Life in China 2016: A Picture A Day, October 18 – Backkom or Bernard Bear, although from South Korea, is quite popular here in south China. Does anyone know if he is elsewhere? USA, Australia, Europe, or other places? Anyhow, he is a polar bear with some other animal friends. I think I’ve seen the lizard most often, and there are more. It is a cartoon series done with computer animation, with his beginnings back in 2006. It is supposedly a kids show, but has a lot of humor that, although funny to kids, would have a whole different meaning to adults! They run from a few minutes to a couple full length movies. He even has a Facebook page, search for ‘Bernard Bear (Official)’ and you can enjoy a regular dose of Bernard in your newsfeed :-)! There are also plenty on You Tube; try this episode about Bernard fishing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QoEiBpr1PM We were at a local Chinese restaurant last week and they had three screens of Bernard Bear playing! He is ALWAYS good for a few laughs :-)
Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf
I think the most popular cartoon character with young Chinese children is Xǐ yángyáng yǔ huī tài láng 喜羊羊与灰太郎 or Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf. Since 2005, there have been over 1000 TV episodes and 7 movies made. The story line reminds me of the Roadrunner and Wiley E. Coyote… the wolf is always trying to catch the sheep. Here’s a short intro with English you can watch if you’re interested: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQwMjg5NTY4.html?from=s1.8-1-1.2 You see these goats everywhere in China! Of course DVDs, but also books, clothes, toys, riding toys, snack packages, etc. We have also seen people dressed as Pleasant or Happy Goat…. which a certain daughter of mine nicknamed “Creepy Sheep” when she saw them dressed up!
