The Tangerine Bear (full title: The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas) is a 1999 animated direct-to-video special, based upon the book by Betty & Michael Paraskevas, with the duo as executive producers and Betty adapted for television, that is premiered on November 1, 2000. The voice cast include Tom Bosley, Jenna Elfman, Howie Mandel, David Hyde Pierce, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Marlon Wayans. The story was narrated and sung by country singer Trisha Yearwood. A Hyperion Studios production for Artisan's Family Home Entertainment.
Summary[]
A teddy bear on a conveyor belt in a toy factory is knocked over by a mouse, resulting in his mouth being sewn upside-down in a frown, unlike his brothers and sisters who are sewn with smiles on their faces. They are taken to Krolls' Department Store. The bear becomes upset when all the kids eventually take all the bears except for him. Not knowing he looks different, he wonders why no one will buy him.
Soon, the bear is placed in the store's discount box with a blue monkey named Louie Blue and a pull-string doll in a pink dress named Dolly, who are eventually bought. Then he is dumped into a chest full of old and broken junk and brought to the tiny antique shop, Winkle's Imporium. The store owner, Mr. Winkle, notices the bear and places him on his window display with Bird, an agoraphobic cuckoo clock, Lorelei, a mermaid clock, and Jack (Howie Mandel), a claustrophobic jack-in-the-box.
The bear's new friends warn him not to go near Winkle's nasty dog Virgil, but he wants a chair to sit on so someone may notice him. He carefully gets down from the display but is chased by Virgil, creating a huge mess. Mr. Winkle finds the bear and gives him a tiny chair to sit on back on the window display. As time passes, the bear and his friends realize that the sun has turned his body orange or "tangerine". From then on the bear is called "Tangie".
One day, Virgil escapes with a gang of mischievous dogs when a customer comes into the shop. Winkle is happy after selling Lorelei to the first customer to visit his store in a long time but remains worried about Virgil. Once Winkle goes to sleep upstairs, Tangie, Bird and Jack notice Virgil freezing cold in the snow. Jack and Bird refuse to help Tangie rescue Virgil at first, but after saving him, Virgil becomes loyal to his new "friends".
It's Christmas time again, and Tangie and Virgil help Bird and Jack decorate Winkle's window display with Christmas ornaments and lights. Virgil takes his friends for a wagon ride to check out River Street's other Christmas lights. However, once their trip is over, Jack, Virgil, and Bird discover that Tangie fell off the wagon on the way back to Winkle's and is missing. When Tangie tries to make it back to Winkles through the snow, he is suddenly picked up and carried back to Winkles shop by someone he believes is Santa Claus, ready to finally take him to a loving home. It is really Mr. Winkle dressed up, however, and he takes him back to the shop, to Tangie and the rest of the toys' disappointment.
The next day, a man who tells Winkle that he had lost his way in the snowstorm appears at his window. The man expresses interest in Jack and Tangie for their unusual qualities and offers Mr. Winkle $200 for them. Winkle quickly tells the man that both Jack and Tangie are not for sale, since they are "his only family". Tangie realizes how nice it is to be at "home" with his wonderful family, and learns just from that being different makes each of us special.
Original Songs[]
| Title | Written by | Performed by |
|---|---|---|
| "Looking for a Place to Belong" | Donald Siegal (prod./arr.) | Trisha Yearwood |
| "Getting Ready for Christmas Day" | John Boegehold Molly Pasutti & Robin Tapp D. Siegal (prod./arr.) | |
| "If We're Gonna Get Bought" | J. Boegehold (prod./arr.) M. Pasutti & R. Tapp | |
| "Whatever Happened to My Smile" | D. Siegal (prod./arr.) | Amick Byram |
All songs - Published by On the Way Music (BMI).
Cast[]
| Voice actor/actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Jonathan Taylor Thomas | Tangie |
| Howie Mandel | Jack |
| David Hyde Pierce | Bird |
| Jenna Elfman | Lorelei |
| Jon Polito | Virgil |
| Tom Bosley | Mr. Winkle |
| Marlon Wayans | Louie Blue |
| Clea Montiville | Dolly |
| Jeannie Elias | Bear #1 Little Boy #2 |
| Orlando Brown | Bear #2 Little Boy #3 |
| Martin Grey | Customer Truck Driver |
| Trisha Yearwood | Narrator |
| Camille Winbush | Bear #3 Little Girl |
| Aaron Spann | Little Boy on Santa's Lap |
| Keith Langsdale | Stranger Radio Announcer |
| Ralph Manza | Factory Worker Rico |
| Donna Pieroni | Mama |
| David Lander | Theodore Store Clerk |
| Charlote Rae | Mrs. Caruthers |
Availability[]
Artisan's Family Home Entertainment for Kids)
Artisan's Family Home Entertainment for Kids)
Feature Films for Families
Gallery[]
