Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears - Season 1 (1985)
Season one of the Gummi Bears is logically where the story begins and concerns itself with establishing everything outlined in the introduction. In the series opener “A New Beginning,” the “pilot” so to speak, virtually the entire back-story is conveyed in an expert fashion. From there, many of the episodes function as self-contained stand alone stories that serve the purpose of developing the characters by challenging their individual personality traits through educational lessons. Amongst these, episodes that progress the macro story arc are interspersed. In viewing the first season, it’s amazing to note how strong the series begins, which is again impressive for what is arguably the first of its kind.
In retrospect, it feels like Gummi Bears is breaking rules that haven’t been created yet, even though its initial performance is what established those rules. While a substantial amount of children’s programming is grounded in the simplicity of good vs. bad, right vs. wrong, black vs. white, etc.; Gummi Bears presents a spectrum, even as early as season one. While King Gregor’s humans might normally be seen as the good guys and Duke Igthorn’s ogres as the bad guys, shades of grey exist between each camp. The humans are fairly pompous and ignorant, but intend to promote peace, so they are generally good. The ogres are destructive and uneducated, led by the vengeful Igthorn, so they are generally bad. However, Igthorn was once a knight of Dunwyn, exiled for challenging the king and banished to a wasteland, and there is no indication that Gregor is an entirely competent leader or that his knights can overcome their own hubris. In all honesty, the only dependable faction is the Gummi clan itself, and its survival is always a daily issue. There are, however, a few dependable humans that are associated with the Gummies, and two are identified in season one. The first and most important human is Cavin, a young peasant boy who dreams of becoming a knight. At the very beginning of the series, Cavin is rescued by the Gummies when his caravan is attacked by a group of ogres. While the bears risk everything in saving his life, Cavin turns out to be a genuine friend and ally, in addition to being a valuable Dunwyn insider. The other important human friend is Calla, the young tom-boy princess daughter of King Gregor. Like Cavin, Calla is pure at heart and sympathetic to the bears’ cause. Because of her royal status, she can’t be as discrete as Calvin; however, she has much more leverage with the humans, protecting the bears with her power of influential misdirection. Duke Igthorn is the only other human who knows about the Gummies in season one. While he doesn’t know much, he knows enough to know about the power of the Gummi Berry Juice, and is convinced that it could turn the tide in his efforts against Gregor’s forces. Much of season one deals with Igthorn and his relatively intelligent dwarf-ogre assistant Toadie gathering information about the bears as well as continually laying siege to Dunwyn Castle, but to no avail. Indeed, there are several battles throughout the season, ones where characters even parish (something that really didn’t happen on subsequent Disney series’)!
As said before, season one’s primary function is the successful establishment of the larger story and initial development of the characters. Therefore, the show’s momentum is strong enough by the season finale that the anticipation for the next chapter is a given. In season one’s final episode “Light Makes Right,” the bears find themselves in a massive moral conundrum. Toward the end of the season, the wary bears feel increasingly alone, and long for their departed comrades. Using a beam device invented by the Great Gummies, the bears attempt to send out a light signal. Igthorn eventually captures the device and turns it on Dunwyn. Out of their guilt, the Gummies end up destroying the device, both saving Dunwyn and severing their only known communication with the Gummi world across the sea. It’s a touching moment as all hope seems lost. Still, the collective decision is to continue working together with their pursuit to find the other Gummies, while continuing to battle Igthorn and evade the humans. This resolve resonates with the viewers, ensuring our admiration for all that is Gummi and upping the curiosity level for round two! At this point, it’s hard not to care!
S. McSmoke-Smoke
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