Pedobear (character)

Pedobear (formerly known as Thomas Bear), is not just an international celebrity and cultural icon, but a polyglot and history's most famous bear. His cultural influence cannot be underestimated. He paved way to Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, and Bugs Bunny, and even though past decades have rendered him obsolete, they just add on another layer to his legend.

Not only is he the mascot of Johnson Industries, but an animation icon. It was he who made it possible for girls to be seen in public wearing underwear. Pedobear was the star or subject of silent films, television and books, inspired cruise ships and theme parks, and entered video games and more.

Creation

In 1917, Charles Mintz thought about a bear that molests children. The idea came to be as Thomas Bear, and later pitched his idea to Johnson Industries, an oil company which also distributed Frog Semen, and later that year, "The Tail of Thomas Bear" debuted in theaters nationwide. It is now lost media, as Johnson Industries does NOT want you to see it, as they are a bunch of Meanie McPoopy Turds. In 1920, Johnson Industries started an animation studio called Johnson Animated Films, Inc., to make more Pedobear short features.

Golden Age

The mute Pedobear had a successful film career before silent cartoons gave way to talkies in the late 1920s. His most memorable films include The Four Bears of the Apocalypse (1921); The Hunchbear of Notre Dame (1923); Pedobear Goes to College (1924); and his most successful film that became a theme throughout his life, Bedtime for Pedobear (1925).

Talkies and Theme Parks

Pedobear's first sound appearance was in "Tugboat Willie" (released November 18, 1929 on Pedobear's 12th birthday). In this black and white cartoon, Pedobear chases the stowaway preteen girl Lolita Mouse. In the short, Mintz provides the voice for Pedobear, as he did in many of the animated films. It's here that Lolita utters the now famous line, "By my skirts, that Willie moves like a tugboat!"

However, a more unknown appearance was in the highly controversial silent black and white children's cartoon "Pedobear is Plane Crazy" (released April 20, 1929). Pilot Pedobear tries to convince the very young stewardess Lolita Mouse to be his co-pilot. But because his small plane doesn't have a co-pilot seat, he tells Lolita she'll have to sit on his lap. Pedobear continually tries to seduce Lolita, and when she refuses he uses force, finally throwing her out of the airplane. After seeing his young love fall to her death, he despondently crashes his plane into a tree.

The short was extremely controversial because it featured an implied rape and murder-suicide, Pedobear wore nothing but his birthday suit while Lolita Mouse wore nothing but a very short skirt, and, most controversial of all, the very young Lolita Mouse and much older Pedobear were of very different races.

After a lawsuit filed by an attorney for Walt Disney was settled out of court, the short was remade in 1930 with a sound track as "Plane Insane". In this version, Pedobear wears shorts (a la Mickey Mouse) and his stewardess is now a skirt-and-bloomers wearing bear cub named Lolita Bear. She is thrown out of the plane as a practical joke by Pedobear, who safely catches her with the aircraft. After willingly kissing Pedobear, Lolita jumps out and improvises a parachute by removing and using her bloomers.

In 1930, Charles Mintz created a children's organization called The Pedobear Club, which eventually led to the vision of a cruise ship featuring Pedobear. On October, 18, 1955, Mintz created the Pedobear Cruise Line, where "everyone's free to be a child" on their choice of two ships, Tugboat Willie or The Love Boat.

Television

Pedobear is one of the most seen bears on television. In addition to guest starring roles, he starred in two hit television series, but his first appearance on TV was in a commercial.

Skintees commercial

The first television appearance by both Pedobear and future star Anne Bancroft was in a popular 1940 commercial made by the children's undergarment manufacturer Skintees. In the ad, 9-year-old Bancroft plays a girl who prepares to jump rope in a public park. A man in a Pedobear suit plays her old-fashioned uncle, who stares at her in wide-eyed shock for fear she is about to expose herself "downstairs". The girl's mother reassures the concerned uncle by saying to her daughter, "Show Uncle your Skintees panties, dear." The girl lifts her dress and holds it up while an announcer describes the girl's underpants. The girl then starts jumping rope while laughing and saying, "Silly old bear." The commercial, which was broadcast in the southern United States, concludes with the announcer saying, "Wear Skintees panties for modesty, please."

The Adventures of Pedobear and Lolita

Pedobear's first TV series was The Adventures of Pedobear and Lolita (1948 to 1953). Paul Castle, who played Pedobear starred with newcomer Philipa "Phil" Farnsworth, the 8-year-old daughter of television's inventor Philo Farnsworth, who played Lolita and was billed as "the new Shirley Temple."

The program was originally a one-hour sketch comedy show, with Phil doing the talking and Pedobear providing comic facial expressions and physical comedy, often while chasing Phil. The couple often performed together in dance, ice skating and wrestling. They portrayed many recurring characters, including Pedobear as Lolita's fumbling, hands-on gymnastics coach Huggy Bear who often interrupted her gymnastic routine to give her a "bear hug".The program featured a supporting cast and guest stars, and sketches frequently featured toys made by the show's sponsor, the Ideal Toy Company. Each episode would end with Pedobear putting Lolita to bed, and whispering something in her ear to which she'd make a very surprised expression. At that point the announcer would say, "Lights out!"

The program was extremely popular, and was credited with being a prime factor in the popularity of television. Later television star Miley Ray Cyrus said, "You can't believe how many people like watching an older man chasing a young girl. Look at how people loved watching me get chased by older model Justin Gaston." Jamie Lynn Spears, who was impregnated as a young teenager by the adult Casey Aldridge, agreed, saying "That's what television is all about." Television set sales went from 500,000 during the show's first year to over 30 million when Pedobear's second television show ended in 1956.

Where in the World is Lolita, Pedobear?

By 1953, ratings for the sketch comedy had dropped, and according to TV Guide the now 13-year-old Phil was seen as "too old to be chased by a middle-aged man". Also the Federal Communications Commission was putting increasing pressure on television networks because "television was not living up to its promise as a educational medium".

So in 1953, the program changed its title, sponsor and format. Now a half-hour program that taught geography through comedy, it focused on Pedobear trying to find Lolita, now a world-traveler played by 8-year-old newcomer Leiloni Anderson. The new program's title became, "Where in the World is Lolita, Pedobear?" and it was sponsored by Skintees, which now produced not only children's undergarments, but also children's swimwear, hosiery and leotards.

In each episode, Lolita would run away from home because of a misunderstanding. She'd travel to some part of the world, which was unknown to the viewer and to Pedobear. She always sent Pedobear a clue, which was usually in the form of a Skintees product. At this point the announcer would say, "it's time for Pedobear to sniff out clues!" Pedobear would travel, while the announcer would describe the geographical features the man-in-a-bear-suit encountered. He would always find her, clear up the misunderstanding, and take her back home. Each episode would end with Pedobear putting Lolita to bed, and whispering something in her ear to which she'd make a very surprised expression. At that point the announcer would say, "Lights out!"

This second version of the program ended in 1956, but the influence of the two shows continued. The second program inspired an adult series with main characters who evaluated clues to uncover the truth. This was called "The X-Files". This program in turn inspired a children's version, which in honor of the original fan club of Pedobear and Phil was called "The Pedo-Files".

Pedobear Award

The logo of PBS

The Pedobear Seal of Approval is awarded for excellence in all media presentations involving children. In 1949, The Adventures of Pedobear and Lolita became the first television program to win the University of Georgia's "Excellence in Children's Programming Award", then usually called the "CP Award". Pedobear's back-to-back television programs won the award every year from 1949 to 1953, and from 1955 to 1957 (in 1954 the award was given to the Pedoland television program, which featured Pedobear). As a result, the award became informally but universally known as the Pedobear Award. The nickname was made formal in 1996 when the university was acquired by Johnson Studios.

In recognition of Pedobear's tremendous contributions to the education of America and the training of children, a television network was created in his honor. The American non-profit public broadcasting television service was named Pedobear Service (PBS).

The Pedobear Seal of Approval, which is given in all media made at any time for "outstanding excellence in presentations featuring children", was created on Oct. 1, 2003.

21st Century

In the 21st century, Pedobear's Influence still lives on. In 2000, He had a TV Show called Pedobear and Friends, which was sponsored by none other than Frog Semen. It can be considered a revival of the original 1920-1952 cartoon series.

Characters

Aside from Pedobear himself, there are other characters, such as:

• Lolita: a 12 year old bear cub who is Pedobear's "Barely legal babe"
• Chocodile: A brown crocodile who likes to stuff chocolate up his arse.
• Cherridile: A red crocodile prostitute who paints herself red
• Solomon S. Stanford: A Police Man who wants to arrest Pedobear for incest. He ends up failing every time.