Care Bears are a set of characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears.

Each bear comes in a different color and has a specialized insignia on its belly that represents its duty and personality. This insignia was known as their "tummy symbol." However, the latest movie, Oopsy Does It!(2007), renamed them "belly badges".

Adding to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins," which feature a lion, monkey, penguin, rabbit, and other such animals created in the same style as the teddy bears. The Care Bears appeared in their own television series from 1985 to 1988, in addition to three feature films: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987). In 2002, the bears were reintroduced with new toys.

Made by Play-Along Toys, the new toys offered features such as illuminated bellies upon touch, aerobic bears, and glow-in-the-dark bears. As part of this comeback, the Bears have appeared in two computer-animated movies: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004) and Big Wish Movie (2005).

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