Reasons to Be Cheerful: The Care Bears at 40

Marking a significant milestone in 2022, License Global takes a deep dive into the world of the Care Bears and how they were brought to life 40 years ago.

Ben Roberts

February 28, 2022

Cloudco

Cloudco Entertainment is building a new era for a brand known the world over, the Care Bears. For 40 years, the Care Bears have been on a mission to educate children about the importance of feeling. It’s a matter that has been imperative to childhood throughout the ages. The brand has grown from cuddly toys to globally viewed animation properties with each passing decade. But the story of the Care Bears isn’t just one of color, joy, grumpiness and general emotional intelligence, but also the evolution of both a brand and an entertainment company.

Cloudco Entertainment has grown with each new bear, product and iteration of the Care Bears brand, welcoming new intellectual property and tasking its compact but impactful team with new challenges with each step. What started as Those Characters from Cleveland in 1981, the company would become AG Properties and American Greetings Entertainment before being rebranded as Cloudco Entertainment in 2018.

While a division of American Greetings, its

reputation was largely defined by heritage brands that over time became more preschool-focused, supported by animated content. Since the spin-out into a standalone company called Cloudco, half of its content business is live-action and the other half is new IP-oriented. The demographics for that content now span from preschool up to all audiences.

What’s more, the company’s long history gathered unique intellectual properties as it continued to snowball. With in-house properties including “Hollie Hobbie,” “Buddy Thunderstruck,” “Madballs,” “Tinpo,” “BOY GIRL DOG CAT MOUSE

CHEESE” and, of course, “Care Bears,” Cloudco today develops multi-platform entertainment franchises and extensive consumer merchandising programs that immerse children and parents in the brands they love.

This children’s entertainment company not only builds, distributes and expands brands but uses the art of licensing to give those brands new life through well-thought-out touchpoints and consumer products.

To truly understand the history and the trajectory of Care Bears, one must first understand the approach of its

rights holder and brand curator, Cloudco.

“Regardless of whether it’s the reinvention of a classic brand, a completely new concept, a TV series or a consumer product, everything generally passes through a minimum of three internal filters,” says Robert Prinzo, head, global licensing, Cloudco Entertainment. “One, as a company, do we at least like – but ideally love – the IP or consumer product? Two, do we think it’s commercially viable in the competitive landscape? Finally, three, do we have a way to

produce it that delivers on its full potential?”

The full potential of the Care Bears isn’t just steeped in heritage. Today, the brand crosses mass retail, multigenerational audiences and a long line of consumer products and content that celebrates its past and sets up an exciting new era.

Check out the full article in the February 2022 issue of License Global!