Care Bears/Characters
The Original Care Bears
Tenderheart Bear
The Care Bear's defacto leader and main mascot of the series throughout the 1980s. Tenderheart Bear is the brown bear with the simple heart symbol.
- Brother Chuck: Vanished from the franchise in the 2000s, presumably because brown isn't an eye-catching enough color. He's back in the Adventures in Care-A-Lot series but has a very reduced role; he's no longer the leader of the Bears and only gets the occasional day in the limelight episode.
- The Bus Came Back: He's back in a major role in the new series.
- Fearless Fool: In Adventures In Care-A-Lot he has become this.
- The Hero
- Standardized Leader
- Straight Man
Birthday Bear
Golden yellow in color, his symbol is a cupcake. His metier is birthdays, or more generally celebrations.
- Big Eater
- Brother Chuck: Hardly shows up outside of the books, probably due to his narrow focus.
- Bottle Fairy: Except with cake.
Cheer Bear
The main female Care Bear, Cheer Bear replaced Tenderheart Bear as the main Care Bear in the 2000s. She's the pink bear with the rainbow symbol. She is ridiculously overenthusiastic in everything she does. In The Giving Festival Movie, Cheer Bear became part of the official Care Team, along with Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear and Share Bear.
- The Cheerleader: During the late '80s, of the "cute but brainless" type.
- The Chick
- The Ditz
- Genki Girl
Friend Bear
Orange in color, her symbol is two entwined flowers. She embodies the spirit of friendship and is extremely outgoing.
- Friend to All Children: And everyone else.
- Ship Tease: With Secret Bear - she's the only one he actually hangs around with and talks to.
Grumpy Bear
Grumpy Bear is the embodiment of depression, cynicism, and general bad moods. He's the blue bear with the rain cloud symbol. He's fairly unique, in that he's the only Care Bear to represent a negative emotion (the idea being to teach kids that it's okay to be grumpy sometimes). He's perfectly aware he's trapped in a Sugar Bowl and is not happy about it. In The Giving Festival Movie, Grumpy Bear became part of the official Care Team, along with Funshine Bear, Cheer Bear and Share Bear.
- Big Eater: In Adventures in Wonderland. "Now hold your tushy-tags, 'cause it's time I spoke, can't remember when I ate last... I'm fillin' up my belly with ice cream and jelly and toppin' it with pickled beets, mmm-hmm, toppin' it with pickled beets."
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: Sometimes invoked this trope, but surprisingly not to the extremes seen in other 1980s kid's cartoons. Or, perhaps not so surprisingly, given that the idea of the character was to teach kids that it's okay to sometimes be grumpy. If he was always wrong, that would send the opposite message.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Gadgeteer Genius: Seems to be the most mechanically-inclined of the Care Bears. Invented a teleporter in the first movie.
- Grumpy Bear: Trope Namer.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Only Sane Man
- Ship Tease: Ironically, with Cheer Bear in the DiC version.
- Scott McNeil: In the current cartoons series.
Funshine Bear
Used to be a girl, was reinvented as a boy for the 2000 revival. S/He is basically Grumpy Bear's polar opposite, having a positive attitude regardless of anything. Sometimes has difficulty reigning in his/her sense of humor. S/He is the yellow bear with the sun symbol. In the male persona, he's also sort of the embodiment of outdoor sports. In The Giving Festival Movie, Funshine Bear became part of the official Care Team, along with Cheer Bear, Grumpy Bear and Share Bear.
- Genki Girl / Keet
- The Pollyanna: Even by the standards of the Care Bears.
- Think Happy Thoughts
Love-A-Lot Bear
The embodiment of Love, Love-A-Lot is the pink bear with the double heart symbol.
Good Luck Bear
The Care Bear embodiment of good luck. The green bear with the shamrock symbol.
- Born Lucky
- Brother Chuck: All but replaced by Oopsy, the bad luck bear.
- Oireland: In the early cartoon series.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping
- Winds of Destiny Change
Wish Bear
A Care Bear whose duty it is to make people's wishes come true. She's the mint-colored bear with the shooting star symbol.
- Benevolent Genie: Desires to be this.
- Demoted to Extra: She got a Big Wish Movie all about her and then suffered a near-disappearance in Adventures in Care-a-Lot.
- Puss in Boots
- Make a Wish
- Shrinking Violet
- Stephanie Beard
- Stop Helping Me!: Doesn't always help.
Bedtime Bear
The embodiment of dreams and sleep. Bedtime Bear is the blue bear with the crescent moon symbol. Spends his days asleep, but at night, or when forced to wake up by a pressing situation, he demonstrates impressive competence.
- The Barnum
- Brilliant but Lazy
- Lazy Bum
- Let's Get Dangerous: When awake.
- Sleepyhead
Later Additions (1980s)
Champ Bear
A bear who was the embodiment of athletics and competition. He used to be tan with a plain heart symbol, but was later revamped into blue with a trophy symbol. He started out as an enthusiastic sports star, but was later re-purposed into more or less the Care Bear version of an asshole gym teacher.
Share Bear
This Care Bear helps all of her friends to see the importance of sharing with and caring for others. Her tummy symbol originally had a milkshake with two straws, but it became two lollipops in 2002 because they didn't want kids sharing germs.
- And Knowing Is Half the Battle: She was used in most of the PSA's in some episodes "The Care Bears share a lesson in caring!"
- Tastes Like Friendship
Secret Bear
Used to be a boy, but changed to a girl in later revivals. He is the only Care Bear that never speaks (at least not out loud), keeping everything to himself. If he has anything to say, he will either mime it or at most, whisper it in another bear’s ear. He is usually seen hanging out with Friend Bear, and she is the bear he mostly verbally communicates with through his whispering. He was originally orange and his symbol being a heart-shaped lock, but in revivals, he became a she, her fur colour changed to pink and she can now openly talk.
Hugs and Tugs
Toddler Care Bears - one is a pink girl with the star peeking out of a heart symbol, the other is a blue boy with a star in diapers symbol. They either act exactly alike, or stereotypically according with their genders.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Tugs, occasionally.
- Cousin Oliver
- Kid Appeal Character: In a series already aimed at very young children.
- Little Jimmy: The most they contribute to the series is to be told stories to and learn lessons from them.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy
- Single-Minded Twins / Polar Opposite Twins: Ping-ponged back and forth on this, often.
- Tagalong Kid
Grams Bear
The matriarch of the Care Bears, a wise old lady who usually takes care of Hugs and Tugs. She's the blue-grey bear with the rose symbol.
True Heart Bear
Debuting in the second Movie, she was the caretaker of the young care bears and brought them to the Kingdom of Caring. In Adventures In Care A Lot, she's a reporter.
The Care Bear Cousins
Braveheart Lion
The ridiculously brave leader of the Care Bear Cousins who embodies courage. He's the brown lion with the crowned heart symbol.
- Boisterous Bruiser
- Fake Ultimate Hero
- Small Name, Big Ego
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad
- Why Did It Have to Be the Dark?: For all of one episode. He dealt with it by episode's end.
Brightheart Raccoon
The most intelligent of all of the Care Bears or Cousins who embodies intelligence. He's a wacky inventor. He's the purple raccoon with the lightbulb symbol.
- Bungling Inventor
- Gadgeteer Genius
- Robot Buddy: He built one of these to be his sidekick.
- The Smart Guy
Cozy Heart Penguin
Cozy Heart Penguin is the purple penguin with the heart and wool cap symbol who embodies warmth. His/her gender varies.
- Everything's Better with Penguins
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Even compared to the other characters in the franchise. He's a penguin crossed with a Care Bear, for crying out loud!
Loyal Heart Dog
A blue dog with a white patch over his eye. A loyal friend, and one of the more "proper" members of the cast.
Lotsa Heart Elephant
A pink elephant who embodies persistence. She's the pink elephant with the 2-ton weight symbol. She is ridiculously strong and heavy, but sees herself as a dainty young girl, which causes a lot of accidental property damage.
- The Big Guy
- Catch Phrase: "And that's the truth!"
- Does Not Know His Own Strength
- Dojikko
- Gentle Giant
- Hollywood Pudgy: Even though her body type is identical to all the other Care Bears characters, she still causes earthquakes when she runs.
- Huge Schoolgirl
- Stop Helping Me!: Of the "Oh dear god, she's running at me to help me!" type.
Playful Heart Monkey
A yellow monkey with a heart with a party horn inside it for a chest symbol. A wild and boisterous party animal.
Proud Heart Cat
The proud, confident, purring cast member. Her tummy symbol is a curved pink star with a heart inside it, and she is turquoise in colour.
Treat Heart Pig
The big-eating yellow pig with an ice cream cone for a symbol.
Gentle Heart Lamb
A timid scaredy-cat mint-coloured lamb with a lace-covered heart logo.
Swift Heart Rabbit
A blue rabbit who embodies... uh... running very fast, and whose symbol is a heart with wings. Like Cozy Heart Penguin, his/her gender varies, though most often s/he is referred to as male.
- Genki Girl / Keet
- Fragile Speedster: But usually so fast that the "fragile" part ends up not mattering much.
- Motor Mouth: Sometimes, at least when the writers remember.
- Super Speed: Most thoroughly demonstrated in the first movie, but notable other times too.
Noble Heart Horse
A purple horse introduced in the second movie. He is the overseer of the Forest of Feelings and True Heart Bear's partner bringing the Care Bears and Care Bear cousins to the Kingdom of Caring, when they were newborn cubs.
- Cool Horse
- Papa Wolf
- Real Men Wear Pink: He's a purple pony!
- Team Dad
Villains
Grizzle
Seen only in Adventures in Care-a-Lot. Grizzle is a brown bear who looks like the other Care Bears, except that he has no tummy symbol and often dresses up in a massive mechanical suit to make himself seem more intimidating. He has a number of robotic lackeys, but by The Giving Festival Movie, they have all abandoned him, most particularly Wingnut, who has become an honorary Care Bear.
- Adorable Evil Minions
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: His theme song is "Grizzle's Bad."
- Big Bad Wannabe: And how. The Care Bears still consider him a legitimate threat sometimes, and maybe it's justified, but his plans fail most of the time and when they do work, it's never for long. In The Giving Festival Movie, they don't even really try to take him seriously as a villain anymore.
- Companion Cube: Mr Beaks
- Evil Is Hammy: He may be the least threatening and most bumbling major villain of the franchise, but he makes up for it by Chewing the Scenery at every opportunity.
- Evil Laugh
- Grumpy Bear: He's even grumpier than him.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain
- Save the Villain: Being Care Bears, they have to do it and Grizzle won't hesitate to try to take advantage of it.
- Smug Snake
- Take Over the World: Take over Care-a-Lot. Grizzle doesn't really care about the world, he just wants Care-a-Lot under his control, or better yet, gotten rid of. In fact, even just removing the Sugar Bowl from his presence will do and his scheme in The Giving Festival Movie is to simply try to push a good distance away from his lair.
- Villainous Breakdown: Sometimes subject to it, particularly if he gets caught in one of his own schemes or is subject to a Care Bear Stare.
Dark Heart
- Affably Evil: though with a bit of a Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Became a Real Boy: Unintentionally, though he's happy when it happens.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Evil Redhead
- Heel Face Turn
- Large Ham
- "One day the world will be rid of GOODNESS and KIIINDNEEEESS!"
- Morality Pet: Christy.
- Not So Invincible After All: Well, he almost dies by hitting his head and falling out of a canoe.
- Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Dark Heart turns himself into a 12 year old boy for most of the movie.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Though at the end of the movie, his eyes turn Blue Eyes, because he's turned into a normal kid.
- Smug Snake: For the lord of darkness, he's really not as good at being bad as he seems to think he is.
- Voice of the Legion: Every once in a while.
Christy
- The Dragon: For Dark Heart.
- Deal with the Devil
- Morality Pet: for Dark Heart.
- Nice Girl: At first
- Took A Level In Jerkass: Due to her Deal with the Devil.
- Tomboy
- Villainous Friendship: Type I.
Beastly
- Affably Evil
- Breakout Villain
- Butt Monkey
- Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: The entirty of "The Great Race" episode.
- Expy: In The Move, Care Bears: Aventure In Wonderland Dim and Dum, play the same role as beastly (Sidekick to the Big Bad), look similar to him and have the same actor providing their voices.
- Giggling Villain
- Harmless Villain
- Mascot Mook
- Minion with an F In Evil
- Rule of Two
- Villainous Friendship: Type III, with No Heart, arguably. Beastly's been known to try to cheer his boss up after particularly nasty defeats and even spent a whole episode worrying about what to get him for his birthday, whereas No Heart doesn't seem to give a damn about him one way or another.
- Possibly has a Type I with Shreeky, albeit of the Vitriolic Best Buds variety.
- Un Evil Laugh
Shreeky
- Ambiguously Human
- Uncle's Little Villain
- Enfant Terrible
- Evil Laugh
- Make Me Wanna Shout: Her whole shtick.
- Rule of Two
- Villainous Friendship With Beastly
- You Gotta Have Purple Hair
No Heart
- Bad Boss
- Big Bad
- Big Ol' Eyebrows
- Card-Carrying Villain
- Cartoonish Supervillainy
- Dystopia Justifies the Means
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good
- Evil Overlord
- Evil Sorcerer
- The Faceless: All we ever see of his face are his red eyes.
- The Heartless
- Humanoid Abomination: Is heavily implied to be this.
- Kick the Dog: With Beastly, anytime they share the screen with each other.
- Made of Evil: Apparently. That damn Care Bear Stare gets him every time.
- Pet the Dog: He seems to have some legitimate fatherly affection for his niece, Shreeky, going so far as letting her live with him (despite the fact that her constant screaming fudges up his powers) and even praising her on occasion.
- He also kind of does this with Beastly in "The Big Star Round-up." Beginning of the episode, he reveals he's got a demon that he plans to sic on the Care Bears, and tells Beastly point-blank that it'll be replacing him once it does so. Beastly spends the episode trying to one-up the demon and destroy the Care Bears first; (it goes about as well as you'd expect it to) before finally culminating in him accidentally K-Oing the thing. He returns home and begins to pack his things, expecting to be kicked out. Instead No Heart tells him to go and get rid of the demon because it had failed him, saying, "If any one fails me, it's going to be you!"
- Sorcerous Overlord
- Vile Villain Saccharine Show: Big time.
- Voluntary Shapeshifter: Any animal he wants.
- Involuntary Shapeshifter: When Shreeky's shrieking, he loses control and morphs at random.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Power of Friendship and The Power of Love do NOT mix well with this guy. Also, he seems to have a slight pathological fear of hugs (as exemplified by his hauling ass when Beastly attempted to give him one, either that or, more likely, a fear of the caring crystals Beastly was covered in).
- What Is This Thing You Call Caring?
Later Additions (2000s)
Too Loud Bear, Messy Bear and Me Bear
This trio was seen only in Big Wish Movie. They decided to move into Care-a-Lot after Wish Bear wished for some friends to show up who liked wishing as much as she does. They abused the power of the wishing star Twinkers and generally made a mess of things, but redeemed themselves in the end. Messy Bear even agreed to become Neat Bear, with Too Loud Bear becoming Quiet Bear.
- Brother Chuck: This group had the twin horrors of not only never being seen again, but also having a grand total of zero merchandise releases associated with them. This was most likely because almost immediately after this movie, the franchise was reimagined as Adventures in Care-a-Lot and the powers-that-be who were working on that decided these characters had no place there.
- Hey, It's That Voice!: Too Loud Bear is the animated Beetlejuice, Messy Bear is Mr. Lederhosen and Me Bear is Chibiusa (but not Stephanie Beard)
Oopsy Bear
The newest addition to the Care Bear family, and the unluckiest Care Bear in history -- not only is he the only Bear who lacks a tummy symbol (or "belly badge") and displays no magical powers at all, but he's also a walking disaster who can't walk three steps without falling down or accidentally breaking something. He's a light green bear with no tummy symbol, though he sometimes draws different (useless) tummy symbols on himself in magic marker.
- Butt Monkey: Though even he can't reach Grumpy Bear's level.
- Determinator: Well, he is persistent, you have to give him that.
- Iron Butt Monkey: in the episode Harmony Unplugged, True Heart notes his ability to "fall over and over and over and over without hurting himself".
- The Klutz: It says something that his name and his Catch Phrase is "Oopsy."
- Stop Helping Me!: Usually, but not exclusively, to Grumpy Bear.
Wingnut
Robot who used to work for Grizzle. He was taken in by the Care Bears and turned turned to good. His look was upgraded for the Giving Festival Movie. He has been made an honorary Care Bear.