Lions Gate Entertainment has released Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set, a boxed collection of four previously released DVDs, featuring 25 episodes of the classic The Care Bears Family TV series from 1986-1988 (which aired on ABC). Also included in the gift set is an exclusive 6" plush doll commemorating the past 25 years of The Care Bears.

Now I've written before about The Care Bears, having seen both the 1985 The Care Bears Movie (an abomination; read the review here), and the very latest CGI movie, Care Bears: Oopsy Does It, released back in October (click here to read that review). The 25 episodes of the Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set feature the shows that most fans would be familiar with when referring to The Care Bears. The Care Bears originally started off as greeting card creations for giant American Greetings, created by artist Elena Kucharik. Immensely popular, American Greetings then engaged Kenner Toys to market a plush line of The Care Bears in 1983, generating millions of dollars in merchandising revenue. The 1985 movie followed two TV specials, with The Care Bears eventually getting their own series, first from DiC Entertainment (only 22 episodes were produced for syndication), and then by Nelvana, an animation company that produced the series for broadcast on ABC. Running with original episodes until 1988, this particular version of The Care Bears (officially titled The Care Bears Family Storybook, although "Storybook" is missing from the title cards here) continued on in reruns until 1990.

For those who aren't familiar with the premise of The Care Bears, it's quite simple enough. The Care Bears live in Care-a-lot, a magical land floating on clouds in the Kingdom of Caring, high above the Earth. The Care Bears possess a magical Caring Meter, which monitors the overall aura of Care-a-lot and Earth, letting the Bears know when the Earth's people need some special Bear-loving and attention. Through the meter, the Bears discern where they're needed, or who needs help, and they set off on their missions of love, frequently in their Cloud and Rainbow Cars.

But not everyone wants the Care Bears to succeed; in this series incarnation, evil Wizard No Heart, and his comical minions Beastly and Shreeky, frequently try to thwart the efforts of the Bears. But everyone knows that love will always win out over evil (oh yeah? Trying remembering that when a coworker keeps bringing up Amway), and with the help of their "Care Bear Stare" (the Bears line up, and emit a blinding ray of light and love from their "tummy symbols"), they always vanquish their foes.

Watching the 25 episodes in the Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set, I have to admit that out of all the variations of The Care Bears I've seen, this one is probably the best (and certainly my young children thought so, as well). The animation may be rough (not at all untypical for mid-1980s TV fare), and the stories simplistic, but little children really do respond to those cleverly designed Bears (they are rather cuddly). The stories, teaching simple moral lessons about working together, sharing, and loving each other, are sweet enough while not getting in the way of the episodes' entertainment values (one here, The Sleeping Giant, even subtly tackles death and how to deal with it, when the big giant "goes to sleep").

And the shows are kind of fun, I have to admit. It's a more than slightly surreal world in the Kingdom of Sharing and Care-a-lot; you never know what you're going to find around the next corner (or in the Forest of Feelings, where the Care Bear Cousins live). The fanciful stories have plenty of imagination and energy (I particularly liked The Big Star Roundup, where the Care Bears ride herd, just like real cowboys, on a bunch of stars that need to go back in the sky), and when episodes deal with the evil No Heart (such as Care-a-lot's Birthday, complete with a sword-and-sorcery epic fight between the forces of good and evil in No Heart's spooky castle), there's a nice punch to the proceedings.

Here are the 25 episodes included on Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set. The first ten shows on two of the discs are in broadcast order; the other two discs are randomly assembled. The first disc's four episodes are the longer 22 minute shows, with the remaining three discs containing the shorter 15 minute episodes:

Here are the four episodes featured on the Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot disc, as described on the DVD hardshell case:

Care-a-Lot's Birthday
Will Care-a-lot's birthday be cancelled? Find out, when Tugs and Hugs are kidnapped and the Care Bears launch a rescue mission to save their magical home.

Grumpy's Three Wishes
A six-leaf clover brings Grumpy three wishes, but when he has to protect Care-a-lot from No Heart, he learns that confidence makes the best luck of all.

The Great Race
Whoever wins the great race will be crowned king or queen of Care-a-lot. But when Beastly cheats, will he triumph, or will slow and steady win the race?

Home Sweet Homeless
A flood forces the Care Bear Cousins to move into Care-a-lot. By having to share their home, the Care Bears discover what it really means to care.

Here are the six episodes featured on the Care Bears: Kingdom of Caring disc, as described on the DVD hardshell case:

Lost at Sea
While playing pirates, Hugs and Tugs are lost at sea. Can the twins, Sally and Sarah, stop feuding long enough to save them?

The Sleeping Giant
The Care Bears find a grumpy sleeping giant and awaken him to a great big world of friends, adventure and caring.

The Big Star Round-Up
It's time for the Care Bear cowboys to round up all the little stars and help them get to the big wishing star, even if it means facing Beastly's booby traps.

The Camp Out
What's a camp-out without scary ghost stories? You'll see when the Care Bears meet a real-live, friendly swamp creature with a monster personality.

I, Robot Heart
Grumpy and Bright Heart build a missing heart for a robot, but they soon realize, it's not how you build a heart - it's what you put inside that counts.

The Bravest of the Brave
No Heart and Dr. Fright turn a carnival's make-believe spook house into a real one - but the Care Bears prove that feeling scared is nothing to be afraid of.

Here are the eight episodes featured on the Care Bears: Magical Adventures disc, as described on the DVD hardshell case:

The Lost Gift
In this caring tale, Grams tells Hugs and Tugs how a magical apple tree fed an entire village until greed destroyed it.

Lots-a-Heart's Wish
When Lotsa Heart helps a unicorn, he is granted three wishes with unexpected results.

Perils of the Pyramid
Hugs and Tugs teach gung-ho archeologist Brave Heart to look before you leap as they enter a booby-trapped pyramid.

Bedtime for Care-a-lot
Bedtime Bear is the only one who can save the other Care Bears who have been put to sleep by No Heart's magical sleeping sand.

Secret of the Box
Trouble abounds when the crew of the S.S. Friendship become obsessed with opening a box to be delivered to an alien planet.

The Magic Lamp
In this caring tale, Grams tells the exciting Arabian adventure of how Champ must find a magic lamp in the city of Baghdad.

Caring Crystals
Grumpy is the only one who can save the day when No Heart unleashes his evil bubbles of uncaring on a village.

The Pirate Treasure
Beastly takes Champ and Treat Heart prisoner on the high seas and Hugs and Tugs try to save them with the help of a pirate.

Here are the eight episodes featured on the Care Bears: Festival of Fun disc, as described on the DVD hardshell case:

Care Bear Town Parade
Beastly tricks Cheer into buying a car which he's built for the specific purpose of destroying the Parade and Care Bear Town!

Under the Big Top
Brave Heart and Grumpy help a small boy be part of the circus unaware that evil duo Beastly and Shreeky are out to trap them.

Care Bear Carneys
Beastly and Shreeky trick the Care Bears away from their work and into a carnival they've set up as a trap to capture them.

Care Fair Scare
The Care Bears organize a fair to cheer children up and make them happy but Shreeky and Beastly are determined to destroy it.

Care-a-lot Games
Brave Heart hosts a lighthearted look at a variety of children's games with that cheating duo Beastly and Shreeky competing as well.

Songfellow Strum and His Magic Train
Excitement runs high as the Care Bears attend a music concert with the singing minstrel.

Music Video
The Care Bears visit with a singing minstrel in the enchanting town of Musicland.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full screen, 1.33:1 video transfers for the episodes contained on the Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set are pretty rough by any adult standard. Looking no better than a second or even third generation VHS copy, it's obvious nothing has been done to clean these up, or to go back to the original source material. Dirt, scratches, and screen anomalies abound, as well as frequent soft-focus moments, and blurry, blotchy, faded color. And after all of that, my kids didn't seem to mind at all, so...go figure.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo mix is more than adequate for what's involved here. The sound is at times tinny, but that's to be expected, considering nothing has obviously been done to the source material.

The Extras:
A big extra for the Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set is obviously the 6" plush doll included with the discs. For people who care, I would imagine something like this would be considered a "collectible" ("Only 75,000 were made!"). He or she (trust me, I looked it all over, and couldn't tell) is white, with silver trim on the red heart tummy symbol (which I understand has now been officially changed to "belly badge"). "25" and "Years" have been stitched in silver hearts on the feet, as well. My 5-year-old daughter certainly thought it was nice bonus.

Final Thoughts:
Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set, nicely surreal at times, with the cuddly, sweet, innocent Care Bears often coming this close to getting thumped by Wizard No Heart, adds up to some okay family viewing (if your kids insists you watch it with them), or the perfect kind of entertainment if you have to wash the dishes and you need something on the tube to keep them the hell out of the kitchen. I recommend the Care Bears: 25 Years of Caring Gift Set.