Parents' Guide to

Care Bears & Cousins

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Classic fuzzy crew teaches empathy, kindness, friendship.

TV Netflix Kids' Animation 2015
Care Bears & Cousins Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • Care Bears & Cousins TV Show: Scene #1
  • Care Bears & Cousins TV Show: Scene #2
  • Care Bears & Cousins TV Show: Scene #3
  • Care Bears & Cousins TV Show: Scene #4

Community Reviews

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age 3+

Based on 1 parent review

Catherine P.
Catherine P. Adult
August 7, 2020
age 3+

A great show

The show has great pacing for little kids, cute characters, and good lessons that can be learned from the show. For example, lessons on sharing and jealousy. My daughter liked that there was relatively little conflict (the "baddie" is more troublesome than bad). I wish there was more than just the 2 seasons (with 6 episodes a piece). Bonus: as a kid of the 80's I knew enough about the characters that I was able to "impress" my 3 year old. She liked that we could talk about the show together and that I knew answers to things that she wanted to know about.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In CARE BEARS & COUSINS, Care-a-Lot welcomes home the Bears' cousins -- Brave Heart Lion, Bright Heart Raccoon, Cozy Heart Penguin, and Lotsa Heart Elephant (voiced by Olivia Hack) -- after a lengthy mission to collect misguided Care Hearts that have lost their way to the Share Cloud. Now they're teaming up with Tenderheart Bear, Funshine Bear (Michael Sinterniklaas), Grumpy Bear, and little Wonderheart Bear (Michaela Dean) to keep Care-a-Lot the sharing, caring place that it is.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

From the moment the cousins crash into Tenderheart's home and reunite with the Bears, this joyous series is an adventure of friendship and feelings and a menagerie of furry creatures. CGI does wonders for the visual appeal of these classic stuffies, and kids will be even more entranced by this version of Care-a-Lot because of the engaging animation.

Care Bears & Cousins simplifies emotions to a preschooler's level, assigning a dominant personality trait to correspond with each character's unique belly badge. This makes it easy for kids to identify how their actions relate to their emotions and to realize the same emotions in themselves. Add this to the show's themes of friendship and caring, and you have a hearty contender for kids' attention.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about kindness. How do you show that you care about your friends and family? Are there times when it's hard to show kindness to people? Do the characters in Care Bears & Cousins ever have this problem?

  • Kids: Do you have a favorite Care Bear or cousin? What do you like about his or her personality?

  • What other TV characters do your kids especially like? Are any of them classics such as the Care Bears? Which ones do you like to watch with them? Can anything be learned from them?

  • How do the characters in Care Bears & Cousins demonstrate compassion and empathy? Why are these important character strengths?

TV Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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