The Little Flying Bears (Croatian: Leteći medvjedići) is an animated television series produced by Zagreb Film and CinéGroupe. It was a Canadian/Croatian co-production which originally aired in 1990.
| The Little Flying Bears | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Jean-Pierre Liccioni |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | Canada, Croatia |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Production | |
| Producers | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Family Channel |
| Release | September 2, 1990 – June 30, 1991 |
This cartoon helps children realize the importance of protecting the environment. The series shows the harmful effects of pollution and fires as well as the important role of the ecosystem.
Plot
The series focuses on a rare species of little bears with wings that live in the magical forest in a utopian cooperative community. The little flying bears together with their friends, took on themselves the task to defend their forest from pollution. However, their efforts, very often, are disturbed by two weasels, Skulk and Sammy, who strive to pollute the forest. Every so often the weasels receive help from Slink the snake. The three always strive to find new ways to disturb the harmony of the forest but their plans are destroyed always by the bears. The bears are always attentive to the advice of the old bear, Plato (who is too old to fly) and his friend Ozzy the owl.
Characters
Protagonists
- Plato (voiced by Walter Massey) - A wise old grey colored flying bear that serves as the head of the flying bear community and is the grandfather of all its bear cubs. Plato is too old to have wings and therefore is not capable of flying. The young bears respect him for his wisdom and follow his advice. He is named after the Greek Philosopher of the same name.
- Walt (voiced by Arthur Holden) - A young male blue colored flying bear cub with lighter blue hair and orange wings. He is Tina's boyfriend. He is the possible, but not confirmed, brother of Jason and Josh. He and Tina are the main protagonists of the series and are the bravest members of the flying bear community.
- Tina (voiced by Jessalyn Gilsig) - A young female orange colored flying bear cub with blonde ponytail, blue wings, green necklace and big green flower on the top of her head. She is Walt's girlfriend. She is the possible, but not confirmed, sister of Lotus and Jasmine. She and Walt are the main protagonists of the series and are the bravest members of the flying bear community.
- Josh (voiced by Teddy Lee Dillon) - A young male light brown colored flying bear cub with brown hair and purple wings. He is Jasmine's boyfriend and fraternal twin brother of Jason. He is one of the shyest members of the flying bear community.
- Jasmine (voiced by Pauline Little) - A young female pink colored flying bear cub with orange wings, blue necklace and blue flower crown. She is Josh's girlfriend and identical twin sister of Lotus. She is quite timid, compared to other flying bears.
- Lotus (voiced by Pauline Little) - A young female pink colored flying bear cub with orange wings, blue necklace and green flower crown. Lotus is Jasmine's identical twin sister. She is the possible, but not confirmed, Jason's girlfriend. She is short-tempered, but not as brave as Walt and Tina.
- Jason (voiced by Jeff Lumby & Ian Finlay) - A young male red colored flying bear cub with blonde hair and green wings. He is Josh's fraternal twin brother. He is the possible, but not confirmed, Lotus's boyfriend. He works in local canteen and is short-tempered, but not as brave as Walt and Tina.
- Ozzy (voiced by Rick Jones) - An impatient and nervous male brown owl. A friend of the bears.
- Markus (voiced by Thor Bishopric) - A young male red frog. A friend of the bears.
- Ariana - A young female purple colored spider with visible ears who wears a green bow on her head.
- Rodney - A male brown colored Beaver.
- Frandisema (voiced by Tata Vega) - A female green colored frog who wears a pink bonnet on her head.
- Sidney - A male white snow owl who lives in the mountains.
Other notable inhabitants of the forest include: blue rabbits, organge squirrels and blue and green birds (both males and females of all these species are shown, but most of them remain unnamed).
Antagonists
- Skulk (voiced by Terrence Scammell) - An anthropomorphic weasel who wears a blue vest and an earring. The Little Flying Bears' worst enemy and frenemy. He yearns for "manimal" (human) culture and brings many side effects to the forest.
- Sammy (voiced by A.J. Henderson) - An anthropomorphic and stupid weasel who wears a green shirt with a belt strapped to his waist and a football helmet on his head. He is Skulk's partner. And the enemy and frenemy of the Little Flying Bears.
- Slink (voiced by Rick Jones) - The shrewd snake. The only snake in the forest. Often assists Skulk and Sammy and the frenemy of the Little Flying Bears.
- Grizelda (voiced by Kathleen Fee) - A large and evil spider who lives in the terrible forest. She eats creatures smaller than herself is very protective of the syrup trees.
- Spike - A rat who comes from the city along with two rat subordinates.
Humans
- David (voiced by Daniel Brochu) - A friend of the bears. He is Leah's brother.
- Leah - A friend of the bears. She is David's sister.
Episodes (1990-1991)
- Keep Out
- Attack Of The Scarlet Serpents
- The Juice Festival
- Black Cloud
- Runaway Truck
- Hurray! For Eggs
- A Birthday To Remember
- The Traps
- The Forbidden Flower
- The White Rain
- The Bears Christmas
- Sore Losers
- The White Bear
- The Fountain Of Youth
- The Monster In The Mountain
- The Great Drought
- The Lumber Barons
- The Wood Fairy
- The Costume Ball
- Hide And Seek
- The Big Sting
- The Reluctant Hero
- The Virus
- Dr. Skulk
- A Gift From Space
- Sing For The Rain
- The First Encounter
- The Rats
- The River Rescue
- The Storm
- The Rats Revenge
- The Outsider
- Capture The Sun
- Prescription For Pandemonium
- Sabotage
- The Visitor
- Invasion
- Power To Spare
- Fire Bug
Theme Song
The theme song was composed by Julie Villandré. The lyrics were written by Jean-Pierre Liccioni and sung by voice actress Sonja Ball.
Awards
The Little Flying Bears had won the coveted first prize for best animated children's series for 1990 at the FIMAJ International Festival in France.
Alternative titles
- 環保小飛熊 (Traditional Chinese title)
- 环保小飞熊 (Simplified Chinese title)
- Мали летећи медведићи (Mali leteći medvedići) (Serbian title)
- Les Oursons Volants (French title)
- Die Flugbärchen kommen! (German title)
- Repülő bocsok (Hungarian title)
- המעופפים הנועזים (HaMeofefim Hanoazim) (Israeli title)
- Gli orsetti volanti (Italian title)
- Летечките мечиња (Letechkite mechinja) (Macedonian title)
- Latające misie (Polish title)
- Mali leteči medvedki (Slovene title)
- Los Osos Voladores (Spanish title)
- De flygande björnarna (Swedish title)
- Malí létající medvídci (Czech title)
- الدببة الطائرة (Addibaba attaïra) (Arabic title)
- De flyvende bjørnene (Norwegian title)
- Flugbangsanir (Icelandic title)
- Летающие медвежата: Защитники природы (Letayushchie medvezhata: Zashchitniki prirody) (Russian title)