PBS Kids Launches Berenstain Bears Animated Series

Posted on November 20, 2002

The Berenstain Bears animated series will premiere on PBS Kids on Monday, January 6, 2003. Each episode of the new weekday series follows the storyline of an original The Berenstain Bears book and is presented in 15-minute segments. Joining The Berenstain Bears to complete the half-hour are new 15-minute episodes of Maurice Sendak's Seven Little Monsters. The Berenstain Bears and Seven Little Monsters are produced by Nelvana Limited.

Based on their own experiences with life's daily struggles, the author/illustrator team of Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain developed the adventures of their bears into a family business. Over the years, little has changed about the Berenstain Bears. Their universal experiences and every-day dilemmas persist in popularity, despite nearly half a century of technological advances and social change.

"The Bears haven't changed, and neither have their readers," says Stan Berenstain. "Kids still tell fibs and mess up their rooms and throw tantrums in the supermarket. The Bears have the typical problems that every family experiences."

Like the bestselling books, The Berenstain Bears PBS Kids series is designed to reflect true family life joys, trials and tribulations. The series is a nostalgic look at simple country life that reinforces traditional values, a sense of community, and the universal circumstance of life: the family. The educational objective of the series is to teach children social and emotional competence by encouraging them to recognize how to make thoughtful, informed and responsible choices and decisions.

"In an uncertain world, values are what hold us together, particularly those we learn from the family, providing the building blocks for strong character in our children," said John F. Wilson, senior vice president and co-chief program executive, PBS. "The Berenstain Bears is all about presenting family values. We're delighted to be bringing Mama, Papa, Brother and Sister to PBS Kids and are looking forward to being a part of the continuing Berenstain family legacy."