''The Berenstain Bears Play Ball'', also known as ''The Berenstain Bears' Littlest Leaguer'', is a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
-themed
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
television special
A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...
based on the
Berenstain Bears
The ''Berenstain Bears'' is a children's literature franchise created by the late Stan and Jan Berenstain and continued by their son, Mike Berenstain, who assumed partial authorship in 2002, and full authorship in 2012 following Jan's death. T ...
children's book series by
Stan and Jan Berenstain
Stanley Melvin Berenstain (September 29, 1923 – November 26, 2005) and Janice Marian Berenstain (née Grant; July 26, 1923 – February 24, 2012) were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book seri ...
. Produced by
Buzz Potamkin
Marshall "Buzz" Potamkin (October 22, 1945 – April 22, 2012) was an American television producer and director known for founding his own television advertisement production studio, Perpetual Motion Pictures aka Buzzco Associates, and helping to ...
and directed by Al Kouzel, the program made its debut on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
Stan and Jan Berenstain's first animated holiday special aired on NBC in December 1979. ''
The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
''The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree'' is a Christmas-themed animated television special based on the ''Berenstain Bears'' children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein, the progr ...
'' was the first of five annual animated specials that would air on NBC, produced by Joe Cates and the Joseph Cates Production Company. ''
The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw
''The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw'' was a Thanksgiving-themed animation, animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein and A ...
'' was the second in this series, followed by the third, ''
The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise
''The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise'' is an Easter-themed animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and Hal Hoffer, and directed by Mordicai Gerstein ...
'', and a fourth ''
The Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine
''The Berenstain Bears Comic Valentine'' is a Valentine-themed animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein and Al Kouzel, ...
''.
The Berenstains utilized rhyming couplets in the script - for both the narrator and the character dialogue. This element had also been used in the Christmas Tree special and was familiar to audiences since a similar type of writing was used in the Berenstain Bears
Beginner Books
Beginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 3–9, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel. Their first book was Dr. Seuss's ''The Cat in the Hat'' (19 ...
series.
Cast
*
Ron McLarty
Ronald William McLarty (April 26, 1947 – February 8, 2020) was an American actor, playwright, and novelist. He also worked as an audiobook narrator, in which role he recorded over 100 titles and received many Audie Awards.
McLarty appeare ...
as Papa Bear
* Pat Lysinger as Mama Bear
*
Knowl Johnson
Knowl Johnson is an American actor born on September 16, 1970, in Greenwich, Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Mas ...
as Brother Bear
* Gabriela Glatzer as Sister Bear
Production and casting
The 25-minute special was created and written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and featured original music composed and conducted by Emmy-winning musician
Elliot Lawrence
Elliott Lawrence Broza (February 14, 1925 – July 2, 2021), known professionally as Elliott Lawrence, was an American jazz pianist and bandleader.
Son of the broadcaster Stan Lee Broza, Lawrence led his first dance band at age 20, but he pl ...
, with lyrics provided by Stan Berenstain. The score included three original songs.
It was the last of five Berenstain Bears animated specials that aired on NBC from 1979 to 1983. Some of the production staff would continue to work on the next adaptation: 1985's '' The Berenstain Bears Show'', including Joe Cates and Buzz Potamkin. Elliott Lawrence continues to score music for the episodes which are based on his compositions from the five specials, although in faster pace. While they no longer break out in song, the theme music (matching part of ''
Stars and Stripes Forever
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" is a patriotic American march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896. By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America.
History
In his 1928 autobi ...
'') resembles the song lyrics from the specials. The program is now produced by Southern Star with new voice actors.
Premiere
The program premiered on NBC on May 6, 1983.
Plot
Papa Bear learns from the newspaper about
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
as a double-feature with ''
The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
''The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree'' is a Christmas-themed animated television special based on the ''Berenstain Bears'' children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein, the progr ...
'', called "A Berenstain Bears Celebration". In 1987, the special was made available on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment as part of their "Children's Treasures" series. In 1989, the special was distributed on VHS by Kids Klassics. The special was re-released in 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video, in a double-feature with ''The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree''. In 2002, the special was released on DVD by GoodTimes, also in a double-feature with ''The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree''. In 2008, Sony Wonder also released the special on DVD. In this edition, it was bundled with a few bonus episodes from the 1980s cartoon series.