Saturday Morning Cartoons United is taking up the charge in celebrating the world of nostalgic childhood television and film to bring people of Los Angeles together and help creatives affected by the wildfires earlier this year. The nonprofit organization and the American Cinematheque recently presented The Care Bears Movie, toasting its 40th anniversary and kicking off a monthly screening series to support fundraising efforts.
At the event, the 1985 film’s director, Arna Selznick (who also worked on the Star Wars: Ewoks and Droids series), and Care Bears fan Eric Bauza (Looney Tunes), the current voice of Bugs Bunny who works closely with SMCU championing animation history, were on hand for a Q&A with Care Bears fans young and young at heart.
io9 caught up with Bauza and Selznick to talk about animation past and present as part of the initiatives to keep films like The Care Bears Movie on screens and pass them down to a new generation.
io9: Eric, what made The Care Bears Movie 40th anniversary the perfect film to kick off the Saturday Morning Cartoons United screening series? And what about it inspired you to take on hosting duties for the series?
Eric Bauza: It’s kind of a neat thing because it’s popping up in the news now, where people are so bombarded and inundated with screens and their phones. I just saw an article saying that time on our phones and social media time has peaked and plateaued. And if you’re wondering why they’ve been doing a lot of these anniversary screenings of things or pop-ups or just stuff that gets people out of the house, it’s because people are also being kind of slapped in the face with this AI stuff. And it’s almost kind of like having this funny adverse effect of “Can I trust what I’m seeing now?”
But I think as far as being entertained and having an actual experience, a lot of people are filling up the seats for things like this: “Watch the 40th anniversary of The Care Bears Movie with a room full of people that also love The Care Bears Movie.” So it’s like having an excuse to get cozy in the theater; it’s a good excuse to bring the kids out and introduce them to what Mom and Dad grew up watching, and maybe they’ll catch that same wave.
io9: Arna, what was it like to experience this film back again on the big screen with a crowd?
Arna Selznick: It was actually surprising to me because, you know, I haven’t been watching it at all since probably maybe five years after I made it. So that’s like 35, almost 40 years ago. It was exciting and there were a lot of adults in the audience. I thought there would be more families with kids. There were some families with kids, but it wasn’t really a kid’s audience. It was a fan audience. So it was very different. I think it was cool [hearing] John Sebastian, who wrote several songs, and also Carole King, and the work she did on our opening song and “The Forest of Feelings” song. We were really lucky to get these guys and I think they just enriched the film so much and I still enjoyed hearing those sounds and songs and voices when we had this screening.
Bauza: There was a moment when the Care Bear Cousins song came on and people were clapping along with the song. That never happens. That only happens in church, if you’re in a gospel church. I mean, maybe that’s what we sort of need, church, a cartoon church.
io9: Arna, Could you share some insights into the creative process and challenges involved in bringing The Care Bears Movie to life?
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