"I will NOT be defeated by two children and a handful of mythological bears!"

Okay, you asked for it (well, Ryan asked for it, anyway) so here it is: Rob's review of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.

Yeah, that's right. Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears. What's that? Something to say? Got some snarky comments to get off your chest? No? Good.

Gummi Bears began life in 1985 as one of three productions that marked the beginning of Walt Disney Animation Television (the other two being The Wuzzles, which debuted immediately before Gummi Bears on September 14, 1985 -- and which only lasted one season -- and The Fluppy Dogs, which never got past the aired pilot movie). It was created by Jymn Magnon and Art Vitello based on an idea by Michael Eisner (Eisner essentially just came up with the title, which occured to him when his son asked for some Gummy Bears candy). It ran on NBC until 1989, when it moved to ABC for it's final season, paired with Disney's The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was later rerun as part of the Disney Afternoon block of programming throughout the early '90's.

To quote Wikipedia :

The series focuses on the escapades of the eponymous "Gummi Bears," anthropomorphic bears who are the last remnants of a once-great civilization of Gummis that fled the land centuries ago when humans, jealous of the advancements and magical skills of the Gummi Bears, forced the species into exile. Now regarded by most of humankind as fairytales, the show's main cast of Gummi Bears (six in number at the outset of the series, increased to seven during the third season) live in the vast subterranean warren of Gummi Glen in the medieval kingdom of Dunwyn.

The Gummis' modern adventures begin when they are discovered by a human boy named Cavin who happens to have a Gummi Medallion, found by his grandfather many years earlier. After he accidentally enters the colony's underground home of Gummi Glen, they capture and interrogate the boy as to how he gained the medallion. During the questioning, Cavin escapes after Tummi inadvertently gives him Gummiberry Juice to drink, but refuses to cause any harm and attempts to befriend the reclusive bears. Impressed by this civilized behavior, they make him swear to keep their confidence and make him a privileged friend of the colony. The medallion magically unlocks the colony's Great Book of Gummi, an essential reference guide to the forgotten knowledge of the Gummi Bears. Inspired by its writings, the colony resolves to rediscover their heritage and help Dunwyn defend against evil. Later, another human from Dunwyn accidentally learns that the Gummi Bears are real: the young daughter of the king, Princess Calla. She also promises to keep the Gummis' existence a secret. In subsequent seasons the Gummis would befriend or be discovered by other friendly humans.

The main antagonist of both Dunwyn and the Gummis is Duke Sigmund Igthorn, a renegade noble with an army of ogres, from the neighboring province of Drekmore. Unfortunately, in stopping Igthorn's attempt to bombard his enemies with a grand catapult, the Gummi Bears alert him to their presence. Igthorn will stop at nothing to discover and exploit their secrets to become invincible and capture Dunwyn Castle. Chief among his primary goals is gaining a reliable supply of the Gummi Bears' vital strategic substance, Gummiberry Juice, a magic potion that endows Gummi Bears with bouncing abilities, but gifts humans or ogres with momentary super-strength as well as other numerous uses, including serving as fuel for machines.

In addition to combating Igthorn's ambition, the Gummis regularly encounter other evil humans and magical beings ranging from wizards to gods, all the while attempting to hide their existence from the world at large. One of the show's main recurring storylines outside the schemes of Igthorn is the mystery of the ancient Gummis, who are now scattered all across the world, but who have left advanced technology behind them

The first thing that stands out about Gummi Bears is it's look. The character designs are very attractive, rounded and expressive in the classic Disney sense. The animation quality is superb, especially for a tv cartoon in the mid '80's; the characters are sharply defined, the animation clean and fluid, no cel is reused (ala: He-Man or anything from the Filmation assembly-line), and the backgrounds are rich and detailed. Seriously, when watching this series, look at the backgrounds. REALLY look at them. It's remarkable the level of detail put into them.

For all the show's visual appeal, however, it was the mythology of the series that really hit home with me. A lost colony of an ancient, advanced race, scattered and hunted, rediscovering their past and trying to forge a future for themselves. In a kid's cartoon. From the '80's. Think about that for a second. It's a remarkably solid fantasy premise. Every season had a few episodes that touched upon the premise; one, during the very first season, is a gem called Zummi Makes it Hot. In this episode, the water at Gummi Glen has abruptly stopped, and the bears must, of course, fix it. One group elects to check the pipes for leaks, while another, using an ancient map found in their Great Book, goes to check for the source of their water. It's an effecting moment when, upon discovering the vast, sophisticated pumping station high in the mountains, the characters stare about themselves in awe, marvelling that their kind could ever have built such a thing. One character turns to another and says, with genuine heartbreak in her voice, "It's terrible what we've forgotten." Can you think of many other cartoons that would have tried to communicate that notion? That cultural achievements, cultural identity, can be lost, and it's terrible when it happens? Heady stuff, when you're 10. Or when you're 40.

Beyond this, the show's a great deal of fun, written with wit and charm (a whole lot of charm, really, which is sadly missing from a lot of cartoons, then and now) and, I've no doubt, a great deal of love on the part of those involved in it's production. The first three seasons are available on DVD from just about any outlet; the series lasted for, I believe, six seasons, so hopefully Disney will get around to releasing the rest of it, one of these days. Another interesting note: Gummi Bears was actually allowed to have an end. It didn't just abruptly stop when it went off the air, it had a multi-part storyline (King Igthorne, it was called) that resolved the various plot threads from throughout the series. How many times have you seen that happen?

Ultimately, Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears is a darned fine 'toon, never anything less than entertaining. Run out and watch it, right now!