Cloudco has signed Basic Fun! as the master toy partner in North America and the UK for Care Bears.
The planned line will feature interactive and collectible toys that emphasize the Care Bear’s message of sharing and caring.
Care Bears first came to market in the early 1980s as an American Greetings card line, followed by a successful Kenner toy line. The property became a runaway hit when reintroduced in the early 2000s by Play Along, which was co-founded by Basic Fun!’s CEO Jay Foreman. Peak years for Care Bears toy sales were 1984-1986 and 2003–2005 with the brand racking up more than $1 billion in retail toy sales and more than $4 billion across all categories.
“When we relaunched Care Bears at Play Along, we were blown away by how big it hit and how well it was received by kids and collectors, considering it had only been off the market for just over ten years,” said Foreman. “Now that we are truly in the sweet spot between the confluence of the millennial mom and her child with this heritage brand, and the craze of collecting, our launch has the potential to be bigger than ever.”
“We couldn’t be happier to bring back this brand with the same team that made it happen for us almost 20 years ago. Jay has a real flair for reigniting and reinventing classic brands and making them relevant for today’s kids and gift givers,” said Sean Gorman, president of Cloudco Entertainment. “With an all-new look, an all-new TV series, and lots of fantastic partners starting with Basic Fun!, we’re confident that The Care Bears will command the attention and love of all their long-time fans as well as an entirely new generation of kids.”
Basic Fun will debut the new Care Bears line at Toy Fair Dallas (formerly Fall Toy Preview) this October, and to the broader trade at Toy Fair New York in February 2020. Product is expected to hit retail in the second half of 2020 throughout North America and the UK.
The new animated series, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, which debuted earlier this year in the U.S. on Boomerang and Cartoon Network in the U.S. as well as Tiny Pop in the UK, is a modern take on the colorful, kind-hearted bears from Care-A-Lot that many generations know and love with lots of new characters and adventures.