''Bernard'', known as ''Backkom'' (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...

: 빼꼼) in South Korea and ''Berni'' in Spain, is a computer-animated television series produced by RG Animation Studios, with the investment of the French broadcaster M6. The animation style is of a combination of computer-generated and

cel animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proc ...

. The stories are written by the creative studio ''Screen21'', the directors are José Luis Ucha Enríquez and Claudio Biern Lliviria. The music was written by Oscar Maceda Rodríguez. ''Bernard'' also was a part of Cartoon Network's ''Sunday Pants''. In

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, season 1 aired on

EBS EBS may refer to: Broadcasting * EBS TV (Ethiopia) * Educational Broadband Service, US TV service * Educational Broadcasting System, South Korea ** EBS 1, a South Korean television channel * Emergency Broadcast System, former US Warning system ...

TV in 2006 and consists of 52 episodes. Season 2 aired in 2009, and it also consists of 52 episodes.

Plot

The show centers on a circus polar bear named Bernard, whose bumbling slapstick antics and clumsiness typically result in the bear being knocked unconscious or being severely injured by the end of an episode. Bernard almost doesn't speak, but he does communicate through guttural sounds. Bernard’s friends include Lloyd and Eva the penguins, Zack the lizard, and Goliath the chihuahua.

Episodes

Films

A feature film based on ''Bernard'', titled '' Mug Travel'' in South Korea and ''My Friend Bernard'' in English, was first released in South Korea on 22 March 2007. It was directed by Lim Ah-ron and produced at RG Animation Studios. Another film, titled Backkom Bear: Agent 008 was released in China on 13 January 2017 and South Korea on 3 May 2017. A third film, titled Agent Backkom: Kings Bear was released in China and South Korea on July 23, 2021.

Award history

''Bernard'' has been nominated for a number of awards, including ''Best Animation series'' at the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (2006), Mipcom Jr. Licensing Challenge Award (2004), Prize in ''Children and Education'' at the Dong-A International Festival of Cartoon & Animation (2004) and was a finalist at the

Annecy International Animation Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

(2003). # Nominated for The Best Animation Series at Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (2006) # Mipcom Jr. Licensing Challenge Award (2004) # Won the Prize in Children and Education at DIFECA (Dong-A International Festival of Cartoon & Animation) (2004) # Was the finalist in Annecy International Animation Festival (2003).

References

External links