Bamboo Bears (Die Bambus-Bären-Bande in German, Bambou et Compagnie in French, and Los osos del bambú in Spanish, バンブーベアーズベアーズ in Japanese) is a children's animated television series. It was produced by Dutch company Kingma Productions, in co-production with Mitsui & Co., ZDF, TF1, 4D / Marina Productions, and Televisión Española. It was first broadcast in 1995. The series production was supported by World Wildlife Fund.
Each episode is dedicated to one animal species. Most of the species are either endangered or their habitat is suffering from human activity. Some of the animals featured in the series are already extinct.
The series aims to make children interested in nature and animals. It teaches viewers about human activity, environmental problems and wildlife conservation.
Contents
Characters
Although all animals in the series are capable of speaking the main casts and antagonists are more anthropomorphized (wearing clothes, walking upright) than the animals they help. The human-like characters are contrasted by the local animals they encounter, which seem to be normal animals behaving and moving more like their real-life counterparts.
Main cast
Bamboo-Lee is a red panda and the boss of the pack.
Dah-Lin is a bamboo rat and smallest of the four.
Sio-Lee is a giant panda and the only true bear of the cast. He is gluttonous.
Ai-Ai is a pink dragon and the biggest of the cast. Ai-Ai can fly (often having some trouble with landing) and acts as the group's vehicle. She has a backpack-computer the group can use to contact her master, No-How.
Supporting cast
No-How, a researcher who provides information and support to the group. He usually sends the gang on a mission to find a certain animal. In the first episode he gives Bamboo-Lee a magical bamboo stick that can be used to summon Ai-Ai.
The main antagonists are RATCO, a greedy corporation that is responsible for most of the destruction in the series, either by poaching animals or exploiting their habitat. As the name suggests the company mostly consists of rats or other rodents. The corporation seems to dabble in all kinds of business ventures, from construction and oil to fashion and entertainment.
Rataleone. Ruthless businessman and president of RATCO corporation. His true identity is unknown until the end of the series, his face and upper body always obstructed by cigarette smoke, blueprints, lighting, back view, etc.
Rats One, Two and Three. The RATCO employees don't seem to have names, instead being referred by numbers. One, Two and Three are the main group's most common adversary, always showing up to cause trouble on their boss' orders.
Rat One is the leader of the group. He is always giving the others orders, blaming them for everything and trying to get on his boss' good side.
Rat Two is dim-witted and quite passive in his demeanor.
Rat Three is equally dumb, but has more of a sarcastic attitude.
Episodes
The series consists of 52 episodes aired between 1995 and 1996. Each episode focuses on one endangered animal species, but many feature other animals from the same region.
Fantastical elements
The animals and locations the show introduces are real. However Bamboo Bears also feature some fantastical elements by throwing in mythical creatures like dragons, magical items and non-existent technology.
Episode 01 - Bamboo Bears
Episode one introduces the first mythical creature. Ai-Ai is a large, pink dragon and is seen in almost all episodes.
Episode 06 - American Manatee
The group uses the legend of Bermuda Triangle and sea monsters to scare away RATCO. In the final shot of the episode we see monstrous eye open in a dark ocean cave.
Episode 24 - Arctic fox
The episode features a futuristic machine able to manipulate time. Time travel is an essential part of the episode's plot.
Episode 29 - Japanese Macaque
To scare away the monkeys rats use a mechanical monster, visually similar to Bigfoot with a Japanese-style mask. No-How tells the gang about a Japanese legend where a boy beats a mountain monster with the help of a basket of dumplings, a dog, a monkey and a pheasant. This is most likely a reference to the folktale of Momotarō.