Bear In The Big Blue House Parent Guide

Appearing on video cassette for the first time, but familiar to many preschoolers, is Bear. This resident of the Big Blue House is a live-action costumed character similar to Sesame Street’s Big Bird, that strongly resembles Balou of Disney’s The Jungle Book. Not a surprising hybrid considering the television series was created by Jim Henson Home Entertainment for the Disney Channel.

At home for the last three years during the “Playhouse Disney” time block, Bear has attracted enough attention to warrant licensed merchandise, a live stage show at the Disney-MGM Studio theme park in Florida, and his own website www.bearinthebigbluehouse.com .

Now a visit with Bear is as easy as plugging in a VHS tape. Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment has released to retail stores, two cassettes featuring two episodes each. The production style of these programs has Bear talking directly to the young audience in between scenes where he interacts with other puppet characters.

While the twist of humor we have come to consider synonymous with Jim Henson does not reside in this series, young viewers aren’t likely to miss it. Presenting educational information in a way that’s as warm and comfortable as Bear, the preschool crowd will feel perfectly welcomed in The Big Blue House.

Bear in the Big Blue House: Storytelling With Bear

Bear introduces the value of “Words, Words, Words,” by reading his newspaper to the viewer. Just as in my house, he is continually interrupted. Tutter needs help understanding why Harry starts quacking loudly when ever he calls him “Big Beak,” and there are a couple of otters in the bathroom upstairs unable to remember the name of the thing that keeps tub water from escaping. With a few songs, a rhyming game, and some wise advice, Bear finds the right words to save the day.

When Woodland Valley holds it’s annual Storytelling Festival, every one shows up at the Big Blue House to find out “What’s the Story.” They soon discover there is more than one way to tell a tale. As in each episode, Bear takes a few moments at the end of show to review his day with Luna (the moon).

Bear in the Big Blue House: Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Bear has to remind Tutter and Ojo, who are spending the night at the Big Blue House, to “Go to Sleep.” The problem gets worse when Bear’s card playing pals arrive, giving Tutter another excuse to get out of bed. A lullaby from Shadow (a regular visitor who appears on the wall and looks like she belongs to the Muppet’s Prairie Dawn) helps to settle the situation.

Ray (the sun) pops up to tell Bear all about “Morning Glory.” But it doesn’t seem very glorious to Ojo, who skipped breakfast. Good health, good grooming and even good ol’ chores are more Bear-able with fun friends and merry music.

About author

Donna Gustafson

Donna Gustafson has been involved with her husband Rod's work since the beginning. Handling many of the behind-the-scenes tasks, she also creates preview pages for up-coming movies, acts as managing editor and occasionally writes reviews.