By Hillary Donnell
Staff Writer
The opening sequence of Cartoon Network’s new show, “We Bare Bears,” offers several rare sights in American animation. As a cheery song performed by Estelle plays, one can see a woman wearing hijab; a city populated by people diverse enough in size, shape, color, and gender to represent a real-life American city; and Bigfoot. One might argue that the latter is not as rare as the former, as Bigfoot representation is taken very seriously among the American public.
Bigfoot representation aside, “We Bare Bears” has some of the most beautiful and diverse character designs in American animation at the moment. It is also funny, adorable, and rather heartfelt at times.
“We Bare Bears” was created by Annie Award-winning artist Daniel Chong. Chong has produced incredible work for studios such as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Blue Sky, Nickelodeon, and Pixar. In 2010, while working on projects such as Pixar’s recent film “Inside Out,” he started a webcomic about three bears trying to live in a world dominated by humans and technology. The webcomic eventually led to a short that aired at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which brought about the series airing today.
Viewers can enjoy the daily hijinks of Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear, as they try and often fail to fit in with human and animal societies alike. The three strikingly different personalities provide for interesting character relationships and conflict.
However, the show does not often dwell on stories that pit the bears against each other. They are best friends and brothers and most often want the best for each other. The show works to develop characters who, though they struggle to understand each other at times, ultimately want to help each other.
It is certainly an important part of the recent wave of cartoons that value friendliness, positive, nuanced morals, and good humor over making fast, easy, and often mean-spirited jokes. “We Bare Bears” is a refreshing take on friendship and urban life.
With plots focusing on viral videos, food trucks, and online dating, “We Bare Bears” grounds itself firmly in the current era. This can be somewhat startling at times as most animation for children tends to focus on universal ideas and avoids setting things too certainly in a particular time. Does this mean that “We Bare Bears” is doomed to be dated in a few years? Yes, it does.
However, it is important to ask oneself if this is a bad thing. Television, comics, and almost all entertainment media has a so-called expiration date, a date some time in the near future when its content will be deemed irrelevant. Adult cartoons such as “South Park” often sacrifice the opportunity for meaningful storytelling in favor of remaining topical.
“We Bare Bears” does not seek to be relevant in this way. The show is infused with modern city life and things such as food trends and new technology are an important part of that life. It is an accurate portrait of city life, and that life is all about taking part in a specific moment. It does not matter if that moment will pass soon and new trends will replace current ones. That’s a part of life.
So why not sit down with a nice, cold froyo and a hot, crunchy ramen taco and enjoy some bear-y adorable adventures with your friends?
