| The Beary Family | |
|---|---|
 Charlie and Bessie Beary as seen in "Cool It Charlie" | |
| First appearance | Fowled-Up Birthday (1962) |
| Last appearance | Unlucky Potluck (1972) |
| Created by | Jack Hannah Walter Lantz |
| Voiced by | Paul Frees Grace Stafford Nancy Wible |
| Members |
|
| No. of shorts | 28 |
| In-universe information | |
| Race | Grizzly Bears |
| Gender | Male (Charlie and Junior) Female (Bessie and Suzy) |
| Family | Granny Beary (Bessie's Mother) |
| Significantother | Pete (Charlie's Friend) |
The Beary Family (also known asThe Beary's Family Album) is an Americananimated andcartoon animal theatrical series created byJack Hannah forWalter Lantz Productions. Twenty-eight shorts were made from 1962 to 1972, when the studio closed.[1]
The series focused on Charlie Beary, the incompetent family man, his nagging wife Bessie, their well-meaning but half-witted teenage son Junior and their younger daughter Suzy, who later got a pet named Goose Beary, who never gets along with Charlie.
Jack Hannah initially conceived the series based on a family of five (four family members and a pet), but Hannah would later leave the studio after directing the first two shorts. WhenPaul J. Smith became the series primary director, the concept would be significantly redeveloped. Suzy and Goose Beary would be phased out to focus more on the dynamic between Charlie and Junior. Bessie would also received a redesign inRah Rah Ruckus (1964) and portrayed more as a nagging housewife who chastises Charlie over his mistakes. Smith would continue the series until 1972, when the studio closed.
Critics have since called the series dry and witless under Smith's direction. Animation historianJerry Beck would include series in a list of TV cartoons that should be forgotten onCartoon Research, claiming it had "ugly art, corny verbal gags and even cornier visuals...The groans from audiences when these cartoons came on in front of Universal features likeAirport orPlay Misty for Me can still be heard."[2]