The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (1973)

Robo reviews: The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas is a delightful discovery from the 1960s and the DePatie-Freleng studios. Familiar voices from Tom Smothers, Arte Johnson, Barbara Feldon, and Casey Kasem carry along a creative script and nostalgic DPF animation. It seems that the entire bear population sleeps through winter (and Christmas) every year, except for Ted Edward Bear, a curious sort who has heard wonderful things about the holiday of lights and gifts and love. He didn't find Christmas last year but is determined to try this year -- he just doesn't know where to look. We see commercials for Bear Air and a TV news segment about his hippy-dippy quest (including commentary on Santa's technology by a German immigrant rocket scientist) that are classic Sixties and fun to watch. I've thrown this show in with my Christmas favorites from Rankin-Bass that I am willing to watch any day of the year. Netflix clocks this show at 25 minutes, IMDB at 30; I didn't investigate the discrepancy. 4 stars. (8-7-15)