Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The title identifies this movie as not only a sequel but 'A New Generation'. I don't see the need because I would be willing to bet that the characters in the first film were as indistinguishable as they are in this one. The Care Bears are based on a huge line of furry teddy bears with little hearts on their stomachs. They all have names like Trueheart Bear, Nobleheart Bear; Swiftheart Bear then there is Playful Heart Monkey and Bright Heart Raccoon (Where is Closing Credits Bear when you need him?). The Ninja Turtles are no less annoying but at least I can tell them apart.The story seems lifted out of a coloring book. A demon named Dark Heart visits two last-place children at a summer camp and offers them a deal: Kidnap the Care Bears and he will make them both Camp Champs. In other words: The Devil descends upon two kids and offers them good fortune in return for the CB's mortal souls (The movie doesn't say that but I got the idea).Meanwhile somewhere in the Kingdom of Caring the Care Bears fight back with their little caring patches on their stomachs and shoot colored beams that make a happiness rainbow. Then when things turn their darkest the characters (and I wish I were making this up) turn to the camera and ask the audience to start caring, caring, caring hard! I like the apathetic Grumpy Bear, at least he and I had one thing in common.Sometimes I sit through a movie and declare that I want to see it as part of my life experience. I had to see this one just to see if I could sit all the way through it. I did and I was not the best for wear afterwards. This movie is so sugary sweet that even my dentist was surprised to report no cavities.The animation? It lies somewhere between a cereal commercial and PSA for Arbor Day. This was the 80s when toy merchandise tie-ins had become uncomfortably common. Those days are gone but the relics like this remain.

I was worried that my daughter might get the wrong idea. I think the "Dark-Heart" character is a little on the rough side and I don't like the way he shape-shifts into a "mean" frog, fox, boy… I was wrong, This movie was made for my kid, not for me. She "gets it" when it went over (under?) my head. Of course I don't "get it". This isn't one of the NEW kids movies that adults will ALSO enjoy. This is straight for the young ones, and the crew knew what they were doing. There isn't any political junk ether. There's no magic key that will save the world from ourselves, nobody has the right to access excess, and everyone isn't happy all the time. And as a side benefit, nobody DIES! –russwill.

This cartoon was strange, but the story actually had a little more depth and emotion to it than other cartoon movies. We have a girl at a camp with low self esteem and hardly any other friends, except a brother and sister who are just a miserable as she is. She reaches the ultimate low point and when the opportunity arises she literally makes a pact with a devil-like demon. I found this film to be very true to life and just when things couldn't be worse, the girl sees what she's done, she feels remorse and then changes and then she helps this dark, mystical creature learn the human quality of love. The twins improve too, by helping the little bears and then they get a sense of self worth too. A very positive message for children, though some elements of the film was strange, it was and still is a rather enjoyable film. The music from Stephen Bishop (Tootsie songs) made the film even better

This movie was so adorable when I first saw it. I was 4 and I fell in love with the Care Bears. (I was born in 85 so parents made me wait to see it) And the other day I watched it with a bunch of my friends and loved it just as much. I thought that the story line didn't even follow the actual timeline of the Care Bears Evolution, but loved it nonetheless. In Lamen's, despite the film's inaccuracy, it's still the most adorable kid's movie. They just don't make them like they used to.