Saturday, September 24, 2011

First look at New Care Bears Series

Over at WorldScreen, a licensing book reveals what the new Care Bears will look like in CGI.  Truth be told, it's a little freaky.
Now, a couple of months ago I stumbled onto two audition videos for the series (which have since been set to private, naturally), but I didn't post about those here, since I didn't know if the info in the dialogue was legit.  But it appears that it was, as WorldScreen also has a video section where you can catch a short clip from (what I assume is) the first episode.
Tenderheart's niece, Wonderheart




From the clip, we learn that the new series will once again focus on the bears helping kids (though whether it'll be just one ala Makena remains to be seen).  And what's up with Tenderheart having a niece, anyway?  The bears look a little better when they're actually in motion, and I like the fuzziness.  But I have to wonder, is the animation supposed to be emulating stop motion, or is it just bad?

1 comment:

  1. I had no idea there was a new series coming out, and one that features the modern-vintage Bears. I suppose it's to tie in to the 30th anniversary.

    I'm very disappointed to see its another cartoon that is in terrible CGI. Traditional animation just seems so much better for these types of series; it doesn't help that it's rather substandard. It just makes it seem quite jarring.

    Worse, I really don't like that they've decided to make Care Bears marketed towards girls instead of the gender neutral toys and cartoons were in years past. The concept of teddy bears with personalities based on feelings and attitudes with magic powers was for everyone. Even Lots-A-Heart Elephant was pink AND male.

    Now they have a girl character, another skinny tween, no less, and another "pink is girly" cub that could easily have been a bit older Hugs and Tugs.

    What I loved about AICAL was that it was pure color, that is, no real black lines, a smaller palette, mixed with humor. It went along great with Sushi Pack, MLP: FiM, and other series similar in genre and style. It didn't feel dumbed down for tiny tots, although it did become rather "girly."

    It makes sense that they would go back to the more familiar version of CB's, especially when they can produce new 30th anniversary editions of the plushes, but it's sad that they went with this. Especially when MLP: FiM paves the way for children and adult fans/ collectors, they could easily have created a contemporary yet nostalgic ride that would boost popularity for the franchise. Strawberry Shortcake could take a few lessons from MLP as well!

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