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 Bradford (as Paul); Brodie Osome (as Lumpy); Pauline Rennie (as Grams Bear; uncredited)
Narrated by	Bob Dermer (as Cloud Keeper)
Theme music composer	Bob and Merry Chimbel (songs),; Gary Morton (score)
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
Production
Producers	W.H. Stevens Jr.; Hugh Campbell; Paul Pressler (associate)
Cinematography	Ron Haines; Jan Topper
Editors	John Harris; Jennifer Irwin; Norman LeBlanc; Gerald Tripp
Running time	30 min.
Production company	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 animated television special to feature the Care Bears characters.[2] Made by Ottawa's Atkinson Film-Arts studios, it premiered in syndication in April 1984.[3] The special introduces two new Care Bears characters, Hugs and Tugs.[4]

Plot

Paul, a young boy, vows to get even with his bullies. Through this, the mad scientist Professor Coldheart tricks him into fixing his "Careless Ray Contraption" after his bumbling henchman Frostbite breaks it by accident. The Care Bears, led by Tenderheart Bear, must do all that they can to stop Coldheart's plan of freezing every child in town with his machine. Hugs and Tugs, two baby Care Bears are kidnapped by Coldheart to be trapped in ice, and after finding it out from their caretaker Grams Bear, the Care Bears must not only stop Coldheart and convince Paul not to get even, but must also rescue Hugs and Tugs.

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 blue-skinned love-hating villain Professor Coldheart. In addition, the special introduces Baby Hugs, Baby Tugs, their caretaker Grams Bear, and Professor Coldheart's dwarf henchman, 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.[5] 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.[6] This, and The Land Without Feelings, were among the ten best-selling children's videos on the U.S. market in 1985.[7] 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".[8]

References

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)
Leccese, Donna (June 1984). "A bear's eye view of plush". Playthings. Geyer-McAllister Publications Inc. (82): 30.
Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
"Awards List". Crawley Films. Archived from the original on 2003-10-18. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
"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.
"Television/Radio Age". Television/Radio Age. Television Editorial Corp. 34: 14. 1986. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
Le Duc, Don R. (1987). Beyond Broadcasting: Patterns in Policy and Law. Longman. p. 65. ISBN 0-582-29039-2. Retrieved 2010-08-14.

External links

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[act-mag-1] 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] Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.

[4] Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.

[5] "Awards List". Crawley Films. Archived from the original on 2003-10-18. Retrieved 2010-08-14.

[6] "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.

[7] "Television/Radio Age". Television/Radio Age. Television Editorial Corp. 34: 14. 1986. Retrieved 2010-08-14.

[8] Le Duc, Don R. (1987). Beyond Broadcasting: Patterns in Policy and Law. Longman. p. 65. ISBN 0-582-29039-2. Retrieved 2010-08-14.