Why the Gummi Bears is the Best Cartoon Ever
May 18th, 2007 by Eoin
Bouncing here and there and everywhere. You remember them, don’t you? Furry little bears running around the forest, drinking magic juice to bounce high, outsmarting Duke Igthorn, hanging with Calla. Good times, good times.
Not only were they good times, but I would argue that they were the best cartoon on television then and since. Have you seen some of the dribble that cartoons have these days? The Adventures of the Gummi Bears had top notch story writing, good characters and the animation was superb!
According to Wikipedia,
The main characters were seven anthropomorphic bears, although some human characters also featured. The series is set in medieval times in the once populous Gummi Glen; the main Gummies’ neighborhood is inhabited only by seven gummies. The world has other gummies. Great Gummies are refugees elsewhere awaiting a signal to return. Other gummies live in Ursalia. Allies of the gummies include the people of Dunwyn (Princess Calla and Cavin), other kind humans, and other Gummi Bears. Their main nemesis is Duke Igthorn, who aims, with the aid of ogres, to rule Dunwyn. The theme song, “Bouncing here and there and everywhere”, was written by Michael and Patty Silversher.
The production quality of the show was great and many other shows following the Adventures of the Gummi Bears looked at it as a benchmark. The show began the great Disney Afternoon timeslot run, which included shows such as DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, and Gargoyles.
Recently the show has had Seasons 1-3 released from Amazon.com. So now everyone can enjoy the kingdom of Dunwyn once again.
I agree completely with you. The production quality and family-oriented, well-rounded scripts (without being boring) were far superior to anything else out at that time–or even out today.
Quite frankly, one doesn’t even notice that the starting point was undoubtedly Gummi Bears candy, which from any pitchman sounds almost doomed to failure. Despite this, Disney was able to make something amazing that many remember fondly as the highlight of their Saturday mornings.