Care Bears - Launch and Success

Launch and Success

On September 24, 1982, the Care Bears franchise was launched in New York City before members of the area's Society of Security Analysts. Attending the event were American Greetings president Morry Weiss, and two employees of Those Characters from Cleveland: Jack Chojnacki and senior vice-president Henry Lowenthal. Eventually, the characters were announced as a toyline for production by Parker Brothers and Kenner the following spring, as well as pre-licensed characters and media stars. At that time, American Greetings touted their debut as "the biggest character launch in the history of retailing". On a US$5–6 million advertising budget and a wholesale commitment worth US$122.5 million, American Greetings introduced the characters to the general public in February 1983, with an appearance at New York City's Toy Fair; 26 licensees were involved upon launch. Among them was General Mills, a food company which owned the board game manufacturer Parker Brothers. In early 1983, Parker Brothers released six books featuring the Care Bears as part of its publishing division's first offerings. On television, the original ten Bears starred in their first syndicated special, Atkinson Film-Arts' The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings; Kenner produced and sponsored it.

In 1984, AGC introduced a spin-off line, the Care Bear Cousins; another syndicated special, The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine, came out that same year. A miniseries based on the toys was distributed by Lexington Broadcast Services Company. A year later, the Bears and Cousins starred in their first film, The Care Bears Movie, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. It became the highest-grossing animated film made outside the Disney market at the time of its release. Later that autumn, DIC Entertainment released an 11-episode television series in syndication.

In 1986, Nelvana returned to the franchise with a second movie, Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film featured a new villain, Dark Heart, and introduced more of the Care Bears and Care Bears Cousins: Harmony Bear, True Heart Bear, and Noble Heart Horse.

Later that year, a TV series titled The Care Bears Family (also from Nelvana) premiered on the U.S. ABC network and Canada's Global. Lasting two seasons and consisting of over 70 episodes, this introduced the evil wizard No Heart and his sidekick Beastly. In the second season, No Heart's niece Shreeky was introduced.

The Care Bears' third film, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, debuted in 1987. A TV special, Care Bears Nutcracker Suite, premiered on the Disney Channel in 1988.

Over 40 million Care Bears were sold between 1983 and 1987, and American Greetings printed over 70 million of their cards during the decade. In whole, the sales of their merchandise reached over $2 billion during the 1980s.