Its universe draws you in, like a long forgotten scent from childhood that makes you feel right at home. A sunny place where life is experienced at a leisurely pace and innocence is regained through the healing influence of warmth and friendship.
It's the world of "Little Bear," the animated children's series on Nick Jr., the morning programming block on Nickelodeon that's designed for younger children. For the last five years, the show has captured the devotion of preschoolers--and many of their parents.
With a fifth season just about ready to go, and a direct-to-video movie scheduled for release next year, the show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy this year in the best animated children's series category.
Based on the classic series of books from the late '50s and '60s written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak (of "Where the Wild Things Are" fame), the series is an anomaly in the hyperactive world of contemporary television. Its mood is so gentle and its iconography so unabashedly pastoral, it makes a lot of the other animated fare aimed at kids look like Quentin Tarantino movies by comparison. And yet, it is because of its emphasis on the cozier, most comforting aspects of existence that "Little Bear" has become such a hit with kids.
"It's a very quiet show," agrees Toper Taylor, president of Nelvana Communications, the company responsible for producing the series. "The story lines are extremely simple and have a gentle atmosphere about them. They create an environment that pacifies a child and pulls him into a warm and loving environment."
The most remarkable aspect of "Little Bear" is its ability to catch the attention of grown-ups as well as toddlers. Taylor tells stories of adults he's met who recite lines from specific episodes or start humming the theme song of the series as soon as they find out what he does for a living.
"Sendak will tell you that he doesn't write children's books," he explains. "He just writes books that children happen to like, by creating an experience that is universal and evokes emotion."
Unlike other shows of its kind, "Little Bear" has a unique structure that was clearly designed to accommodate a toddler's limited attention span. The half-hour show is divided into three seven-minute segments presenting individual stories that are loosely connected by a theme. Some of the stories are faithful reproductions of the Minarik originals, yet because the first four seasons have included 52 episodes, a lot of fresh stories had to be written as well. Both Sendak and Minarik were closely involved in the creative process. Indeed, the characters retain the look of Sendak's original drawings, and the artist supervises the visual texture of the series.
