''The Bear'' is a 1998 British animated

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptatio ...

directed by Hilary Audus. Based on the book of the same name by the author

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

, the film was first broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at Christmas 1998 and released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as a

Direct-to-Video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

release by Buena Vista Home Video in 1998. The show won a Peabody Award in 1998. In 2000, it won the Golden Butterfly Award for the best short film in the international cinema competition of the 15th Isfahan International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Iran. Like ''

The Snowman ''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book '' The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It ...

'', the film does not have any spoken dialogue, although for the American version,

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

narrates the film. The musical score was by

Howard Blake Howard David Blake (born 28 October 1938) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist whose career has spanned more than 50 years and produced more than 650 works. Blake's most successful work is his soundtrack for Channel 4’s 1982 film ' ...

and the end theme "Somewhere A Star Shines For Everyone" was sung by Charlotte Church.

Plot

A young Polar Bear cub chases a bird and is captured by sea men on a ship after he is spotted. The bear, now grown up in captivity, looks up at a star before lying down to sleep. The next day, a red haired girl named Tilly is on a day trip to the London Zoo, but accidentally drops her

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...

into the bear pen. The bear wakes up and spots the teddy, paws at it and carries it off to his cave as Tilly looks on shocked. That night, Tilly cries over her lost bear and her mother attempts to give her a toy rabbit for her to use as a sleeping comfort. Tilly takes the rabbit, but then throws it on the floor and turns to sleep. Later that night, a figure is seen walking towards Tilly's window — it is the polar bear from the

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

with her lost teddy bear, who lifts her window and enters her room. The bear wakes Tilly up and returns her teddy to her. Tilly looks up surprised to see the polar bear looking at her smiling. Then Tilly yawns and falls asleep again. Then the bear sleeps in Tilly's bed. The following morning, Tilly wakes up and runs downstairs to get some food for the bear. When she runs upstairs, she finds that the bear has excreted on the stairs. Tilly cleans up the waste and empties it outside before walking into the bathroom and nearly slipping over the bear's

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra. Cellular ...

. Cross, she then mops up the urine and watches on as the bear drinks out of the toilet. Then Tilly moves the bear and runs a bath to wash him. He soaks Tilly in the process of getting into it and already beginning to tire of him, she washes the bear. In the kitchen, Tilly dries and brushes the bear and proceeds to feed him with honey. While eating the honey, the bear makes a mess of the kitchen and gets his nose stuck in the jar (to Tilly's amusement). Then Tilly and the bear go to her parents' bedroom and sleep. Tilly wakes up to the sound of the door of her parents returning from work. She hugs her mother and they later sit down to watch ''

'' as the bear walks in and heads out. That night, the bear hides under Tilly's bed as she is put to bed by her mother. Tilly falls asleep and moves over as the bear climbs onto the bed with her. A gust of wind knocks a snowglobe from Tilly's bedside table, attracting the bear's attention who looks at it, seeing the mother bear and cub looking back at him. Tilly follows the bear outside where he looks at the sky. The pair move to a wide open park area where they meet the Star Bear, which is a bear shaped constellation (like The Great Bear) and the trio embark on a tour around

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, showing a wide variety of notable landmarks such as

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...

, and bringing a display of Christmas angels to life with a Father Christmas display also coming to life. Then the trio skate on the frozen

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

(to the refrains of "Somewhere A Star Shines For Everyone") and travel further to the

London Docks London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham, and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port ...

where a ship cuts through the ice where Tilly is left stranded but is saved by the bear before the moving ship passes. The Star Bear looks up to the

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude tha ...

and the bear looks at Tilly. Tearfully they say goodbye and the bear returns to his own family. The Star Bear returns home with Tilly, who has been given a shining star (the size of a small stone). The

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

is seen and the bear pen in the London Zoo as Tilly looks on in amazement. The polar bear returns to his natural habitat to find his family waiting for him. As the sun rises the next morning, Tilly wakes up to find the windows open and the Star Bear's constellation fading. As it does, the shining star vanishes from Tilly's hand, and she wonders about the bear from her window.

References

External links

* * *
''The Bear''
at Toonhound

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bear 1998 short films 1990s animated short films Animated films based on children's books British animated short films Peabody Award-winning broadcasts 1998 direct-to-video films Films scored by Howard Blake 1998 films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films