The Little Bear Movie Reviews

Youngsters raised on a steady diet of Barney should enjoy this namby-pamby cartoon. Secure in the love of his Mama (voice of Janet Laine-Green) and Papa Bear (Dan Hennessey), Little Bear (Kristin Fairlie) often enjoys camping trips in the woods with his dad. He wanders off alone one day and makes the acquaintance of a nameless cub (Kyle Fairlie) who's not so fortunate — this little bear was separated from his parents by a fierce storm and has grown up a wilder animal than domesticated Little Bear. Despite their different upbringings, a friendship blossoms. Cub at first conceals the fact that he's an orphan and spends time at Little Bear's cottage, palling around with Little Bear's tame friends, including Owl (Amos Crawley), Cat (Andrew Sabiston) and Duck (Tracy Ryan). While the gentle animals introduce Cub to civilized games, he injects an element of adventure into their lives, leading them on woodsy expeditions. But the thickets can be dangerous for city creatures like Little Bear, who misinterprets the attentions of a ravenous mountain lion. Fortunately, Cub knows the score and gets Little Bear out of this jam. Once Little Bear's buddies learn of Cub's lonely predicament, they organize a search party and paper the woods with "missing parents" posters. Unfortunately, the animal kiddies get lost in the forest, and Little Bear's folks must scour the wilderness for them. Will Little Bear's crusade to locate Cub's family fail, or will Cub and his parents live happily ever after? This animated yarn, which features tunes sung by Shawn Colvin, is aimed at tykes who still sleep with stuffed animals and peddles a laudable but heavy-handed message about respecting different home environments.