The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree

The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree

Cover of VHS release (1987)

Title screen from the original NBC TV special (1979)
Created by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Written by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Directed by Mordicai Gerstein
Narrated by Ron McLarty (uncredited)
Theme music composer Elliot Lawrence
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Buzz Potamkin
Running time 25 minutes
Production company(s) Perpetual Motion Pictures
The Joseph Cates Company
Distributor NBC
Embassy Home Entertainment
Release
Original network NBC
Original release
  • December 3, 1979 (1979-12-03)
Chronology
Followed by The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (1980)

The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree is an animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein, the program made its debut on NBC on December 3, 1979.[1][2] The television special inspired a book by the same name, published by Random House in 1980.[3]

Development

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 Joseph Cates to discuss the idea further.[4]

A deal with Perpetual Motion Pictures was soon solidified, and, over the course of the next several months, the Berenstains collaborated with Mordicai Gerstein and Buzz Potamkin to develop a script and sketch nearly 20,000 original drawings needed for the animators.[5] The Berenstains drew for three straight weeks, struggling with some of the sketches. According to Stan and Jan, "Back views of the bears are especially challenging (we’ve never seen them from the back before)."[5]

Soon after, the Berenstains auditioned for vocal talent:

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 does sound for Saturday Night Live this is considered a good omen.[5]

By mid-June, Stan and Jan saw the first bits of animation, and the completed special was viewed by the Berenstains on November 10, just over three weeks prior to the national broadcast.[5]

Production and casting

The 25-minute special was created and written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and featured original music composed and conducted by Emmy-winning musician Elliot Lawrence, 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".[6]

The Christmas special starred Ron McLarty (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.[7]

It was the first of five Berenstain Bears animated specials that aired on NBC from 1979 to 1983.[8] Lawrence and Berenstain would provide music and lyrics for each of four subsequent Berenstain Bears NBC specials.[9] Most of the voice actors reprised their roles in future specials, as well.[7]

Premiere and reception

The program premiered on NBC on December 3, 1979 at 8:00PM ET (pre-empting Little House on the Prairie). The broadcast was sponsored by Kellogg's and competed against 240-Robert on ABC and The White Shadow on CBS.[10][11]

Alexis Greene, writing for The New York Times, called the special "charming," and noted its "imaginative animation."[12]

Plot

Cover of Embassy Home Entertainment VHS release (1987)

It is Christmas Eve in Bear Country ("Christmas Day Is Here – It's Almost Here"), and the Bear Family is busy getting out their Christmas decorations. Now the only thing they need is the tree. Mama instructs Papa and the cubs to get a tree from Grizzly Gus's lot – and to return quickly – since a snowstorm is likely. Papa foolishly refuses to buy a tree from Gus, instead insisting on going out into the mountains to cut down a tree. Accompanied by the cubs, Papa vows that he will find the perfect tree ("We Need a Tree for Christmas").

It is at this point that the narrator summarizes the moral of the story, which Papa will not come to understand until later in the film:

But Pa was forgetting something that day
Christmas is more than show and display
It's more than just tinsel and pink plastic stars
And stuffing yourself with sugar-nut bars.
There was something important that Papa was forgetting
Christmas was for giving, it isn't for getting.
This was a time to be thinking of others:
Mamas, Papas, Sisters, Brothers
A time to think of each neighbor and friend.
But all this was forgotten as they rounded a bend
As they rounded that bend, what did they see?
Papa's perfect Christmas tree![1][a]

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Just as Papa is about to chop down this perfect-looking fir tree, Sister notices that the tree is home to a skunk, some squirrels, a grouse, and a chipmunks, plus twenty-six crows who are paying rent there.

Papa and the cubs find another magnificent fir tree on a cliff, but this time, it is the home of an eagle, a hawk, a wolf, and an owl, and they too are not pleased with Papa's desire to destroy their home on Christmas Eve. After narrowly avoiding an attack by the eagle, the bears continue on through the mountains, despite the fact that it is now snowing heavily.

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 little birds decorating a small twig like a Christmas tree. Upon seeing this emotional sight and after the bird family wishes him a merry Christmas, Papa has a change of heart and decides not to chop their tree down.

Turning to the cubs, Papa says that he has now learned that Christmas is a time to think of others. When Brother and Sister ask what he is going to do about their own Christmas tree, Papa says that they will go buy one from Grizzly Gus.

Unfortunately, when they finally make it back down the mountain, the bears find that the tree lot is now empty and closed. Moments later, they see an amazing sight: that all the animals they encountered have decorated the Bear Family treehouse in thanks for sparing their homes.

As the Bears are awestruck by the kindness shown by their fellow animals, they notice the Christmas star shining in the sky over their house. All the other bears in town come and see the Bears' decorated tree-house, singing about how Christmas inspires them to love nature's creatures great and small ("The Christmas Star").[10][9]

Book adaptation

Cover of original storybook published by Random House (1980)

The plot of the storybook, published by Random House in 1980, closely follows the storyline of the television special.[13] The Random House edition remained in print for nearly three decades until a newer storybook version was released by Zondervan 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.[14]

Home media releases

In 1984, Embassy Home Entertainment released the special in Betamax format, as well as on LaserDisc as a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears Meet Big Paw, called "A Berenstain Bears Celebration."[15] In 1987, the special was made available on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment as part of the Children's Treasures series.[9] In 1989, the special was distributed on VHS by Kids Klassics.[16] In 2002, the special was released on DVD by GoodTimes, also in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears Meet Big Paw.[17] 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.[18]

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "TV Week." Lewiston Morning Tribune, 1979-11-30, p. 7F.
    2. ↑ "Previews." The Evening Independent, 1979-12-03, p. 11-B.
    3. ↑ Mariska, Bradley (2015). "Berenstain Bears Complete Bibliography & Blog". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
    4. ↑ Berenstain, Stan and Jan (2002). Down a Sunny Dirt Road: An Autobiography. Random House. ISBN 978-0375814037.
    5. 1 2 3 4 Berenstain, Stan and Jan. "The Diary of a Christmas Special...". berenstainbears.wordpress.com. Berenstain, Inc. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
    6. ↑ "The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree – Soundtrack". IMDB.com. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
    7. 1 2 "The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree". IMDB.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
    8. ↑ Berenstain Bears History, The Berenstain Bears, Inc., 2015, retrieved 11 October 2015
    9. 1 2 3 The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (VHS). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1987.
    10. 1 2 Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The complete directory to the first twenty-five years, 1962-1987. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press. p. 29. ISBN 0810821982.
    11. ↑ Robinson, John M (December 3, 1979). "Television". Lewiston Journal. Lewiston-Auburn, Maine. p. 16.
    12. ↑ Greene, Alexis (December 7, 1980). "A Guide to Holiday Programming for Younger Viewers". The New York Times. New York, NY. p. 231. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
    13. ↑ Berenstain, Stan and Jan (1980). The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0394888828.
    14. ↑ Berenstain, Stan and Jan (2009). The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree. New York: Zonderkidz. ISBN 9780310719403.
    15. ↑ A Berenstain Bears Celebration (LaserDisc). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1984.
    16. ↑ The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (VHS). Kids Klassics. 1989. The special was re-released in 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video, in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears Meet Big Paw.The Berenstain Bears Double Feature (VHS). GoodTimes. 1992.
    17. ↑ The Berenstain Bears Double Feature (DVD). GoodTimes. 2002.
    18. ↑ The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (DVD). SonyWonder. 2008.
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