Basic Fun! Named Master Toy Licensee for Care Bears

The Care Bears enter a new era as Florida-based Basic Fun! inked a deal with Cloudco Entertainment LLC to become master toy partner for the property in North America and the UK. The company plans a fresh and unique take on Care Bears, with a full range of products set to focus on interactivity, collectability, and playability with an emphasis on sharing and caring.

Launched in the early 1980s by American Greetings, a classic Kenner toy line followed — one that’s since become sought-after on the collector market. Care Bears were later reintroduced in the early ’00s by Play Along, co-founded by Basic Fun! CEO Jay Foreman.

“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,” says 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!”

Basic Fun! will debut its Care Bears line toy key partners at the Fall Toy Preview in Dallas this Oct., followed by a large presence at Toy Fair New York next Feb. The new toys should begin hitting retail in the second half of 2020.

“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,” comments 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.”

The new animated series, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, airs in the U.S. on Boomerang and Cartoon Network, and on Tiny Pop in the UK.

During its peak years, 1984 to 1986 and 2003 to 2005, the Care Bears property did over $1 billion in retail toy sales, and more than $4 billion across all consumer products categories.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.