Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears and later headlined their own television series called Care Bears from 1985 to 1988. They also made three feature films: The Care Bears Movie (1985), The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).
Each Care Bear is a different colour or shade and has a unique "picture on the stomach" that represents its personality. Adding to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins", which feature Brave Heart Lion, Cozy Heart Penguin, Bright Heart Raccoon, Lotsa Heart Elephant, Gentle Heart Lamb, Loyal Heart Dog, Playful Heart Monkey, Proud Heart Cat, Swift Heart Rabbit, Treat Heart Pig and Noble Heart Horse created in the same style as the Care Bears.
In 2002, new versions of the bears were manufactured by Play Along Toys. These new Care Bears appeared in three computer animated films: Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004), The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie (2005), and Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! (2007).
A revival TV series, Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, premiered on The Hub on June 2, 2012 for one season. A continuation with the same characters, Care Bears and Cousins, was commissioned by Netflix and premiered in 2015. That year, toy company Just Play debuted a range of Care Bears toys (plush, figurines, and blind bag collectibles) based on the series.
The current TV series, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, debuted on Boomerang SVOD on February 1, 2019, and has since tied in with a new toy line from Basic Fun!.
