The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine

The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine

A poster for the original May 1984 video release of the special
Written by Peter Sauder
Directed by Pino Van Lamsweerde,
Paul Schibli (animation)
Starring Rick Jones (as Tenderheart Bear, Birthday Bear & Good Luck Bear)
Bob Dermer (as Frostbite)
Noreen Young (as Baby Hugs)
Les Lye (as Professor Coldheart)
Abby Hagyard (as Friend Bear, Wish Bear & Love-A-Lot Bear)
Dominic Smith
Brodie Osome (as Lumpy)
Narrated by Bob Dermer (as Cloud Keeper)
Theme music composer Bob and Merry Chimbel (songs),
Gary Morton (score)
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) W.H. Stevens Jr.
Hugh Campbell
Paul Pressler (associate)
Cinematography Ron Haines
Jan Topper
Editor(s) John Harris
Jennifer Irwin
Norman LeBlanc
Gerald Tripp
Running time 30 min.
Production company(s) Atkinson Film-Arts
Distributor United States:
Family Home Entertainment (VHS, 1984)
MGM (DVD, 2007, AD only)
Release
Original network Syndication
Original release April 1984[1]
Chronology
Preceded by The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983)

The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine is the second television special to feature the Care Bears characters.[2] Made by Ottawa's Atkinson Film-Arts studios, it premiered in syndication in April 1984.

Plot

Paul, a young boy, wants to get even with his bullies as Professor Coldheart tricks him into fixing his Careless Ray Contraption after Frostbite ruined it by accident. The Care Bears must do all that they can to stop Coldheart's plan of freezing everyone's feelings. Hug and Tugs, two baby Care Bears are kidnapped by Professor Coldheart. The Care Bears have to rescue them.

Overview

The special, a follow-up to the previous installment The Land Without Feelings (from 1983), sees the return of the ten original Bears and the rarely seen Cloud Keeper, as well as the villain Professor Coldheart. In addition, the special introduces Baby Hugs, Baby Tugs, Grams Bear, and Professor Coldheart's sidekick, Frostbite.

Release and reception

The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine aired on over 100 U.S. TV stations in April 1984, and was sponsored by the Kenner company.[1] That same year, it won an award for Best Children's Program at the 13th National ACTRA Awards.[3] A tie-in book based on the special (ISBN 0-910313-15-6) was written by Arthur S. Rosenblatt, illustrated by Joe Ewers and published by Parker Brothers as a part of the Tales from the Care Bears series.

The special was released on VHS and Beta by Family Home Entertainment in May 1984.[4] This, and The Land Without Feelings, were among the ten best-selling children's videos on the U.S. market in 1985.[5] It was released for the first time on DVD, as a special feature, on MGM Home Enteratainment's 2007 re-issue of The Care Bears Movie. The print featured on the disc is the syndicated edit, not the original broadcast version.

In 1987, Don R. Le Duc referred to Freeze Machine as a "shallow merchandising marvel".[6]

References

  1. 1 2 re:act. Action for Children's Television. 13. 1984. ...To follow up on this response, Kenner will sponsor a second Care Bears special on a network of over 100 local TV stations in April Missing or empty |title= (help);
  2. ↑ Leccese, Donna (June 1984). "A bear's eye view of plush". Playthings. Geyer-McAllister Publications Inc. (82): 30.
  3. ↑ "Awards List". Crawley Films. Archived from the original on 2003-10-18. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  4. ↑ "New on the Charts: Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine". Billboard. VNU/Nielsen Business Media. 97 (21): 31. 1985-05-25. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  5. ↑ Television/Radio Age. Television Editorial Corp. 34: 14. 1986 https://books.google.com/books?id=72W4AAAAIAAJ&q=Care+Bears+-+%22Freeze+Machine%22&dq=Care+Bears+-+%22Freeze+Machine%22&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-08-14. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Le Duc, Don R. (1987). Beyond Broadcasting: Patterns in Policy and Law. Longman. p. 65. ISBN 0-582-29039-2. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
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