Even after having only aired seven episodes and a handful of promos, We Bare Bears is already looking to be one of the more prominent cartoons of the modern age, which is really saying something considering that we currently live in what many consider the new Golden Age of cartoons, with the likes of Adventure Time, Steven Universe and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic dominating the landscape. There’s plenty to talk about with this show, considering the stellar voice acting, smooth, yet charmingly simple animation and catchy soundtrack. But, what has really caught my attention thus far is just how side-splittingly hilarious it is. Cartoons may not be my specialty when it comes to observation and critiquing, but I still know a good comedy when I see one. Here’s why I think it’s so funny.
1. The Diverse Personalities of the Three Bears
As the main focus of the show, Grizz, the grizzly bear, Panda, the panda bear, and Ice Bear, the polar bear (all of whom are brothers), spend most of their time interacting with one another, so the best way to create memorable interactions between each bear is to give them each a personality that really stands out, which We Bare Bears nails down perfectly. First, there’s Grizz, the unofficial leader of the trio. Certainly the most outgoing of the three, Grizz comes off as very assertive and vocal in his opinions. He’s always excited to interact and make new friends whenever he gets the chance and tends to initiate many of the adventures that the three find themselves in, such as suggesting that they start their own food truck upon realizing that Ice Bear is a tremendous cook in the eponymous episode “Food Truck” or deciding to get “revenge” on their new friend Chloe after they discover a report she did on them painted them in a rather negative light.
Unfortunately, his vibrant personality does little to cover up his rather comical flaws. This expressiveness tends to leak into his less appealing traits, causing him to be a bit of a slob and rather glutinous, best showcased by his eating display in “Burrito” where he manages to swallow whole burritos in a matter of seconds. He also doesn’t tend to think many of his plans through very thoroughly, as he fails to take into account the repercussions of feeding wildlife in “Food Truck” or the outcome of his plot against Chloe, leading to a series of mishaps that ends up causing the collapse of his entire plan. None the less, he still remains a very likely character, as he’s more than willing to learn from his mistakes, stay optimistic to the very end and never forgets that he always has Ice Bear and Panda by his side.
Speaking of Panda, his personality can sort of be seen as the antithesis to Grizz’s. A rather shy individual, Panda is the least outgoing and most sensitive of the three, more comfortable with following Grizz’s command than thinking of ideas on his own. This sensitivity has lead to him being labeled the frailest of the three, not only physically, what with him getting injured from merely having a basketball thrown at him in “Our Stuff” and showcasing a severe peanut allergy in “Panda’s Date”, but also mentally, as even a mouse that finds its way onto Panda’s laptop in “Everyday Bears” frightens him, causing him to use up most of the day coming up with convoluted ways to capture the mouse instead of simply trying to grab it or scare it away.
That’s not to say that Panda doesn’t have his strong sides. Not only is he a skilled artist, specializing in Anime, but he is also quite tech-savvy, spending many hours on his laptop or IPhone, sometimes even managing to use this to assist the trio, such as using a phone tracking application to find their lost backpack in “Our Stuff”. And while his sensitivity can be seen as a weakness, he also tends to use it to his advantage. He has a very tender, comforting side and has far less trouble keeping his emotions and judgment separated than Grizz does. When pushed, he is more than willing to stand up for himself and note that something is wrong, like when he calls Grizz out for his obsession with food in “Burrito”. He also has a romantic side, as he is always on the lookout for a girlfriend, although his meek side tends to cause his attempts to fall apart more often than not, such as his unsuccessful attempt to have a one-on-one date with Lucy, a new friend of the bears who saved Panda from an allergic reaction while trying desperately to keep his brother’s out of the picture. Panda is certainly timid, but that doesn’t stop him from being rather amiable at times.
And then there’s Ice Bear…where do you start with this guy? Ice Bear is typically seen as the comic relief of the show. This is because he tends to be very quiet most of the time, letting Panda and Grizz do the talking. However, when he does speak or interact, it’s a whole new ball game. Not only does he talk strictly in third person, but his actions are downright bizarre. He’ll tend to roll around for no real reason, say incredibly awkward phrases in the few instances where he speaks (“Ice Bear smells like clean babies.”) and will even cut his food with his own fire axe, all while maintaining a stoic, emotionless expression and voice tone while doing these things. Saying that he’s the strangest of the three bears is more than a bit of an understatement.
But, if you pay close attention to his action during the show, you’ll find that they speak far louder than his words. He may have a limited vernacular, but his skill set far surpasses his brothers’. On top of his excellent cooking skills, he also cleans the house on a regular basis, knows martial arts, speaks multiple languages and even has a bit of an engineering background, as proven in “Everyday Bears” when he manages to reprogram a Roomba he ordered online after it malfunctions, even though it does goes on a destructive rampage shortly after. Taking all of this into consideration, Ice Bear may not come off as the most outgoing or vocal of the trio, but his actions can certainly label him as the most responsible.
And yet, the best part of their personalities is not just how distinct they are, but how they juxtapose one another when the three interact. Grizz’s assertiveness can, more often than not, lead to him taking things too far, such as his persistent attempts to become an internet celebrity, typically leading to him being scorned by Panda. Panda’s bashfulness causes him to stand out like a sore thumb when compared to the levelheadedness of his brothers. And I think it’s safe to say that Ice Bear’s antics stand miles above anything Panda or Grizz can dish out. But despite their differences, they still manage to learn from their mistakes and come together as brothers should in the end, which not only warms the heart, but serves to solidify their relationship in all its awkward glory.
2. Well-Rounded Humor
As for the jokes themselves, there’s a solid blend of physical and verbal humor, but it also helps that the jokes are well-paced, never dishing them out so fast that we feel suffocated or just plain annoyed by them. We’re given a second or two to breathe after the punch line and then they move on with the narrative. Furthermore, the jokes actually have a sense of purpose to them. Never does it feel like we’re entering a Family Guy or Uncle Grandpa scenario where the writers are just throwing out random thoughts off the top of their heads and seeing how the characters react to them. Every time they crack a joke, it feels directly related to both the setting of the episode and the traits of each character.
Take, for example, the early goings of “Everyday Bears”. Grizz goes to check the mail, but then notices several humans playing with a frisbee, immediately enticing him to join in. Meanwhile, Panda is surfing the web in his room, checking out various Facebook posts and what have you. The joke here is that every once in a while, it will cut to a behind shot of Panda and the window in his room, where we can see the Frisbee being thrown outside while Grizz cheers them on. Not only does this joke showcase the vastly different routines of the individual bears, but it also plays off of their established character traits, Grizz being more outgoing and Panda being more reserved.
And what’s even better is that these types of jokes are always balanced perfectly between kid’s humor and adult humor. The bears are constantly interacting with their surroundings in real-world scenarios, leaving plenty of potential for very generalized humor, but the execution is what sells it. The three tend to find themselves involved in wacky shenanigans, giving kids something to laugh at, but they never do it in an overly-cutesy manner. They simply handle the situation as normal people with these traits would. It’s this type of well-rounded humor that always keeps me coming back for more.
3. It’s Relatable
Arguably the most defining feature of We Bare Bears’ comedy stems from the aforementioned real-world scenarios. The best type of humor is not just jokes that you understand on a technical level, but references to things that you feel like you can understand on a personal level. Because they avoid delving into fantasy elements or focusing on over-the-top cartoonish antics a la Tom & Jerry, the viewer is able to more closely associate with the various scenarios in each episode, as well as the defined personalities of each bear.
From what we’ve seen so far, the bears have gone on an adventure to reclaim their stolen property, attempted to become internet celebrities, tried to start their own business, had rather complicated relationships with multiple human friends and simply went about their normal routines. Antics are thrown into the mix in order to give the episodes comedic flair, but the context still remains. These are all events that could realistically happen to you or me at one point or another. And because we could see ourselves in the shoes of the bears, the humor is magnified because of our greater understanding of it.
There are also valuable lessons to be learned at the end of most episodes, adding on the realistic nature of the characters and their undertakings. A good number of these lessons stem from the personal flaws of one or more characters, such as Panda’s bashfulness leading to him shutting out his friends in an attempt to get closer to Lucy instead of simply being honest with them or Grizz’s determination clouding his judgment in his quest to become famous on the internet. In the end, they always tend to learn from their mistakes and become better people…er, bears as a result. These character evolutions allow us to continue to relate to the bears, causing us to be more closely affected by the humor, not to mention that the lessons concern topics that anyone, not just children, can appreciate and learn from.
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| Yes, you're probably going to cry over a grizzly bear falling in love with a giant burrito. |
And even the inclusion of some drama can actually benefit the humor. Going back to the episode “Burrito”, Grizz falls madly in love with a giant burrito, only coming to his senses in the end when the burrito explodes after being struck by lightning during a storm and his friends help him realize that they’re far closer to him than food could ever be. However, it is revealed in a flashback at the end of the episode that Grizz actually got stuck at the top of a tree as a cub during another lightning storm, only to be saved by grabbing on to a fireman’s arm, which just so happens to have a portion of his uniform that looks very close to the giant burrito, meaning that Grizz subconsciously felt attached to the burrito because of its similarities to the very thing that “saved” him and comforted him as a cub.
On top of being surprisingly heart-breaking for this type of show, this drama makes Grizz feel more alive, more realistic as a character. The fact that he has been shown to have subconscious trauma from his past is, again, something that the average person could associate with, allowing them to relate back to him more easily. And conversely, the show’s humor makes them more likable, amplifying the effectiveness of the drama because we care more for the characters. What all of this boils down to is that Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear, even with their exaggerated traits and the fact that they’re anthropomorphic bears, simply feel like real people. Because of that, we are able to understand and appreciate the humor that much more.
And when all three of these elements come together, they create what I find to be one of the funniest, surprisingly touching cartoons I’ve seen in a long time. The well-rounded humor is one thing, but when you throw in a cast of relatable, diverse and loveable characters like the bears, We Bare Bears shows that it’s something special. It actively fuses the humor and characters into one plane and allows the writing to flourish as a result, using the jokes as a way to make the protagonists more engaging; not just as a tool to advance the plot and get some cheap laughs. This show is a testament to what happens when writers really put their hearts and souls into a product and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.
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