September 14, 1985 – The Animated Series Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears Premieres on NBC
“Gummi Bears, bouncing here and there and everywhere, high adventure that’s beyond compare, they are the Gummi Bears.”
On September 14, 1985, the animated series Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears premiered on NBC. The series was Disney’s first major serialized animated series, setting a precedent for later animated series, including those of the Disney Afternoon lineup. The show was very popular, spanning 65 episodes over 6 seasons. Overall, the series tells the story of the Gummi Bears, a mythical, long-running family that lives in Gummi Glen in the time of the Middle Ages. The bears work to protect the secret of their Gummiberry Juice from Duke Igthorn and his army of ogres, and are assisted in this by Princess Calla and her page Cavin. The series was created by Jymn Magon and Art Vitello, and stars Bill Scott as Gruffi Gummi (replaced by Corey Burton after Scott passed away), Paul Winchell as Zummi Gummi (replaced by Jim Cummings in the final season), June Foray as Grammi Gummi, Lorenzo Music as Tummi Gummi, Katie Leigh as Sunni Gummi, Noelle North as Cubbi Gummi and Princess Calla, Rob Paulsen as Gusto Gummi, and Michael Rye as Duke Igthorn. Cavin had several voice actors through the show’s run, with Christian Jacobs for Season 1, Brett Johnson for Season 2, David Faustino for Season 3, Jason Marsden for Seasons 4 and 5, and R.J. Williams for Season 6.
The first episode, “A New Beginning,” begins with Duke Igthorn preparing to destroy the Castle Dunwyn with his ogre army. Meanwhile, Cavin sets out to bring lunch to the woodcutters with Unwin, who would rather practice his swordplay. Unwin bullies Cavin, who belittles him for his belief in Gummi Bears, as they are seen as just a fairy tale. Cavin doesn’t realize that he’s being watched by someone. When ogres attack the woodcutters, Cavin is rescued by a mysterious group. He falls off the side of a cliff and is left unconscious. Back at the castle, Princess Calla tries to escape from the castle for some adventure, and finds that Cavin has been left behind.
The Gummis have found Cavin, and while Sunni wants to help him, Gruffi refuses, saying that they’ve already done enough. Zummi realizes that Cavin is wearing a Great Gummi Medallion, and Grammi wonders where a human boy would get such an important medallion. Cavin wakes up and is happily surprised to find that Gummi Bears do exist. The bears flee, but Cavin follows them. The bears once again have to flee from an ogre, and Cavin accidentally ends up in the Gummi Bear house. The bears soon tie Cavin up and plan on interrogating him. They ask where he got the medallion, and when he asks for something to drink, Tummi accidentally gives him Gummiberry Juice. For a short time, Cavin displays great strength, scaring the bears, but once it wears off, the start to talk and become friends. Zummi then takes Cavin to the Great Book of Gummi, and makes him swear on it that he will never tell a living soul about the existence of the Gummi Bears. Sunni and Cubbi then take Cavin exploring with them.
Sunni, Cubbi, and Cavin stumble over Duke Igthorn’s plan to destroy the castle, and Cavin tries to convince the Gummi’s to help rescue the King. Cavin is disappointed that the bears refuse to help, and throws down his medallion in disgust. When Zummi wears it, it begins to glow and drags him to the Great Book of Gummi. The medallion opens the long sealed book and, after reading some of the pages, decide that they should help Cavin in his quest to protect the castle. Cavin is quickly captured by the ogres. Zummi uses an invisibility spell on Gruffi to get Gummiberry juice to Cavin, but the spell begins to wear off. Fortunately, he is able to throw the juice to Cavin, who uses his strength to beat up the ogres. The King is alerted to Igthorn’s scheme, and sends his knights to stop the Duke. The bears and Cavin work together to destroy the catapult and keep the ogres busy. Igthorn manages to intercept the Gummiberry juice from Gavin, and marvels at his strength. The bears and Cavin roll the catapult away, but while Igthorn boasts he doesn’t need the catapult anymore, he is squashed by the boulder once the juice wears off, and is sent flying through the castle. Cavin’s sleeve is caught in the catapult as it rolls towards the castle, but manages to remain unharmed after it crashes into the castle. Calla congratulates Cavin for his bravery, and Cavin almost gives away the secret of the Gummi Bears, but Zummi is relieved to find that Cavin keeps their secret safe. The bears return home, and enter in their brave deed in the Great Book of Gummi.
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