Teddy Bears

Category: File - :Teddy bear 27.jpg|thumb|250px|A German teddy bear from around 1954

The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. It is an enduring, traditional form of a stuffed animal, often serving the purpose of comforting children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become expensive collector's items. Teddy bear collectors are known as arctophiles from the Greek words arctos (bear) and philos (lover).

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, Category: Care Bears - : Oopsy Does It!|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), Category: 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: Category: Care Bears - : Journey to Joke-a-lot|Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004) and Big Wish Movie (2005).

In 2007, the bears were once again relaunched. The 25th anniversary of the toy line was commemorated in 2007, and the Oopsy Does It! movie was released in commemoration of the 25th anniversary. As of 2008, Care Bears are still being marketed.

The "Care Bears" icon and the copyrights in the character designs are currently owned by Those Characters from Cleveland, part of American Greetings.History of American Greetings at official site. Retrieved February 26, 2006. However, on July 23, 2008, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears (along with Strawberry Shortcake) would be sold to Cookie Jar Entertainment in an acquisition due to take place on September 30, 2008.American Greetings Corporate News. Retrieved July 23, 2008. As of 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. Cookie Jar has expressed it's intentions to counter MoonScoop's bid and has until 30 April 2009 to counter the bid.Deal for Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears revived ? BusinessWeek

== History ==

The company was founded by Maxine Clark in 1997, and opened its first store in the Saint Louis Galleria. Ten years later, over 400 stores operate worldwide: in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, The Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States (including Puerto Rico). While the majority of Build-A-Bear stores are in shopping malls, as of August, 2008, the company has opened five stores in Major League Baseball stadiums.