Grumpy Bear is a Care Bear who made his second appearance as an illustration on American Greetings cards in late 1981. He has since become one of the most prominent and recognizable characters in the franchise and has appeared as the main character in nearly every incarnation of the series, as he is so much more recognizable than other bears since he is "grumpy" instead of cheerful or just cute.

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Appearance

This irritable bear is easily identified by his dark blue fur and storm cloud Belly badge (with a few hearts as some of the raindrops). Grumpy is usually depicted with blue eyes as well.

Personality

Cynical, surly, and rarely happy, Grumpy is very much the black sheep of the Care Bear Family. While at first, it may seem like he's in the completely wrong line of work, he occupies a very particular niche among his bubbly bear brethren and is often relegated to helping grumpy kids. Grumpy is a practitioner of "tough love", taking a more straight-forward approach to solving problems, and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. His special talent is building and fixing machines and is responsible for many of the fantastic devices that the bears use on a regular basis. He also once build a functioning robot with Bright Heart Raccoon. Despite his antisocial traits, he's not above sharing a smile with his friends on special occasions, even if he pretends not to like it.

Original series

Grumpy Bear makes his animated debut in the very first Care Bears 1983 television special. After a boy named Kevin runs away from home, he ends up in the gloomy Land Without Feelings ruled by Professor Coldheart, who turns him into a Green Creature Slave. It's up the Grumpy and the rest of the crew to defeat the mad professor and return the boy to normal.

In the follow-up to the original TV special, Grumpy is among the bears who must once again stop Coldheart and his new sidekick Frostbite from tricking a boy named Paul into helping him complete his "Careless Ray Contraption" that will freeze everyone's feelings.

Grumpy appears in the very first Care Bears theatrical film trying to complete his latest invention, a teleportation device called the Rainbow Rescue Beam. However, when Baby Hugs and Tugs play with the machine, they cause it to malfunction and accidentally bring two children named Kim and Jason to Care-a-Lot. After attempting to send the two back, the device once again goes haywire and sends the two kids, along with Friend Bear and Secret Bear to the mysterious Forest of Feelings.

While the rest of the bears go look for them, Grumpy and Good Luck Bear stay behind to try and fix the Rescue Beam as Care-a-Lot crumbles around them due to the action of the Evil Spirit. After rigging together the device with some odds and ends, the two are able to teleport to Earth and join their comrades in a stand-off against The Spirit and are able to seal her away in the end.

Grumpy makes his first major appearance in DiC's Care Bears TV series when Cheer Bear becomes depressed because, despite her best efforts, he's the only bear she's never been able to cheer up. The other Care-a-Lot residents decide to lift both their spirits by throwing them a comedy show but are ultimately unsuccessful. When Swift Heart Rabbit doesn't give up on making Cheer Bear happy, Cheer realizes that she has to be equally determined on perking up Grumpy. After telling him that she'll keep coming back until she makes him smile, he finally does so, telling her that he didn't realize how much she cared. The Last Laugh

When Professor Coldheart uses his newest acquisition, the magic mirror, to reverse the personalities of the Care Bears and make them un-caring, the object has a strange effect on Grumpy, who becomes uncharacteristically happy and is eventually able to turn his friends back to normal. Magic Mirror Later, when the bears go up against the villainous Strato Nefarious, who is stealing the stars from the sky, Grumpy is among the team who confronts his cloud ship, batting his energy blasts back at him. The Night the Stars Went Out Later still, a hungry Cloud Worm threatens to destroy the Care Bears' land, he and his friends try to convince him to go somewhere else. The Cloud Worm

|The secondfeature film tells the story of how the Care Bear Family, including Grumpy, who played a major role in getting an important key, first arrived in the Kingdom of Caring , after escaping the nefarious Dark Heart . Sometime later, the villain once again attempts to capture his fuzzy prey with the help of a girl named Christy , who tricks the bears into trying to rescue her while Dark Heart catches and imprisons them. Grumpy is one of the few remaining bears who must mount a rescue mission along with two children named John and Dawn . When the team arrives in Dark Heart's lair, they are joined by Christy who laments her actions and helps the rest of the crew to get the evil shape-shifter to care, transforming him into a real boy.

Grumpy appears prominently in several episodes of Nelvana's Care Bears Family television series, beginning with the first episode where he must help rescue Baby Hugs and Tugs from No Heart's Castle in time for Care-a-Lot's "birthday" celebration. Care-a-Lot's Birthday Later, when traveling to Earth on a caring mission to help a grumpy kid named Alvin, who's being picked on for being small, and finds a super-rare eight-leaf clover that grants him three wishes. Using the clover to both get rid of a bully and No Heart, he accidentally uses up his last wish when the villain returns to Care-a-Lot, leaving a powerless Grumpy and Alvin along against the evil wizard until help arrives. Grumpy's Three Wishes

When the Forest of Feelings becomes flooded, the Care Bear Cousins move into Care-a-Lot, which causes all kinds of problems. An irate Grumpy helps Tenderheart Bear build a submarine to both stop the flood and pump the water back to its source so their new neighbors can go home. Home Sweet Homeless Later, when his new invention, the Caring Compass, which is installed in the bears' ship to help it navigate is stolen by Mr. Beastly, Baby Hugs, Baby Tugs, and Bedtime Bear must get it back and find a way home when they become lost at sea. Lost at Sea

Grumpy actively takes part in several activities in an around Care-a-Lot, including the annual Big Star Round-Up, The Big Star Round-Up going on a camping trip where he has to put up with Funshine and Playful Heart Monkey's practical jokes, which they are playing constantly at him and the others, The Camp Out, and joins his friends at a carnival where they meet a villain named Dr. Fright. He and Bright Heart Raccoon help fix up a broken robot named Cubot, who becomes their friend. I, Robot Heart

When the White Rabbit of Wonderland comes to Care-a-Lot looking for a lost princess, he gives Grumpy a rude awakening by arriving through his mirror. After a search on Earth turns up nothing, they instead find a girl named Alice who looks nearly identical to the missing royalty and decide to take her to Wonderland instead. Grumpy joins a group comprised of Good Luck Bear, Brave Heart Lion, and Swift Heart Rabbit to look for the real princess while the others escort Alice to Wonderland Palace to take her place in the meantime. After saving the princess from Stan the Jabberwocky, he and the rest manage to get her to the palace in time to keep the Wizard of Wonderland from being crowned king.

Nutcracker Suite

In the final original series television special, Grumpy and Funshine go to Earth to help a girl named Anna feel better after her best friend moves away. However, when a portal to Toy Land opens in her home and releases both a Nutcracker and a horde of rats, he and Funshine call for help and re-group with other Care Bear Family members before entering the other realm. Together with Anna and the Nutcracker, Grumpy and the rest must stop the Vizier from ruling all of Toy Land.

2000's series

Grumpy Bear is a major character in the first computer-animated Care Bears film, Journey to Joke-a-lot. After Funshine Bear runs away to the titular town so his practical jokes can be appreciated, he is crowned king as part of a secret plot by a rat named Sir Funnybone to steal the royal treasure, and Grumpy is among the bears who come to Joke-a-lot to stop him.

In the second CG Care Bears video, Grumpy Bear is among the residents of Care-a-Lot who welcome their new neighbors, Me Bear, Messy Bear, and Too Loud Bear to the community. Later in the film, when the new bears abuse the power of Wish Bear's wishing star Twinkers, their greed eventually becomes too severe and Care-a-Lot begins to fall apart at the seams. It's up to the Care Bears, including Grumpy, to rebuild it in the aftermath.

Grumpy Bear appears in thefilm as one of the citizens of Care-a-Lot whose Belly Badge is stolen by Grizzle after he tricks Oopsy Bear into helping him. However, when Grizzle attempts to use the combined badges of all Care Bears to destroy Care-a-Lot, he finds that they won't respond to his commands because he simply "doesn't care". Though the orb containing the badges eventually gets destroyed, Grumpy and the other Care Bears hold hands and are able to reclaim their powers by remembering how much they care.

Grumpy is one of the main five recurring Care Bears in the series. He is an inventor and has invented all sorts of gadgets to make the Care Bears' lives easier.

2010s Series

Grumpy is one of the main characters in Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot. Grumpy lives in his Van at the Moody Mountains. He usually carries a bag to get everything he needs. He also talks in some sort of western accent in this series.

Grumpy Bear is the main character in Care Bears: Unlock the Magic. Similar to his previous incarnations, Grumpy is a grouchy worrywart, as well as the team mechanic. He is also responsible for building the Cloudseeker. He's a good-hearted guy, just tone-deaf to his own words.

Descriptions

2002-2006: Grumpy Bear frowns a lot - that's his way to show us how silly we look when we frown too much. He also shows that it's okay to be grumpy sometimes. But even when we're grumpy, we're still loved, and we're reminded of that by Grumpy Bear's symbol - a rain cloud with heart-shaped raindrops.

2002 Website Profile:

Caring Mission: He helps others see how silly it is to let our grumpiness go too far. Symbol: His rain cloud with heart-shaped raindrops means a little grumpiness is okay when it's tempered with love. Personality: Grouchy, but perseverant. Character Quirk: He's accident-prone and things never seem to go his way. Color: Indigo Blue. Best Friend: Funshine Bear Relationship Challenge: Funshine Bear Motto: I'm not mad, I'm Grumpy!

20th Anniversary: Grumpy Bear is a bit of a grouch. But his grumpiness reminds us that an occasional grouchy mood is all right - as long as it doesn't last too long. Grumpy Bear's tummy symbol, a rain cloud with falling hearts, is a reminder that even when we are grouchy, we are still loved by those closest to us.

2007-2011: If Grumpy Bear likes anything, it's tinkering with his new inventions and using all his tools. Grouchy and often complaining, Grumpy likes to makeup 'grumbly' nonsense words to express his moody blues. But don't be fooled. Beneath his frown and gloomy rain cloud, he has a heart of gold.

2012-Present: Grumpy Bear frowns a lot - that's his way of showing us how silly we look when we frown too much. He also proves that it's okay to be grumpy sometimes. But even when we're grumpy, we're still loved, and Grumpy Bear's belly badge is a reminder of that - a rain cloud with heart-shaped raindrops!

Trivia

He is a good engineer. With his bag, he has everything when needed.

His catchphrase in the TV series Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot is some variation of "Jumping Bitlbots!" usually changed up to fit a situation.

is some variation of "Jumping Bitlbots!" usually changed up to fit a situation. Ironically, he doesn't seem to be as grumpy as his name implies, as his behavior involves mere moping and angst rather than just raining on other peoples' parades. He also seems to be positive and well-meaning in most situations, only turning cynical when things don't go his way. He also is surprisingly considerate and never says a word of malicious intent to anyone. He also tries to help scared or angry kids feel better about themselves.

It is hinted in the Welcome to Care-A-Lot series in the episodes: "Untruth & Consequences" and "Cheering You Grump" that he might have a crush on Surprise Bear.

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