The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (1979) (TV)

Director:

Mordicai Gerstein

Writers:

Stan Berenstain (written by) &
Jan Berenstain (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Musical

Plot:

Papa Bear and the cubs search the woods for the perfect Christmas tree, but run afoul of the woodland animals who live in the trees they aim to cut down. |

Plot Keywords:

Tree | Christmas | Animal | Bear | Christmas Ornament

Cast

Ron McLarty	...	Papa Bear / Narrator (voice) (as Ron McLarity)
Gabriela Glatzer	...	Sister Bear (voice)
Jonathan Lewis	...	Brother Bear (voice)
Pat Lysinger	...	Mama Bear (voice)

Directed by
Mordicai Gerstein

Writing credits
Stan Berenstain		(written by) &
Jan Berenstain		(written by)
Stan Berenstain		(created by) &
Jan Berenstain		(created by)

Produced by
Gilbert Cates	....	executive producer
Joseph Cates	....	executive producer
Jere Jacob	....	associate producer
Buzz Potamkin	....	producer

Original Music by
Elliot Lawrence

Film Editing by
Neil Lawrence

Production Management
David Sameth	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Candy Kugel	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Robert Liftin	....	audio (as Bob Liftin)

Special Effects by
Thomas Schlamme	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeffrey Keith Nevis	....	camera operator: video test (as Jeff Nevis)
John Rowohlt	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Wayne Becker	....	layout artist
Mara Beckerman	....	painter
Vinnie Bell	....	animator
Eva Bloom	....	ink artist
Deborah Boone	....	painter
James Bushell	....	xerographer
Vincent Cafarelli	....	animator (as Vincent J. Cafarelli)
Russell Calabrese	....	assistant animator
George Cannata Jr.	....	layout artist (as George Cannata)
Marylin Carrington	....	ink artist (as Marylin C. Carrington)
Doug Compton	....	assistant animator
Dorothy K. Connor	....	inbetween artist
Linda Daurio	....	background artist
Jack Dazzo	....	animator
Grace DeAgazio	....	painter
Gerry Dvorak	....	assistant animator
Rose Eng	....	checking and planning
Kevin Fox	....	xerographer
Henry B. Groskinsky	....	xerographer
Lu Guarnier	....	animator (as Lucifer Guarnier)
Cecile Hargan	....	checking and planning
Klara Heder	....	checking and planning
Patricia Hoyt	....	assistant animator
Betty Huntemann	....	ink artist
Edna Jacobs	....	ink artist
Mark Karen	....	inbetween artist
Hilde Kevess	....	painter
Cotty Kilbanks	....	background artist
Candy Kugel	....	animator
Rhonda Inez Loftin	....	painter (as Rhonda Forbes)
Deborah Lomax	....	painter
Carol Millican	....	assistant animator (as Mary Carol Millican)
Fred Mogubgub	....	animator
Aline Ratke	....	ink artist
Steve Salerno	....	xerographer
Carrie Schoenfeld	....	painter
Diane Sparagano	....	painter (as Diane J. Sparagano)
Jan Svochak	....	animator
Mary Szilagyi	....	assistant animator
Mary Taracka	....	assistant animator
Muriel Trachtenberg	....	painter
Kathy Vaccaro	....	painter
Carol Way	....	painter
Frank Weiss	....	xerographer
John R. Yengle	....	xerographer

Editorial Department
Jonathan W. Levy	....	assistant editor (as Jonathan Levy)

Music Department
Stan Berenstain	....	lyricist
Elliot Lawrence	....	conductor
Lanny Meyers	....	additional orchestrator

Other crew
Charlotte Fleischman	....	production coordinator
Cindy Kunst	....	assistant to producer
Ann Steindecker	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Perpetual Motion Pictures (I)
• The Cates Brothers Company

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1979) (USA) (TV)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (video)

Other Companies

• Rowohlt Animation Photography  animation camera services

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Perpetual Motion Pictures (I)

Quotes:

Papa Bear:This is the time... to be thinking of others. Mamas, papas, sister, brothers. Fellow creatures great and small, fellow creatures one and all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Trivia (#8.11)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Christmas Day is Here

Heartwarming and delightful like a real Christmas special

The Berenstain Bears are nostalgic memories of my childhood, and I'm proud to say, they are still watched by me to this very day. Being that I was born in 1996, I never got the proper introduction to the original cartoon from the eighties, so naturally I tuned into the 2003 series that is in current syndication on pretty much all PBS networks. I did watch episodes from the eighties' show, but never loved and cherished it like I do the current one. The animation is a lot smoother, and the voice acting isn't as out of place in the newer one. But the newer one lacks the classic feeling the older one had. But that still doesn't mean I don't go back to visit the old one of occasions. It's Christmas time, I decided to visit one of it's specials.

Mama, Papa, Sister, and Brother live in a treehouse in Bear County. Papa gets the bright idea he wants to go cut down a tree for the family last minute. He takes the cubs with him to find "the perfect tree". It seems every tree they run into has one problem; it's inhabited by creatures of the outdoors such as skunks, eagles, and crows. As night approaches, the cubs still haven't found a tree, and when they go to Grizzly Gus' Tree Farm they are all sold out. But they return home where they find something better than a tree...

The whole episode follows in the footsteps of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and is in rhyme the whole time (no pun intended). It's a little awkward, most likely because I wasn't expecting it, but it grows on you after a while to the point where you need to appreciate it. It's a charming Christmas special to say the least, and it does live up to it's name. While the animation is a bit choppy, and the character development isn't as deep as the new cartoon, The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree has it's ups and bear downs.

Starring: Ron McLarty, Gabriela Glatzer, Jonathan Lewis, and Pat Lysinger. Directed by: Mordicai Gerstein.