The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree
| The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree | |
|---|---|
Title screen from the original NBC TV special (1979)
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| Created by | Stan and Jan Berenstain |
| Written by | Stan and Jan Berenstain |
| Directed by | Mordicai Gerstein |
| Narrated by | Ron McLarty (uncredited) |
| Theme music composer | Elliot Lawrence |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Buzz Potamkin |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Perpetual Motion Pictures The Joseph Cates Company |
| Distributor |
NBC Embassy Home Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release |
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| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (1980) |
The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree is an animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein, the program made its debut on NBC on December 3, 1979. The television special inspired a book by the same name, published by Random House in 1980.
Stan and Jan Berenstain first pitched their idea for a holiday special in November 1978. They were told that there was not a market for new animated television specials, and the husband and wife team nearly gave up on the project. In February 1979, however, they received an invitation from producer Joseph Cates to discuss the idea further.
A deal with Perpetual Motion Pictures was soon solidified, and, over the course of the next several months, the Berenstains collaborated with Mordicai Gerstein and Buzz Potamkin to develop a script and sketch nearly 20,000 original drawings needed for the animators. The Berenstains drew for three straight weeks, struggling with some of the sketches. According to Stan and Jan, "Back views of the bears are especially challenging (we’ve never seen them from the back before)."
Soon after, the Berenstains auditioned for vocal talent:
Auditioning voices: we listen to eight Papas, six Mamas and four-and-twenty Sister and Brother Bears in six hours. Actors are selected. Two days in the space station atmosphere of a high-powered sound recording studio: sound engineer Bob Lifton laughs at two of the show's ninety-seven jokes. Since he does sound for Saturday Night Live this is considered a good omen.
By mid-June, Stan and Jan saw the first bits of animation, and the completed special was viewed by the Berenstains on November 10, just over three weeks prior to the national broadcast.
The 25-minute special was created and written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and featured original music composed and conducted by Emmy-winning musician Elliot Lawrence, with lyrics provided by Stan Berenstain. The score included three original songs: "Christmas Day is Here (It's Almost Here)", "We Need a Tree for Christmas," and "The Christmas Star".
The Christmas special starred Ron McLarty (billed as Ron McLarity), Gabriela Glatzer, Jonathan Lewis, and Pat Lysinger as Papa, Sister, Brother, and Mama Bear, respectively. McLarty also doubled as the show's narrator.
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