast version.

In 1987, Don R. Le Duc referred to Freeze Machine as a "shallow merchandising marvel".[8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Re:act. Action for Children's Television. 13. 1984. ...To follow up on this response, Kenner will sponsor a second Care Bears special on a network of over 100 local TV stations in April {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ Leccese, Donna (June 1984). "A bear's eye view of plush". Playthings. Geyer-McAllister Publications Inc. (82): 30.
  3. ^ Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  4. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  5. ^ "Awards List". Crawley Films. Archived from the original on 2003-10-18. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  6. ^ "New on the Charts: Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine". Billboard. VNU/Nielsen Business Media. 97 (21): 31. 1985-05-25. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  7. ^ "Television/Radio Age". Television/Radio Age. Television Editorial Corp. 34: 14. 1986. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  8. ^ Le Duc, Don R. (1987). Beyond Broadcasting: Patterns in Policy and Law. Longman. p. 65. ISBN 0-582-29039-2. Retrieved 2010-08-14.

External links[]

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