Little Bear

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
From left to right: Duck, Emily, Little Bear, Owl, Cat, Hen, Mother Bear, Father Bear

Little Bear, a series of books and cartoon adaptation. It follows the stories of a... well, little bear, his friends Hen, Owl, Cat, Duck, and Emily, who's human. Later, they are joined by Mitzi, a monkey. The series was created by Maurice Sendak, and it currently runs in syndication on Nick Jr..

Tropes used in Little Bear include:
  • Animal Talk: Cat, duck, snake, etc.
  • Beary Cute: The title character, of course.
  • Carnivore Confusion: Little Bear is a bear, but is friends with a cat, a hen and a duck, all of which can be prey animals to a bear. The only meat he is seen eating is fish, and this is mostly because No Cartoon Fish is in appliance. The same goes for Cat.
  • Cats Are Snarkers
  • Cross-Dressing Voices: Little Bear
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Nofeet the snake (No feet).
  • Five-Man Band:
  • Friendly Tickle Torture: Occurs with startling frequency, with the Little Bear almost always involved as either the tickler or ticklee. All the characters shown in the opening end up getting tickled at least once.
  • Funny Animal: Little Bear and his family.
  • Furry Confusion: Tutu the dog speaks French. The other animals speak Animal Talk, yet Little Bear is a Funny Animal. A "wild" cub is shown, when most other bears are basically the same as humans.
    • The Movie is even more confusing. For one Little Bear is shown drinking from a river like a regular bear, right after putting a carton down. A Mountain Lion appears, and he is shown in a manner that emphasizes the fact he's a predator.
  • Good Parents: Little Bear's parents definitely apply.
  • Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Although all of Little Bear's relatives are fully clothed he and his other animal friends are naked.
  • In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It: The TV show was initially advertised as "Maurice Sendak's Little Bear." However, this is peculiar, as Maurice Sendak only illustrated the Little Bear books--Else Minarik was the author.
  • Lethal Chef: In the episode where Little Bear and Emily make cupcakes, they go so far as to put a fish in the batter. And that's the least of those cupcakes' problems...
  • No Cartoon Fish: Fish are essentially the only animals that don't talk, or at least show some level of sapience. One episode even had a talking moth. Probably a good thing, as two of the primary cast are animals well-known for eating fish...
    • There's even a scene where we see Owl grab a fish, which was clearly alive and jumping, in his beak and subsequently eating it.
  • No Name Given: All of the characters are named after what they are, except Tutu the Dog, Mitzi the Monkey and Nofeet the Snake.
  • Only Child Syndrome
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Averted with Nofeet, the friendly snake.
  • Sixth Ranger: While Little Bear met Emily during the series, she was introduced in the first season, so it's debatable whether or not she counts. However, Nofeet the snake and Mitzi the monkey definitely do.
  • Talking Animal: Every character except for Emily, Granny and Tutu.
  • The Ditz: Duck
  • Token Human: Emily
  • When Trees Attack: The Laughing Tree
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