The Little Polar Bear

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File:Der kleine Eisbär.jpg
German stamp depicting the Little Polar Bear.

The Little Polar Bear (German: Der kleine Eisbär) is a franchise about a polar bear cub named Lars who first starred in a number of books written by Dutch author, Hans de Beer.

It later became an animated TV series for BBC TV, Lars, der Kleine Eisbär, in the 1990s. The show proved to be popular in Germany, but its English-dubbed version has also gained a cult following with UK viewers.

The show was later revived between 2001 and 2003. For its first film, subtitled Der Kinofilm, Warner Bros. and animation studio Rothkirch Cartoon Film bought the rights to adapt the children's books into a feature-length film, released in 2001.

After the success of the feature, several direct-to-video features were released, one of the new characters included was a tiger cub. In 2005, another film, The Little Polar Bear 2: The Mysterious Island (German: Der Kleine Eisbär 2: Die geheimnisvolle Insel) was released and also proved successful.

The score to The Little Polar Bear (1) was composed by Nigel Clarke & Michael Csanyi-Wills and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and was nominated for several awards.

Original BBC TV series Adaptation

The Little Polar Bear
Genre Animation
Created by Hans de Beer (Novel)
Voices of Sue Sheridan
Jimmy Hibbert
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 18

In the mid-1990s there was a TV adaptation for the BBC, featuring the voice talents of Sue Sheridan and Jimmy Hibbert.

Characters

  • Lars - the little polar bear, main character of the show
  • Mummy Polar Bear, Lars' mother
  • Daddy Polar Bear, Lars' father
  • Lena - the Arctic hare,
  • Peeps - the snow goose,
  • Brownie Brown Bear,
  • Mummy Brown Bear, Brownie's mother
  • Daddy Brown Bear, Brownie's father
  • The seagull acrobites
  • Fussy Husky

Episodes

No. Cartoons Original airdate
1 "The Ice Floe" 1994
Lars is carried across the sea on a drifting sheet of ice, until he reaches an island. There he makes friends with Hippo and is given a lift home by Orca.
2 "The Snow Storm" 1994
While playing in the snow, Lars meets Lena. They both get trapped in a snow storm, but Lars manages to find his way home.
3 "The Egg" 1994
Lars stumbles across a goose egg and warms it, till out hatches a gosling he names Peeps.
4 "The Polar Station" 1994
Lars ventures into the Polar Station. Lena is almost caught by a man, but Lena and Lars make their escape back to the safety of their home.
5 "The Net" TBA
While swimming, Lars is caught in a fish net and loaded onto a fishing freighter. He is met by the ship's cat Nemo, who helps him off the ship.
6 "The Trap" TBA
In a game of hide n' seek, Lena and Peeps get caught in a cage trap. Lars manages to release them and take them to safety from the hunting dogs.
7 "The Mission" TBA
Lars goes to the forest to get some honey medicine for his ill parents. Daddy Brown Bear provides the medicine and Brownie accompanies Lars back home.
8 "The Ice Cave" TBA
While exploring Lars, Lena and Peeps plunge deep into an ice grotto. They make a hasty exit as the cave collapses and Orca takes them to safety.
9 "The Hunter" TBA
Lars and Brownie are captured by a hunter. Lars releases himself and Brownie, then they release all the other captured animals, before making their way home.
10 "The Labyrinth" TBA
Lena and Peeps are carried off into an ice labyrinth surrounded by thick fog. As Lars finds them, the fog disperses.
11 "The Weather Balloon" TBA
As Lars examines a weather balloon, Peeps gets carried off in it. The seagulls save Peeps, while Lars recovers the seagull's bell clapper.
12 "The Boat" TBA
Lena finds a deserted boat and with Lars and Peeps sails. Lars jumps overboard with the life belt and then saves Lena and Peeps from an iceberg.
13 "The Barrel" TBA
On a journey to find fish, Lars comes across a wooden barrel full of dried herrings. Lena helps Lars to move it, to provide food for Daddy and Mummy Polar Bear.
14 "The Concert" TBA
During a fallout with his friends, Lars gets content playing on icicles, then Lena and Peeps join with their own instruments and start up a concert.
15 "The Book" TBA
Lars digs up a treasure chest. Inside he finds a book about bears and he won't share it, but finds sharing is more fun with friends.
16 "The Teddy Bear" TBA
Lena finds a teddy bear. Lars grows fond it, while Peeps gets jealous. Comforted by Lars' friendship, Peeps accepts the teddy bear as a friend.
17 "The Flower" TBA
Lars stumbles across a rare flower and patiently waits for it to grow. Lena and Peeps help Lars protect the flower.
18 "The Sledge Dog" TBA
Lars and Lena help Fuzzy Husky who is stuck in an ice crack, then take him across the water to help him win and qualify in the dog sled race.

Film

The Little Polar Bear
File:The Little Polar Bear.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Piet De Rycker
Thilo Rothkirch
Produced by Willi Geike
Written by Piet De Rycker
Bert Schrickel
Thomas Wittenburg
Music by Nigel Clarke
Michael Csányi-Wills
Edited by Bettina Behrens
Nadia Hennrich
Production
company
Rothkirch Cartoon Film
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
 4 October 2001
Running time
 77 minutes
Country Germany
Language German
English

This film was followed by five sequels:

  • The Little Polar Bear: Lars and the Little Tiger (2002)
  • The Little Polar Bear: The Dream of Flying (2003)
  • The Little Polar Bear: Nanouk's Rescue (2003)
  • The Little Polar Bear: A Visitor from the South Pole (2004)
  • The Little Polar Bear: The Mysterious Island (2005)

Voice cast

Character German Version English Version
Lars
  • Mijail Verona
  • Raffi (singing)
 Wesley Singerman
Robby Maximilian Artajo Brianne Siddall
Kalle Jochen Busse
Nalle Mike Krüger
Palle Bernd Stelter
Mika Ingolf Lück Michael McConnohie
Manili Vanessa Petruo
Greta Jeanette Biedermann RuDee Sade
Caruso Dirk Bach Joe Ochman
Pieps Sandro Blümel Sandy Fox
Hippo Harry Rowohlt
Lena Adak Azdasht Kimberly J. Brown
Sopho / Sophocles Wolfgang Völz Ralph Votrian
Großmutter Barbara Adolph
Mutter Eisbär Anke Engelke
Lemmings
Seagulls / Möwe

Additional English Voices

Voices in Brazil

  • Cáio César ...Lars
  • Charles Emmanuel...Robby
  • Luísa Palomanes...Greta

External links

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