Each Care Bear is a different colour or shade and has a unique image on their stomach (referred to in various media as a "belly badge" or "tummy symbol") that represents their personality.

The current TV series, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, debuted on Boomerang SVOD on February 1, 2019, and has since tied in with a new toy line from Basic Fun.

[1] Jack Chojnacki, the co-president of Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), introduced the first Care Bear to businessmen from American Greeting Cards and from the toy company Kenner in February 1981.

[3] Working with TCFC Creative VP Ralph Shaffer, Fahrion designed the first six bears, creating greeting card themes for their belly graphics.

[7] American Greetings introduced the characters to the general public in February 1983,[8] with an appearance at New York City's Toy Fair;[9] 26 licensees were involved upon launch.

[4]: 52 In December 1983, American Greetings and CPG Products lost a lawsuit against Easter Unlimited, importers of a line known as "Message Bears".

Later that year, the television series The Care Bears Family (also from Nelvana) premiered in mid-1986 on the U.S. ABC network and Canadian Global.

[16] This show, known as Care Bears: Care-A-Lot Castle, was produced in-house at Sally's facilities and with no involvement from the crew behind the animated series.

One notable song choice, exclusive to the English version, was a cover of "Brazzle Dazzle Day" from Disney's 1977 film, Pete's Dragon.

The first installation was located at Dunia Fantasi, an Indonesian theme park, where the show was locally translated under the name Beruang Madu (Sun Bears) complete with a dubbed soundtrack for the 1987 season.

[17] The second installation was built for Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in the United States, which premiered a year later with the original English soundtrack.

[24][25] In 1999, the rights to the Care Bears franchise were bought by Jay Foreman, the president of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Play Along Toys, for less than $1 million; he also planned to acquire fellow American Greeting Cards property Strawberry Shortcake.

[30] New versions of the Care Bear Cousins were produced (with Proud Heart Cat sporting a different fur color and the same symbol she had in the 1980s franchise).

In April 2003, it was announced that a new CGI-animated movie from Nelvana, The Care Bears in King Funshine the Great, had been acquired by Artisan Entertainment for US distribution.

[33] Essentially a pilot to the traditionally-animated television series, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot, the movie was made to introduce the new look to the public audience.

As the 2007 era was a reboot, prior plot devices, like the Cloudmobiles, the Caring Meter, the Cloud Keeper and Care-a-Lot Castle, were neither referred to nor mentioned in the new series.

A February, 2007 article in The Wall Street Journal states that in the new version, "they live in a village, centered on a big tree, with no castle in sight".

Care-a-Lot Castle also reappeared in the educational video game Care Bears: Play Day, for the V-Smile Baby.

On July 23, 2008, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears (along with Strawberry Shortcake and Sushi Pack) would be sold to Cookie Jar Entertainment in an acquisition due to take place on September 30, 2008.

[34] By April 2009, it was announced that Cookie Jar Entertainment had problems in financing the acquisition and that a French company called MoonScoop has also expressed interest in the franchise.

[40] In December 2013, AG Properties and Mindworks Entertainment announced that they would collaborate with Sanrio for a co-branding with the character franchise Little Twin Stars.

After The Hub cancelled Welcome to Care-a-Lot, on January 15, 2015, Netflix commissioned a new TV series called Care Bears & Cousins.

[44] Eventually, this was confirmed by the then-rebranded Cloudco Entertainment in September 2018, when they announced they would be making a new television series, titled Care Bears: Unlock the Magic.

[49] On October 16, 2024, WildBrain announced the production of The Care Berry Switch, a forty-four minute special that crosses over with Strawberry Shortcake.

In 1989, Carole Ashkinaze of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution referred to them as "the whimsical, late 20th-century descendents [sic] of what we used to know as guardian angels: furry, friendly, adorable creatures whose mission is to guide small children and protect them from bogeymen".

These combine to form a ray of love and good cheer which can bring care and joy into the target's heart, break dark spells, or revive something that has been broken, wilted, or messed up.

It was occasionally used in the DiC TV series to cure Care Bears and humans who were under the effects of Professor Coldheart's uncaring magic.

[28] During the early 2000s relaunch, the classic Care Bear toys were available at stores such as Carlton Cards, Claire's, and Spencer Gifts.

Some early publications include Meet the Care Bear Cousins, Sweet Dreams for Sally, The Witch Down the Street, The Trouble with Timothy, and A Sister for Sam.

[55] During the same period, in Great Britain, the Care Bears also appeared in a comic book series published by Marvel UK with artwork by Mario Capaldi.