The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas
Encyclopedia
The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas is an animated Christmas
TV special. It premiered on NBC
on December 17, 1973 in the United States. This animated special was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
and starred the voices of Tommy Smothers, Arte Johnson
(later of Misterjaw
fame) and Barbara Feldon, with narration by Casey Kasem
. The story focuses on Theodore Edward Bear (Ted E. Bear for short) who is curious about Christmas, and who decides to go searching for it while the other bears hibernate for winter.
In the early 1980s a plush Ted E. Bear was sold in stores. This holiday animated telefilm's Halloween sequel The Great Bear Scare was released in October 1983. It later aired on the Disney Channel
until the late 1990s.
Rights to the special are now owned by Lionsgate, and is available through the Lionsgate channel on YouTube
and now available on the Netflix instant stream service.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
TV special. It premiered on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on December 17, 1973 in the United States. This animated special was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts and the Dr....
and starred the voices of Tommy Smothers, Arte Johnson
Arte Johnson
Arthur Stanton Eric "Arte" Johnson is an American comic actor. Johnson was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His best-remembered "character" was that of a German soldier with the catchphrase: "Verrrry interesting, but...['stupid', 'not very funny', and other variations]".-Early life:Johnson...
(later of Misterjaw
Misterjaw
Misterjaw is a 34-episode made-for-television cartoon series, produced at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in 1976 for The Pink Panther and Friends television series on NBC.-Plot:...
fame) and Barbara Feldon, with narration by Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
. The story focuses on Theodore Edward Bear (Ted E. Bear for short) who is curious about Christmas, and who decides to go searching for it while the other bears hibernate for winter.
In the early 1980s a plush Ted E. Bear was sold in stores. This holiday animated telefilm's Halloween sequel The Great Bear Scare was released in October 1983. It later aired on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
until the late 1990s.
Rights to the special are now owned by Lionsgate, and is available through the Lionsgate channel on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and now available on the Netflix instant stream service.