Can We Please Bring Back Bear In The Big Blue House?

I was born in 1993, and let me tell you, there was something really special happening on Playhouse Disney back then (the channel’s preschool-aged entertainment block, known today as Disney Junior). There was Rolie Polie Olie, Out of the Box, and PB&J Otter. And of course, the best of the best, the original gentle TV show for kids: Bear in the Big Blue House. If you’re looking for a calming TV show for your young kids to watch while you pee, eat something that’s not their scraps, or maybe chance a shower, let Bear watch them for a bit.

I recently rediscovered Bear in the Big Blue House when my son was home sick from school. As a full-time work-from-home writer, that meant a lot of screen time for him snuggled up next to me on my laptop. At my kid’s request, I pulled up Disney+ and started typing in Brother Bear when I saw this Bear’s familiar orange fur in the search results. I talked him into watching one episode with me, and I was immediately transported back to being a little kid myself, lying on the couch with my own blanket tucked under my arm (ah, simpler times).

But I don’t think it’s just my nostalgia that makes this show special.

Bear in the Big Blue House was on air from 1997 to 2006. If the puppets and costuming look reminiscent of the Muppets, you’re onto something — the show was actually produced by the Jim Henson Company. It’s a pretty big departure from the brightly animated, fast-paced TV shows that make up my son’s list of favorites — think Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Paw Patrol, and Blaze and The Monster Machines.

Nothing explodes or needs rescuing at Bear’s big blue house. No, he just opens the door to let you in, gives you a sniff, and brings you along through his day. The show just moves slower; we *see* Bear travel from room to room rather than just jumping between them with no transitions. The camera isn’t changing frames or locations constantly. It’s... soothing.

Take the first episode, for example, where Bear sings about the joys of being at home and sleeping in his own bed. We meet Tutter the mouse in the kitchen, who has a bit of an East Coast accent going on. He shares his appreciation for the way the sun shines through the window above the sink to make a warm spot on the floor, and for his very favorite kitchen drawer brimming with fragrant cheeses. (Tutter was written for the parents. The chaotic otters, Pip and Pop, and colorful lemur Treelo are for the kids.)

At the end of every episode, you accompany Bear up through his attic and onto a back balcony, where he greets Luna the full moon. Luna feels like this benevolent, omnipotent figure, and she and Bear debrief about his day. She usually ends up kindly guiding him to some universal truth or lesson. As a kid, I remember thinking, “This must be what praying would be like if God would actually talk back.” It’s just so peaceful.

Maybe I can’t get my kid to give up Paw Patrol entirely, but our brief foray into ‘90s kids’ shows reminded me to pay more attention to the pacing and purpose of what he’s watching. Our house, for one, will be making more room in our screen time for Bear in the Big Blue House, an OG gentle TV show.