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Auditioning voices: we listen to eight Papas, six Mamas and four-and-twenty Sister and
Brother Bears in six hours. Actors are selected. Two days in the space station atmosphere of a high-powered sound recording studio: sound engineer Bob Lifton laughs at two of the show's ninety-seven jokes. Since he
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was soon solidified, and, over the course of the next several months, the
Berenstain's collaborated with Mordicai Gerstein and Buzz Potamkin to develop a script and sketch nearly 20,000 original drawings needed for the animators. The Berenstain's drew for three straight weeks, struggling with some of
271:
After climbing their way through the snow-covered mountains, Papa and the cubs find a third perfect-looking tree. This time, however, Papa takes a good look at the tree and sees a little window on the trunk. Inside, there is a family of snowbirds decorating a small twig like a
Christmas tree. Touched
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It is
Christmas Eve in Bear Country and the Bear Family is decorating for Christmas, and Papa has caught a giant salmon for Christmas dinner. Now the only thing they need is the tree, for their many ornaments, which include a Santa Bear sleigh, strings of beads, a musical singing bear, and a glittery
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The three then ski back down the mountain to
Grizzly Gus's tree lot, only to find that they are completely sold out (with a small sign below reading "Happy New Year!"). They are all very sad until they find that their treehouse has been decorated by all the animals they met on their way in an act of
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Papa and the cubs find another tree on a cliff, but it is the home to an eagle, a hawk, a wolf, and a snowy owl who aren't too pleased that Papa wants to chop their tree down either. After narrowly avoiding the eagle's attack, the three continue through the mountains, despite the fact that it is now
310:
Stan and Jan
Berenstain first pitched their idea for a holiday special in November 1978. They were told that there was not a market for new animated television specials, and the husband and wife team nearly gave up on the project. In February 1979, however, they received an invitation from producer
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Mama suggests Papa and the cubs get a tree from
Grizzly Gus' lot, but she reminds them to return home as soon as they can since a snowstorm is likely. Papa, however, scoffs at Mama's weather prediction and decides he can do better than what Grizzly Gus has to offer, and the three head out into the
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It was the first of five
Berenstain Bears animated specials that aired on NBC from 1979 to 1983. Lawrence and Berenstain would provide music and lyrics for each of four subsequent Berenstain Bears NBC specials. Most of the voice actors reprised their roles in future specials, as well.
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The first tree they find is in good shape, but it is home to a skunk, some squirrels, a grouse, a chipmunk, and twenty-six crows, who chase them off. But, from their point of view, Christmas is a time for them to celebrate as well, thus forcing them to find another tree.
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in 2009. As part of the "Berenstain Bears Living Lights" series, this new edition generally follows the original plot, but focuses more closely on the
Christian aspect of the holiday, including depictions of a manger scene and several Bible verses in the updated text.
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The plot of the storybook, published by Random House in 1980, closely follows the storyline of the television special. The Random House edition remained in print for nearly three decades until a newer storybook version was released by
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On
Christmas Day, as the family prepares to eat dinner, Sister asks why Papa's lesson of being considerate did not apply to the salmon they are eating. Papa jokes that the family is willing to "make an exception" for the salmon.
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By mid-June, Stan and Jan saw the first bits of animation, and the completed special was viewed by the Berenstain's on November 10, just over three weeks prior to the national broadcast.
349:, with lyrics provided by Stan Berenstain. The score included three original songs: "Christmas Day is Here (It's Almost Here)", "We Need a Tree for Christmas", and "The Christmas Star".
356:(billed as Ron McLarity), Gabriela Glatzer, Jonathan Lewis, and Pat Lysinger as Papa, Sister, Brother, and Mama Bear, respectively. McLarty also doubled as the show's narrator.
455:. In 2008, Sony Wonder also released the special on DVD. In this edition, the Christmas special was bundled with four bonus episodes from the 1980s cartoon series.
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by this, Papa can't bring himself to chop the birds' tree down and tells Brother and Sister that Christmas is the time to be thinking of family and friends.
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The 25-minute special was created and written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and featured original music composed and conducted by Emmy-winning musician
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the sketches. According to Stan and Jan: "Back views of the bears are especially challenging (we've never seen them from the back before)".
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Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film
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gratitude, Mama and Papa Bear lead everyone in a Christmas carol about the Christmas star and its meaning.
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on December 3, 1979. The television special inspired a book by the same name, published by
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The special was re-released in 1992 by Good Times Home Video, in a double-feature with
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The program premiered on NBC on December 3, 1979, at 8:00 PM ET (pre-empting
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Cover of original storybook published by Random House (1980).
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In 1984, Embassy Home Entertainment released the special in
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Soon after, the Berenstain's auditioned for vocal talent:
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Cover of Embassy Home Entertainment VHS release (1987).
753:"A Guide to Holiday Programming for Younger Viewers"
35:
Title screen from the original NBC TV special (1979)
605:"The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree – Soundtrack"
522:"Berenstain Bears Complete Bibliography & Blog"
919:"Berenstain Bears Christmas Books and Memorabilia"
804:
662:, The Berenstain Bears, Inc., 2015, archived from
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256:bright Christmas Tree star with eighteen points.
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835:(LaserDisc). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1984.
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707:. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press. p.
510:The Evening Independent, 1979-12-03, p. 11-B.
16:1979 TV special directed by Mordicai Gerstein
498:Lewiston Morning Tribune, 1979-11-30, p. 7F.
260:mountains to find the right tree for them.
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311:Joseph Cates to discuss the idea further.
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690:(VHS). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1987.
546:Down a Sunny Dirt Road: An Autobiography
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633:"The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree"
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475:. McFarland & Co. pp. 27–28.
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1021:The Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine
1014:The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise
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740:. Lewiston-Auburn, Maine. p. 16.
732:Robinson, John M (December 3, 1979).
580:"The Diary of a Christmas Special..."
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1000:The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
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925:The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
903:The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
886:The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
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688:The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
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203:The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
23:The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
872:The Berenstain Bears Double Feature
858:The Berenstain Bears Double Feature
751:Greene, Alexis (December 7, 1980).
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268:growing dark, and snowing heavily.
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1126:1970s American television specials
1106:1970s animated television specials
913:"The Diary of a Christmas Special"
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374:). The broadcast was sponsored by
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803:Berenstain, Stan and Jan (2009).
778:Berenstain, Stan and Jan (1980).
542:Berenstain, Stan and Jan (2002).
1007:The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw
853:The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw
453:The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw
448:The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw
333:this is considered a good omen.
231:, the program made its debut on
192:The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw
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295:Gabriela Glatzer as Sister Bear
1028:The Berenstain Bears Play Ball
833:A Berenstain Bears Celebration
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352:The Christmas special starred
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298:Jonathan Lewis as Brother Bear
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1146:Animated films about families
1141:Animated films about children
583:berenstainbears.wordpress.com
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292:as Papa Bear and the Narrator
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1116:1979 in American television
849:(VHS). Kids Klassics. 1989.
759:. New York, NY. p. 231
701:Woolery, George W. (1989).
401:Alexis Greene, writing for
371:Little House on the Prairie
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1136:Animated films about bears
915:by Stan and Jan Berenstain
782:. New York: Random House.
578:Berenstain, Stan and Jan.
471:Crump, William D. (2019).
219:children's book series by
173:December 3, 1979
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888:(DVD). Sony Wonder. 2008.
520:Mariska, Bradley (2015).
445:as a double-feature with
316:Perpetual Motion Pictures
301:Pat Lysinger as Mama Bear
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1121:1979 television specials
874:(DVD). Good Times. 2002.
860:(VHS). Good Times. 1992.
811:. New York: Zonderkidz.
659:Berenstain Bears History
150:The Joseph Cates Company
1111:NBC television specials
1080:Stan and Jan Berenstain
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221:Stan and Jan Berenstain
54:Stan and Jan Berenstain
45:Stan and Jan Berenstain
441:format, as well as on
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364:Premiere and reception
341:Production and casting
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206:is a Christmas-themed
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982:The Big Honey Hunt
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585:. Berenstain, Inc
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91:(uncredited)
80:Pat Lysinger
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354:Ron McLarty
306:Development
290:Ron McLarty
89:Ron McLarty
85:Narrated by
73:Ron McLarty
59:Directed by
1100:Categories
1075:Characters
992:Television
928:full video
763:18 October
718:0810821982
670:11 October
642:11 October
614:16 October
589:11 October
527:11 October
508:"Previews"
459:References
381:240-Robert
177:1979-12-03
140:25 minutes
122:Production
51:Written by
41:Created by
496:"TV Week"
443:LaserDisc
426:Zondervan
376:Kellogg's
239:in 1980.
1057:episodes
1042:episodes
637:IMDB.com
609:IMDB.com
208:animated
127:Producer
69:Starring
1068:Related
1053:(2002)
1038:(1985)
439:Betamax
185:Related
175: (
170:Release
160:Network
117:English
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195:(1980)
973:Books
908:IMDb
813:ISBN
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765:2015
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616:2015
591:2015
552:ISBN
529:2015
477:ISBN
388:and
284:Cast
243:Plot
906:at
396:CBS
394:on
386:ABC
384:on
233:NBC
164:NBC
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
