Would you let your kids watch Care Bears if it was rated M, MA or even R or X?

• Background

Care Bears were a group of characters created in 1981 by the American company, American Greetings. Originally devised by the artist Elena Kucharik for use on greeting cards, their early popularity quickly led them to be turned into cuddly toys.

• Film and television

In 1983 the bears starred in the TV movie, 'The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings' and in the following year 'The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine' (1984).

The success of these two specials led to a television series, which ran from 1985-1988, and was proceeded by three theatrical feature films, 'The Care Bears Movie' (1985),' Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation' (1986), and 'The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland' (1987).

• Merchandise

Care Bear's plush characters still prove to be a popular toy amongst children, with each bear coming in a different color and sporting an individual symbol or 'Belly Badge' on its stomach.

In recent years the Care Bears have made a resurgence with new a line of toys that glow in the dark and also illuminate. The brand has expanded into the video game market, with the game 'Catch a star' (2005) and prior to this they featured in a series of books and comics.

Two more care Care Bear films have been developed using computer animation, 'Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot', released in 2004, and 'The Care Bears Big Wish Movie' in 2005.