The Secret World of Benjamin Bear
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The Secret World of Benjamin Bear is a Canadian animated television series and a joint effort produced by Amberwood Entertainment, Secret Bear Productions, and produced with the participation of Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund including animation by Philippine Animation Studio Inc.[1]. It originally aired on Family Channel from 2003-2009. Episodes are now available for free streaming on Encore+. [2] The Secret World of Benjamin Bear is a continuation series following The Teddy Bears' Picnic ('89), The Teddy Bears' Christmas ('92), and The Teddy Bears' Scare ('98) and follows the new adventures of Benjamin Bear who is now owned by Max Tanner, the son of his former owner Simon Tanner and his current teddy housemate and best friend Howie Bear who, following the same theme of the original Teddy Bears' Picnic series, is newly awakened and must be guided by Ben.
Characters
Teddy Bears
- Benjamin "Ben" Bear (voiced by Jonathan Crombie) - The main protagonist of the series. He is orange colored and wears red vest. His owner is Max Tanner. His best friend is Howie. He is shown to be a true gentleman to everyone in the teddy world. Out of all the teddy bears, Benjamin is one of the most trustworthy and often called on to help the others, especially the new teddies. He is allergic to lavender. When he gets mad, he crosses his arms and taps his foot (however, he denies doing this).
- Howie Bear - Howie is Ben's best friend. He is yellow colored and wears white t-shirt and green overalls. Even though Howie is young and inexperienced, he is eager to learn. His owner is Eliza Tanner.
- Edgar of Old (voiced by John Stocker) - A 200-year-old pale yellow bear and the first teddy bear ever made, he was the stuffed bear originally given to T.H. Roosevelt, which is stated in the show to be where the term "Teddy Bear" originates. He wears a navy blue vest and white collar. He is the leader of the teddy community. Due to his extensive age he tends to walk slowly and isn't as agile as the others, but otherwise doesn't show his age. His owner is Miss Abby Periwinkle, and she is the only human who knows that the teddy bears are alive.
- Ruby Red - A friend of Ben's whom he has a crush on. She is dusty rose colored and wears a red ribbon around her neck. She is owned by a toy store owner named MacLaren. She is a sweet bear, and gets along well with Ben and Howie. She is always willing to lend a helping hand. In the episode "Proudly Purple", Ruby and Ben tell each other how much they have in common and eventually tell how much they love each other.
- Holly Bear - (voiced by Emma Taylor-Isherwood) A panda teddy bear and a very close friend of Howie. They are always seen playing chess together; however, Holly always wins. Her owner is Lindsay.
- Sebastian Biggleboar - (voiced by Terrence Scammell) A pompous bear who considers himself better than everyone else and speaks with a British accent. He is brown colored and wears a blue bowtie. He enjoys causing trouble for Benjamin and Howie or embarrassing them. Sebastian has a crush on Trixie Belle, and he considers her the perfect girl, and one of the few things other than himself that he loves. His owner is Bobbie.
- Raymond - (voiced by Rick Jones) A purple teddy bear with pink torso who was a carnival prize before being dumped on the street. After wandering around the woods nearby, he was found by Ben and Howie, and taken to MacLaren's toy store, and put on a rocking chair next to the entrance.
- Toot Sweet - (voiced by Terrence Scammell) A polar teddy bear with red and green scarf and hat, who runs Toot's, a diner where bears like to congregate. He is famous for honey shakes. When his kid went to college, he tried to stop him, but stopped when his kid promised he would return[citation needed].
- The Clean-up Crew - Three small teddy bears who belong to three energetic children. They're brown colored and usually seen in black suits and sunglasses (although, unlike other teddies, they only wear clothes when they're "on duty"), and riding around in a toy gyrocopter with a bucket on a string hanging from it. It's their job to deal with big problems that arise in the teddy world.
- Winifred - A teddy who works in the teddy council and was once in the teddy marching band. She is pink colored and wears glasses and pale blue ribbon around her neck.
- Trixie Belle - A Teddy Tech graduate whom Sebastian has a crush on. She is brown colored and wears an orange ribbon around her neck.
- Mrs. Crackers - A female teddy bear who runs the library. She is beige colored and wears glasses, green shirt and bow on her head.
- Felix - Felix was Laura's old teddy and now he lives in Italy with his new owner, who is a girl named Antonia. He is golden yellow with purple stitch on his tummy.
- General - A military teddy bear with an English accent. He is very strict about order due to his militaristic nature. He is brown colored and wears military helmet and medals on his chest.
- Mr. Lister - The teddy bear in charge of the Teddy Relocation Center. He is grayish-brown colored and wears glasses and orange collar shirt with brown tie.
- Buzz - Buzz is a teddy that appeared in the episode "Close the Door Ben", when Ben tried to find his child. He is light brown colored and wears a green vest.
- Enrico – Enrico is Ruby Red's friend who lives in Italy.
- Lily - A young teddy bear. She has problems with going teddy (she will do so whenever she's excited). She is part of the general's marching band. She is beige colored and wears yellow dress and bow on her head.
- Dr. Tiffany Tuff - A teddy bear who is a physician. She runs the Teddy Hospital. She is brown colored and wears a lab coat and a pink bow on her head.
- Freddy - A teddy bear that was handmade from gray woolen socks.
- Wally - A teddy bear who is an old friend of Ben's. He is owned by Simon's sister Sally.
- Gonzo
- Bernie
- Mrs. Poppy
- Samantha
- Louie
- Albert
- Tatayoshi
- Angus
- Frankie
- Woowly
Humans
- Max Tanner - Simon's son, Eliza's brother and Benjamin's owner. Max was given Benjamin by his father, who was Benjamin's previous kid.
- Eliza Tanner - (voiced by Emma Taylor-Isherwood) Howie's owner. She is Max's younger sister.
- Simon Tanner - (voiced by Terrence Scammell) Max's father, and Benjamin's previous owner. He is a very creative man, and enjoys tinkering. Unfortunately, most of his inventions don't work properly. He owns a Bulldog named Slurp, who helps out Benjamin and Howie whenever possible.
- Laura Tanner - The kind and caring mother of Max and Eliza and the wife of Simon Tanner who was the owner of Felix.
- Bobbie - Sebastian's owner. She considers herself superior to Max and Eliza. Her father dotes on her and she has a Doberman Pinscher named Chomper, who loves Sebastian.
- Miss Abby Periwinkle - Edgar's owner. She is the only human who knows that teddy bears can walk and talk like humans. When she was a child, she tried to pilot a sailboat by herself but was knocked unconscious by the sail's boom when she steered it. Edgar steered the boat back to the dock in order to save her, but she regained consciousness and saw him. She told her friends her bear was alive but nobody believed her, and they began treating her like she was weird. Edgar saw how much this hurt her and admitted to her that teddies were alive, but it was a secret only she could know. She has kept this secret ever since, and her house is the only one that teddies can come and go as they please without having to hide or go teddy.
- Mr. Maclarean - (voiced by Terrence Scammell) Ruby's owner. A Scottish man who owns a large toy store called "Maclarean's", and behaves like a child himself. He has also taken several trips around the world, and has plenty of stories to tell. He has a sister who wishes he acted his age.
- Lindsay - Holly's owner. She is friends with Eliza.
Animals
- Slurp - Slurp is the Tanner's family Bulldog. He is very playful and friendly, with humans and teddy bears alike. He is called Slurp because of his slobbery dog kisses.
- Chomper - Chomper is Bobbie's dog. He only likes Sebastian and dislikes Ben and Howie. Sebastian enjoys seeing Chomper chase Ben and Howie around.
- Marigold - Marigold is Lindsay's dog. She is very energetic and loves to disturb the teddies.
- Froth Moth - A Froth Moth is a fictional species of moth that feeds on teddy bear stuffing. As a result, Froth Moths are the most feared creature in the teddy world. They don't like lavender, which teddy bears use to fend them off.
- Champ - Champ is Mike's pet dog. He loves to play teddy fetch with Trixie Belle.
- Patches - Patches is Eliza's cat. She likes to cause trouble with just about everything she can, especially Ben and Howie.
Locations
- Maclarean's Toy Store - This is Mr. Maclearean's toy store. There is a teddy library, a place where the teddy council meets, and other secret teddy hiding places.
- Toot Sweet's Garden Cafe - This is Toot Sweet's café. The owner, Toot, is known for making honey shakes.
- Abby Periwinkle's House - This is the home of Miss Periwinkle. She lives there with her bear Edgar. There are different teddy hiding places in the house. Miss Periwinkle's garden is used for special occasions like Greeting Ceremonies.
- Tanner House - This is where the Tanner family lives. There are different teddy tunnels so Ben and Howie can get from "room to room" and "place to place" easily.
- Bobbie's House - This is where Bobbie's family lives. It is the neighboring home to the Tanner House. Chomper acts as a watch dog to the house at night.
- Teddy Hospital - The Teddy Hospital is in a real hospital. This is where the teddies go if they have teddy health problems, such as new stuffing or stitching.
Episode list
Season 1
1. Fuzz and Buzz; Game Over
2. Just for Laughs; Auctioning Edgar
3. Green-Eyed Monster; Last Minute Leader
4. Lights, Camera, Caught!; Over the Volcano
5. Happy Campers; Teddy Picnic
6. Maxwell's Dilemma; Abominable Bear
7. Ooey Gooey; Wrong Howie
8. Best Friends; Harry Hamster
9. Driving Miss Hilda Crazy; One Stormy Night
10. Cracking Up; Trouble for Toots
11. A Star is Born; Who Took the Teddifesto?
12. Quest for the Holly Bear; Bears Away
13. Cargo Cat; Perfect Match
Season 2
1. The Big Scare; Raymond's Frisky Friend
2. Teddy Tech; Badminton Bet
3. Outbreak; Triple Trouble
4. General Alarm; Bouncing Bertie
5. Clean Up Kid; Lucky Raymond
6. Finding Felix; Froth Fright
7. Canine Chaos; There and Back
8. Edgar's Tale; Deep Secret
9. The General's Kid; Just Like Ben
10. Teddy Splat Spat; Close the Door, Ben!
11. Teddy Trails; Yo Ho Ho
12. Ben Between; Teddy Training
13. Happy Birthday Mrs. P; Top Teddy
Season 3
1. Fixing Freddy; Bad Hair Daze
2. Lister Says; Sweet n' Sour
3. Fitting In; Itch to Switch
4. Edgar's Letter; Room at the Top
5. Teddy Tango; Sebastian Calling
6. Teddy Kite Flight; Hand-Me-Down Bear
7. Saving Sebastian; Tuff Love
8. Following Finnegan; Raymond's Place
9. Zowie Howie; Grow Seed Grow
10. Tunnel Trouble; Teddy Overdrill
11. Lister's Mistake; Teddy Return
12. Rocket Teddy; Teddy Tracker
13. The Raymond Reaction; Big Bear
Season 4
1. Teddy Time; Lonesome at the Top
2. House Bound Bear; Howie Power
3. Teddy Flip Flop; Proudly Purple
4. Ben's Decision; The General's Bath
5. Teddy Slow Down; Going Home
6. Ben's Nose Knows; A Tickle Too Far
7. Helping Happy; Fishy Friendship
8. Blip Blork; Finders Keepers
9. A Teddy's Dream; Ben's Day Off
10. Teddy Trick; Sebastian's Chance
11. Freddie's First Snow; The Perfect Gift
12. Sebastian the King; The Trouble with Toots
13. Too Much Champ; Happy's Big Day
See also
References
External links
- 2000s Canadian animated television series
- 2003 Canadian television series debuts
- 2009 Canadian television series endings
- Amberwood Entertainment
- Canadian children's animated fantasy television series
- Animated television series about bears
- Family Channel shows
- Television series by DHX Media
- Canadian animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters