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Bear is the titular main character and host of the TV series Bear in the Big Blue House.

Role in the series[]

Bear is the full-bodied, ursine title character from Bear in the Big Blue House. Bear greets television viewers, whom he often addresses directly by facing the camera, with an appraising sniff and the information that he likes the way they smell. He has a strong sense of smell and loves to sniff things, but he enjoys his other four senses as well. Bear oversees everyone at the Big Blue House, a sort of combination daycare/group-home. Bear has a warm, caring personality somewhat similar in style to Fred Rogers and a well-ranged singing voice. A change of his appearance in the fourth season (or occasionally seen) is pointy eyes rather than circular ones.

Bear does not have any children of his own but seems to have a way with the younger members of his circle. He is full of good advice and warm, caring love. Bear never seems to get angry and often seems laid-back, but he loves to get up and dance the cha-cha. He also has an advanced vocabulary and is ready and willing to teach it to others.

Bear's favorite food, like most bears, is honey. He absolutely loves its taste and smell. Another favorite food of his is triple-berry pie. Sometimes in the morning, Bear talks to the sun, Ray, and he always talks to his good friend the moon, Luna, before going to bed at night. Bear attended Hazelnut High and sometimes he looks at his old yearbook, located in the attic of the Big Blue House. He was voted "Most Likely to Cha-Cha-Cha."

Apart from Bear in the Big Blue House, Bear starred in the spin-off series Breakfast with Bear and appeared in several stage shows. He has also made guest appearances on Hollywood Squares, The Wayne Brady Show, Donny & Marie, The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, BBC Children in Need, Milkshake!, and Live with Regis and Kelly. His live appearances include MuppetFest, an event for the Center for Puppetry Arts, various baseball-related appearances, and The White House Easter Egg Roll.

Bear has been immortalized as a balloon appearing in at least three different parades and has been produced in plush form and other merchandise. He also made an appearance in the "We Are Family" music video alongside Big Bird, Barney, and characters from Between the Lions.

Notable episodes[]

  • "Home Is Where the Bear Is" - Bear takes the viewers on a tour of his Big Blue House for the first time.
  • "Need a Little Help Today" - When Bear comes down with a cold, his friends help him and recall all the help he's given them.
  • "Bear's Birthday Bash" - Bear's birthday is celebrated.
  • "Bear's Secret Cave" - The kids discover Bear's secret cave that he once played in when he was a cub.
  • "I For-Got Rhythm!?" - Bear has to search for his rhythm when he forgets how to do "The Bear Cha-Cha-Cha."
  • "This Is Your Life, Bear" - Bear wins a trip to Sequoia City and when his friends hear him say he needs a vacation, they sing him a song to show him how much they appreciate him. When they explain why they did so, he clears up the misunderstanding.

Behind the scenes[]

The Bear costume weighed 45 pounds. According to Noel MacNeal, it was very comfortable and easy to move around in.

In one episode during the first season, Bear kneeled down to talk to Tutter, and at this point, Noel MacNeal realized that it broke the illusion, so afterward whenever he had to get down, Bear would get on all fours, with Jim Kroupa performing the right hand.

Like Big Bird, Bear was operated by Noel operating the head with his right hand and a string attached from the right arm to the chest to the left hand. Noel MacNeal wore a monitor strapped to his chest to see what Bear was doing. In a Tough Pigs interview, Noel MacNeal spoke a bit about the monitor:

"There was a monitor. It was what I call Big Bird technology. There was a microphone strapped to my chest, and the string from the left hand to the right hand. But then when I did appearances on other shows like Hollywood Squares or Donny & Marie, and I had to walk out, I couldn’t really count on cameramen knowing how to shoot a puppet. So the Henson Company developed the camera-in-the-eye, so for those shots, I had a camera in the left eye, and a matching glint in the other one. Basically it was like if you put your right hand over your right eye, and make a tube with your left hand and put it over your left eye like half a binocular, that was the vision I had. So for those shows I would have two monitors. I would have the monitor giving me the feed of what you see at home, and then I would have the monitor showing me my actual vision."

Gallery[]

Wiki
The Disney Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Bear (Bear in the Big Blue House).

External links[]


v - e - d
Bear in the Big Blue House logo
Media
Bear in the Big Blue House (videography) • Breakfast with Bear

Soundtracks: Songs from Jim Henson's Bear in the Big Blue HouseMore Songs from Jim Henson's Bear in the Big Blue House

Disney Parks
Bear in the Big Blue House: Live on StagePlayhouse Disney - Live on Stage!Disney Stars and Motorcars Parade
Characters
BearAnnetteBaby BlotterBig Old BullfrogBillyBonnieChristineDoc HoggDoc OwlEarlFerret JeeterGrandma FlutterGrandpa Highland McTutterHarry the DuckJack the DogJacques the BeaverJeremiah TortoiseJet Setter TutterJim MouseKeishaKlutter TutterThe Klutter TuttersUncle KoalaLilyLoisLukeLunaMama DuckMiss MaxwellMossMousey the GreatOjoOtto and Etta OtterPip and PopThe PossumsPuckRay the SunRita MouseShadowSkippySnookTardyTreeloTucker TutterTutterNutter TutterTutterly T. TutterTwizzler TutterUncle Tito del TutterUrsaMs. Henrietta VanderpeenWhiner Tutter
Episodes
Season One: "Home is Where the Bear Is" • "Water, Water Everywhere" • "Mouse Party" • "Shape of a Bear" • "Picture of Health" • "Share, Bear" • "Why Bears Can't Fly" • "Falling for Fall" • "What's in the Mail, Today?" • "Dancin' the Day Away" • "A Wagon of a Different Color" • "Dirt, I Love You So!" • "Music to My Ears" • "All Connected" • "Summer Cooler" • "The Big Little Visitor" • "A Winter's Nap" • "Working Like a Bear" • "Magic in the Kitchen" • "Spring Fever" • "A Plant Grows in Bear's House" • "Eat, Drink Juice and Be Merry" • "Need a Little Help Today" • "Lost Thing" • "Listen Up!" • "Friends for Life"

Season Two: "Ooh Baby, Baby" • "Raiders of the Lost Cheese" • "The Big Sleep" • "Clear as a Bell" • "Good Times" • "You Learn Something New Every Day" • "Back to Nature" • "The Ojolympics" • "The Great Pretender" • "It's All in Your Head" • "Oops, My Mistake" • "Bear's Birthday Bash" • "Picture This" • "The Big Blue Housecall" • "Change is in the Air" • "Look What I Made" • "If At First You Don't Succeed..." • "All Weather Bear" • "I Built That!" • "Tutter's Tiny Trip" • "Dance Fever!" • "Afraid Not" • "I Gotta Be Me!" • "Buggin'" • "Love is All You Need" • "It's a Mystery to Me" • "As Different as Day and Night" • "Grandparents Just Want to Have Fun" • "The Way I Feel Today" • "You Go, Ojo!" • "Scientific Bear" • "Boys Will Be Boys" • "I Was Just Thinking" • "Wish You Were Here" • "And to All a Good Night" • "Call it a Day" • "We Did it Our Way" • "What's the Story?" • "When You've Got to Go!"
Season Three: "Friends at Play" • "Nothing to Fear" • "Lost and Found" • "The Senseless Detectives" • "Halloween Bear" • "You Never Know" • "It's All About You" • "Woodland House Wonderful" • "I've Got Your Number" • "What's Mine is Yours" • "Bear's Secret Cave" • "Smellorama" • "I For-Got Rhythm?!?" • "Wait for Me" • "Morning Glory" • "That Healing Feeling" • "The Tutter Family Reunion" • "Bats are People Too" • "Words, Words, Words" • "Let's Get Interactive" • "The Yard Sale" • "The Best Thanksgiving Ever" • "Read My Book" • "Go to Sleep" • "A Berry Bear Christmas"
Season Four: "Welcome to Woodland Valley" • "Step by Step" • "First Day at Mouse School" • "Rockin' Rocko" • "When Harry Met Hallie" • "Show and Tell" • "Tutter Gathers Some Moss" • "History, Herstory, Bearstory" • "At the Old Bear Game" • "The Amazing Skippy" • "Let's Hit the Road" • "Great Ball of Firefighters" • "Appreciation Day" • "Show Your Stuff" • "Grandma Flutter's 100th Birthday" • "The View from You" • "To Clean or Not to Clean" • "The Great Bandini" • "Volunteers of Woodland Valley" • "Big Blue Home of the Brave" • "A Trip to the General Store" • "Tutter's First Big Sleepover Bash" • "A Strange Bird" • "Let it Go" • "This is Your Life, Bear"

Locations
The Big Blue HouseDoc Hogg's OfficeMouse SchoolOtter PondSequoia CityWoodland ValleyWoodland Valley CinemaWoodland Valley General StoreWoodland Valley LibraryWoodland Valley MallWoodland Valley Post Office
Songs
Welcome to the Blue HouseGoodbye SongWhat's That Smell?The Bear Cha-Cha-ChaDear GrandmaHappy, Happy BirthdayGood MorningBrush Brush BreeLook at You NowThat's My NameEverybody Say AhGreat to Be at HomeGo to Bed, Sleepy HeadTake Time to Smell the CheeseClean Up the HouseOops! I Goofed AgainQuiet TimeOtter LoveShape of a BearBaby, BabyWhen You Make Yourself a FriendOh, BoyYou Go, OjoNeed a Little Help TodayWhat's in the Mail Today?Making Sense of the WorldThe Grandma MamboRemember WhenThe Otter Dancing SchoolShadow's LullabyWhen I'm OlderEverybody in the TubRhythm in the AirWhy Can't the Dirt Just Leave Me Alone?Imagine ThatSmelloramaWhen I Find the Great Lost CheeseUnder Your BlanketLove is IncredibleYour Grandma and GrandpaWhat Kind of Mouse Am I?Picture ThisHello DoctorWorth the WaitFriends ForeverSurprise!What's Mine is YoursThe ToileteersNext Stop, Dreamland
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