The WereBears were a series of teddy bears released in 1983 in the United Kingdom. They were created by George Nicholas, a muralist and managing director wit
Impact Murals philanthropist and director of his charity
Art For Their Sake cartoonist, animator, and author, so that boys could have teddy bears without worrying about being bullied. Nicholas gave the handling of distribution of the toys to UK-based toy company Hornby. The bears were designed in a way that their "normal" head functioned as a hood, and by turning the head inside out it would reveal the "were" face.
History
Four bears were originally released in 1983. The bears were named Grizzler, Howler, Fang, and Gums. Each bear came with a story tape narrated by
Oliver Postgate
Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008), generally known as Oliver Postgate, was an English animator, puppeteer, and writer. He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television progra ...
of
Bagpuss
''Bagpuss'' is a British animated children's television series which was made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate through their company Smallfilms. The series of thirteen episodes was first broadcast from 12 February to 7 May 1974. The title ch ...
fame, with one side explaining how the WereBears came to be and the other telling the individual bear's own adventure. In 1986, another line of teddies called the TerrorTeds were created. A fifth WereBear named Growler was released the same year.
Synopsis
The WereBears' adventure begins near the fictional village of Munchen-Luncheon, a tiny place in a remote corner of Bavaria where time seems to have stood still.
The Bears were created by kindly old toymaker Baron Egon Baconburger, who lives in Castle Casserole. But the Baron fell victim to an ancient curse on his family that changed him into a werewolf, and somehow he passed on this curse to the four teddy bears... hence they became WereBears. Now the Bears have got themselves hopelessly lost in the forest and the Baron desperately needs to find them before his secret is discovered.
The Baron and the Bears may look scary, but they are still innocent and good-hearted inside. However, there are darker forces to be reckoned with... anything might happen in the forest beyond Munchen-Luncheon, because it is the enchanted domain of the horrible Witch Hazel, her hideous TerrorTeds, and other assorted nasties!
Toy Characters
In total, nine characters were produced for this toy line. They are as follows.
WereBears
Howler - A blue bear with yellow 'trousers'.
Grizzler - A yellow bear with a striped shirt.
Fang - A red bear with a baseball cap hat and a single tooth.
Gums - A dark blue bear with a pompom hat and no teeth.
Growler - An orange bear with blue 'trousers' and a badge which, when pressed, played a howling noise.
TerrorTeds
Snapper - A green bear with mismatched eyes and a large number of teeth.
Chomp - A red bear with a pitchfork tail and a large lower jaw.
Munch - A purple bear with a strong brow and flat head.
Grunt - A shaggy black bear with a red stomach.
Other media
A comic book was published in 1990 by Clearmark Productions/London Editions Magazines and lasted seven issues. Four artists, George Nicholas as creator, along with
Nigel Parkinson
Nigel Parkinson is a British cartoonist who works for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and mainly draws for ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy''.
Biography
Parkinson is the official artist for Dennis the Menace in ''The Beano''. His career in comics began ...
and Julie Evans hand wrote and inked each issue before submitting to the publisher to print and distribute. The first issue was a retelling of the WereBears' origin, the second issue retold the origin of the TerrorTeds, and the third issue retold the origin of Growler. The following four issues each focused on an adventure of one of the WereBears versus one of the TerrorTeds.
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
was in talks with George Nicholas to make a film about the bears.
The WereBear Directory - History of the WereBears , www.redhotscott.co.uk
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References
External links
* https://www.georgenicholas.co.uk/
* http://www.thewerebears.com/ Under construction
* http://www.redhotscott.co.uk/werebear/index.html
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcDmENtNBJs
{{Teddy bears
1980s toys
Products introduced in 1983
Teddy bears