Bamboo Bears ( in German, in French, and 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 . 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.
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. +No.NameWritten by Originally airedShort summary01Bamboo BearsJonathan Peel Michael Stuart
Dennis LivsonOct 7, 1995The bamboo forest is dying. Young red panda Bamboo-Lee is sent to find a new home, but this plan quickly goes awry when he meets bamboo rat Dah-Lin, giant panda Slo-Lee and dragon Ai-Ai. He and his new friends start their mission to travel around the globe protecting endangered wildlife with the guidance of No-How.02Brown BearsA. KemptonOct 14, 1995The group travels to Pyrenees Mountain Range in Europe to find brown bears. Ratco is trying to blast a tunnel through mountain to win a contract to build a new highway.03Blue ParrotLucy Daniel-RabyOct 21, 1995Parrots have become a fashion accessory. The group finds a caged hyacinth macaw for sale in a city and decide to take him home to Amazon rainforest.04Sea OtterJ. HibbertOct 28, 1995Oil transportation on America's West Coast threatens sea otters and the abalones they feed on.05Cuban SolenodonJ. TruemanNov 4, 1995The gang crash lands to Cuba. There they find a friendly almiquí who tells them RATCO is destroying jungle to make room for sugarcane farms.06American ManateeR. StennetNov 11, 1995Rats One, Two and Three are causing trouble, this time by reckless boating. Upcoming motor boat race arranged by RATCO is threatening peace and manatees in the Florida coast.07African Wild AssC. CuencaNov 18, 1995RATCO has set up a ranch. They are capturing wild donkeys to use them as labor.08Giant AnteaterJ. HibbertNov 25, 1995RATCO is building a leisure complex. To provide electricity they plan to cut down the forest and build a dam that will flood the valley where giant anteaters live.09American BeaverJ. HibbertDec 2, 1995The Bamboo Bears travel to Canada. RATCO has built a paper mill on the shore of Night Hawk Lake and is dumping arsenic into the water, poisoning local beaver population. The episode mentions both Lake Erie and Night Hawk Lake. Whether this is a coincidence or the real Night Hawk Lake in Ontario is not clear.10Galapagos IguanaP. PalmerDec 9, 1995No-How sends the gang to Galápagos Islands to observe their unique eco system. Meanwhile rats One, Two and Three come there to capture an iguana for Rataleone's theme park.11Brown HowlerI. Aymes P. SymondsDec 16, 1995The gang is in Brazil enjoying the carnival when Slo-Lee spots Brown Howler Opera Company, an opera group he is a fan of. Rataleone wants to buy their opera house to continue construction for a dam he is building. Interestingly, out of all the animals the gang helps, the brown howler is the only species anthropomorphized like they are. They wear clothing, have human-like proportions and operate an opera house.12Prairie DogsJ. TruemanDec 23, 1995RATCO is drilling oil on the Texas prairie. Instead of disposing of the waste oil properly they pump the dirty oil into underground cavities. This is poisoning the prairie dog burrows and the roots they eat.13Humpback WhaleJ. BoyleDec 30, 1995RATCO has expanded its business ventures to the illegal activity of whaling near the coast of Hawaii. The gang helps a humpback whale and her calf fight back.14QuetzalLucy Daniel-RabyJan 6, 1996No-How's sister Ting-a-Ling comes to visit, only to tell her husband, a famous explorer has gone missing in the jungles of South-America, somewhere between Guatemala and Mexico. Turns out he was kidnapped by RATCO who are cutting down the forest to obtain exotic timber for furniture. Quetzals are a group of birds. The episode is most likely referring to Resplendent quetzal that can be found in Southern Mexico and Guatemala. 15Snow LeopardJonathan PeelJan 13, 1996The gang travels to the Nepal mountains to find a snow leopard. Apparently they are not the only ones, because they're being followed. Rats One, Two and Three are going to poach an adult snow leopard for its pelt and capture its cub so they can sell it to a zoo.16Arabian OryxF. BoublilJan 20, 1996Rats One, Two and Three are tasked to steal a sick Arabian oryx from a zoo. Rataleone wants to secure drilling rights to a recently found oil deposit located in a protected area, and his plan is to return the sick individual into the wild where it can infect other oryxes with unnamed disease.17Peregrine FalconR. StennetJan 27, 1996The gang travels to Rocky Mountains and finds a family of peregrine falcons. The falcon family quickly becomes under threat as RATCO's new fruit orchids are using pesticides that will kill the falcon's food and poison their eggs. Out of all the animals helped in the series the peregrine falcon is the only one who doesn't speak.18Philippine TarsierF. GiraudFeb 3, 1996RATCO is cutting down forests in the Philippines. Not only does Rataleone want the forest cleared out to build a hotel complex on the island, he wants to collect native species to display in his "nature preserve". The gang helps a family of Philippine tarsiers to rescue their child and put an end to the hotel plans.19Pardel LynxI. Aymes P. SymondsFeb 10, 1996Rataleone is not happy with faux fur and wants to add authentic furs to his fashion collection. The gang must travel to Spain to rescuen an Iberian lynx and her cubs. For unknown reason the lynx cubs are sometimes animated walking on two legs, while their mother is animated as a normal feline.20Adelie PenguinM. LocatelliFeb 17, 1996RATCO is illegally pumping oil in the antarctic. Their equipment is poorly maintained and the pipeline is leaking, pouring oil into water and threatening Adélie penguins and the fish they feed on.21Andes CondorA. KemptonFeb 24, 1996Rataleone is backing up a drug cartel in the Andes, forcing locals to either work for them or leave. Local people's hatred and increased cartel activity have made life harder for Andean condors. The episode not only references hard drugs, it also explains why people use them, why they don't stop even if they know it's bad for them and why many have no choice but to work for the cartel.22Giant SquidS. KnightMar 2, 1996As our group is flying over the ocean they see a rundown ship dumping waste - and an angry giant squid taking matters into his own tentacles. The gang helps the squid and other sea creatures to stop RATCO's illegal dumping of oil waste. Giant squid was known to science from stranded specimen, but the first photos and recordings of a living squid were taken only after the series was completed. 23Common FrogC. CuencaMar 9, 1996RATCO is turning a pond into scrap metal dump. This habitat destruction is especially harmful to local frog population.24Arctic FoxJ. BoyleMar 16, 1996The gang is vacationing in the arctic and finds a destroyed animal nest and a secretive base. Traffic and construction has disturbed local wildlife and destroyed arctic fox family's den. The facade of a heater factory soon reveals RATCO's high-tech laboratory. 25Javan TigerC. CarrMar 23, 1996Vacation in Java turns into expedition for rumored Javan tiger. Meanwhile RATCO is cutting down the forest to build a hotel and mall complex and trying to turn locals against the tigers by framing them for killing cattle. Javan tiger is one of the species that has become extinct since the shows concluded. It has not been seen since 1976, but the rumours of surviving individuals persisted until the 90s.26Polar BearJ. TruemanMar 30, 1996RATCO is dumping their unsold cooler units into an ice cave in Greenland. Their freon gases are depleting the ozone layers, which is bad news for polar bears and other animals dependant on ice.27Tasmanian WolfM. KiritzeApr 6, 1996The gang travels to Australia when sightings of the extinct Tasmanian wolf are reported. Rataleone wants to capture the thylacine both for the cash reward and to put it in a zoo. Last known thylacine died in captivity in 1936 and the species was declared extinct in 1982, long before the show's creation.
Interestingly the sheepdog and goat featured in the episode seem to be a normal animals that can't speak.28Malaysian TapirJ. BoyleApr 13, 1996RATCO is cutting down forests in Malaysia. Ai-Ai gets hurt while trying to rescue a baby Malayan tapir from the logging machines.29Japanese MacaqueJonathan Peel Michael StuartApr 20, 1996Rats One, Two and Three want to get rid of the Japanese macaques to build a luxury resort near their hot springs to please their boss.30The Grey WolfP. PalmerApr 27, 1996The gang is horse-backing in North American wilderness, enjoying the sights. Rataleone wants to open a copper mine on grey wolf habitat and plans to use local superstition and fear to drive the wolves away.31Smalltooth SawfishM. de JardinMay 4, 1996RATCO is destroying coral reef to make way for an underwater complex. The gang teams up with local tribes and a pair of smalltooth sawfish to prevent the construction project.