Season 1, Episode 3 – Little Bear Lost
I don’t think you could get much more cosy than Old Bear Stories. Even the opening theme consists of these lyrics that make you feel snuggly and immediately transport you back to a warm, gentle Enid Blyton-esque playroom.
Please read us a story, Old Bear,
We’ll all gather round, dear Old Bear.
Sit in your favourite chair,
We’ll all gather round, all around dear Old Bear.
The original picture books and series were both created by Jane Hissey and consists of memorable old favourite characters such as Old Bear, Little Bear, Rabbit and my two favourites: Bramwell Brown and Duck.
I remember watching Old Bear Stories around the mid-‘90s, and it was far superior than the later British toy series – Animal Shelf.
There was also something so familiar and charming about stop-motion animation and it felt so real.
In today’s episode, Old Bear is packing a lovely picnic for all the toys. He is concerned that he has packed too much food (impossible!) as he can’t close the picnic basket. Little Bear rushes past and dives into a pile of books. Bramwell Brown, Rabbit and Duck also run into the playroom and hide as well. There seems to be a game of hide and seek going on, but unfortunately they have forgotten to allocate a seeker!
Little Bear asks Old Bear to be the seeker. He is thrilled to play! Rabbit jumps into a vase and pretends to be a bunch of flowers (aww!) and the others find some pretty good hiding spots as well, as the playroom is a bit messy. Old Bear begins to search but only finds things that he has previously lost, like a sock and some marbles.
Even though Old Bear has only looked in about two places (and neither of them were particularly imaginative places to look), he gives up as he CANNOT find anyone with the playroom so messy. Duck, Rabbit and Bramwell Brown emerge from their hiding places to help with the tidy up, but where is Little Bear?
All the toys search for Little Bear (in much better places than where Old Bear looked) and Rabbit decides to try under the bed. Under the bed is a pretty scary place, so the others tie some string around his middle so he won’t get lost. Rabbit calls out that he has found Little Bear! As he is pulled out, it becomes evident that Rabbit is actually holding onto a fluffy slipper.
Where is Little Bear?
Old Bear suggests making a poster to let the other toys know that Little Bear is lost. He paints a beautiful picture, but there is no room to paint “Little Bear Lost”. Instead, Old Bear gives his painting a frown (aww!).
All the toys are called together to search everywhere for Little Bear but there is still no sign of him. Everyone is beginning to get quite tired, so they decide to eat Old Bear’s picnic before trying again. Bramwell Brown opens the picnic basket and guess who is inside? Little Bear, fast asleep and very full! Naughty Little Bear.
Thankfully, Old Bear packed too much food in the first place, so they are still able to have a lovely picnic in the garden. Little Bear wants to play another game of hide and seek but all the other toys have fallen asleep.
All I want to do now is watch every episode under a blanket with some hot chocolate!
Just a girl who loves to remember... 