1986

(first lines)

[A storm, caused by Dark Heart the dragon, is brewing in the sea as True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse are sailing with the orphan Cubs.]

True Heart Bear:
Oh, my!

Noble Heart Horse:
He's found us! This storm is all his doing!

[The morning of the Care Bear Family's first caring Mission]

True Heart and Noble Heart (together):
Oh!

Noble Heart Horse:
Look.

True Heart Bear:
The Caring Meter! Someone must need our help down on Earth. What'll we do?

Noble Heart Horse:
Why...go and help them! Ooh...hurry, hurry! Wait a minute.

True Heart Bear:
Wait.

Both:
But who's going to look after the Cubs? (after Baby Swift Heart Rabbit giggles, looking at the two) I will. One of us has to go...Right. I'll go! (thudding at each other) Oof!

True Heart Bear:
I'll go this time, Noble Heart. You stay here and look after the Cubs.

[True Heart hears the campers finishing a race with the Camp Champ being the winner.]

Camp Champ:
First back. I win! Ha! John, Dawn and Christy are last again. (laughs with other campers)

Christy:
So what else is new?

Camp Champ:
Ha, ha, ha! You three are last at everything.

Christy:
And you're always first at everything. So what does that make you?

Camp Champ:
Camp Champ, that's what. I can run faster, swim better and hike longer than the three of you put together! But big deal—so can every other kid here. (Christy, Dawn and John groan) Let me give you some advice: if you can't keep up, leave. (to his three opponents) Uh...after you do the trash duty. Ha, ha ha!

(others laugh with him as he leaves Christy and company)

[A few seconds later]

Christy:
I wish that just once, I could be Camp Champ! I hate being last and I hate being here!

Dawn:
So do we, Christy. We can't swim. We can't paddle a boat... He's right. We'll always be last.

John:
And we'll always be doing trash duty.

Dawn:
And all the camp laundry.

Christy:
Well, not me. Not anymore! (walking away from her fellow campers) I'm going to do something about it!

True Heart Bear (disguised as a hawk from the totem) That's the way, Christy.

John:
What are you-

Dawn:
-going to do?

Christy:
I'm going to...run away!

True Heart Bear:
Run away?! No!

[Trying to run away from camp along with Christy, Dawn and John get lost in the nearby woods.]

Dawn:
I'm sure this is the way, John.

John:
It will probably lead you right back here.

Great Wishing Star:
Well, it seems John and Dawn are having problems of their own.

[Dawn heads down the path she pointed to only to come back to John through another path.]

John:
...See what I mean? We're lost! We can't even run away right.

Dawn:
(sighs) Yeah, we're the first to get lost and the last at everything else.

True Heart Bear:
This is the path back to camp...if you wanna take it.

Dawn:
Who are you?

John:
What are you?

True Heart Bear:
My name is True Heart. I'm a friend. I've come to help you find your way back to camp.

Dawn and John:
Forget it!

John:
We're not coming back to camp.

Dawn and John:
EVER!

True Heart Bear:
Running away from a problem never solved it. You two are just too worried about the things you can't do. Maybe you should think about all the things you can do.

John:
Like what?

Dawn:
We can't do anything.

True Heart Bear:
That's not true. For starters, everyone can share their feelings.

Dawn:
Huh! Nobody wants to share anything with us.

John:
We're just LOSERS!

[After Dawn and John arrive in the Kingdom of Caring, before babysitting the orphan Cubs]

John (holding Swift Heart):
What's that?

True Heart Bear:
It's our Caring Meter. It lets us know when something is affecting the level of caring on Earth.

Noble Heart Horse:
This time, it might be...Dark Heart.

Dawn:
Dark Heart? Who's Dark Heart?

Noble Heart Horse:
Let's hope you never have to find out!

True Heart Bear:
If it is Dark Heart, it'll take both of us! (kindly) Could you watch over the little Cubs while we're gone?

Dawn (after she and John look at the Cubs):
Uh...I think so.

John:
Sure.

Noble Heart Horse (as he and True Heart leave):
We know you can do it. Good luck.

[No sooner does he close the door than Swift Heart and the other Cubs start crying.]

[Back on Earth, Christy is sitting on a log lost in the woods]

Great Wishing Star:
Meanwhile, Christy was lost in the woods and was about to need more help than anyone could've guessed.

Christy:
Where are those guys? Maybe they ran away with me. Oh, why can't I be good at anything except shooting marbles [flings a marble that hits a tree, rock, then leaf and lands in Christy's hand] Marble Champ. [catches the leaf] So what? [sighs] If only I could run, or swim, or do something to be the Camp Champ. [Dark Heart looks as a weasel then jumps in a bush causing Christy to gasp] John? Dawn?

Dark Heart:
[appears as a human boy] Hey. What do you know? The Camp Champ.

Christy:
Me?

Dark Heart:
Yeah, sure. You are the Camp Champ, ain't you?

Christy:
No...I'm not.

Dark Heart:
Well, you sure could've fooled me.

Christy:
Who are you?

Dark Heart:
Well, I'm from the camp on the other side of the river. Say! You wouldn't want to be the Camp Champ, would ya? I could fix it for you. What do you say?

Christy:
Well, I don't know.

Dark Heart:
There's only one catch, though.

Christy:
I knew it was too good to be true.

Dark Heart:
Not so fast. It's no big deal. Sometime I'll drop by and ask you to return a favour. And you just...do it. No questions asked. What do you say?

Christy:
Ah, you can't make me Camp Champ.

Dark Heart:
Oh, no?

Christy:
Sure! Okay! You got a deal. Now go ahead and make me Camp Champ.

Dark Heart:
A favour now...for a favour later. (snaps fingers magically) Done! Do a cartwheel.

Christy:
A cartwheel? I can't do a cart—

Dark Heart:
Just do it!

[Christy gasps at the demand, but succeeds in doing the cartwheel anyway.]

Christy:
I did it! I did it! You were telling the truth!

Dark Heart:
Cartwheels are nothing. Now you can race, swim, paddle...

Christy:
I am going to be the Camp Champ!

Dark Heart:
Just remember: When I come back, you owe me a favour. And I will be back.

[Before Dark Heart ruins party preparations for the Care Bear Family]

Harmony Bear:
This is going to be a wonderful party, Tenderheart.

Tenderheart Bear (tasting punch and slurping it):
You said it, Harmony Bear. Noble Heart and True Heart will really be surprised.

Grumpy Bear:
Not if they get back before we're finished setting it all up!

Tenderheart Bear:
We'll have lots of time to spare, Grumpy Bear. Actually, everything's ready now.

Grumpy Bear (as another one of him is carrying a long loaf of bread):
Huh! That's because I've been doing double duty.

[After True Heart and Noble Heart have left the Kingdom of Caring, along with some others in the Care Bear Family]

Grumpy Bear:
Boy, am I bushed! Where's everyone else, Tenderheart?

Tenderheart Bear:
I'm not sure, Grumpy Bear. We sent them off this morning to help some people, and they haven't come back.

Wish Bear:
Neither are any of the others that went after them.

Grumpy Bear:
I hope they're all right.

Wish Bear (hearing Christy's scream for help):
Oh, no! More trouble! Someone needs our help!

Tenderheart Bear:
You and Cheer Bear'll hold the fort, Wish Bear. You're up to this one, Grumpy?

Grumpy Bear:
Let's go!

[He and Tenderheart then leave while Wish Bear watches worriedly.]

[After Christy rescues him from drowning]

Dark Heart:
You...you saved me. Why?

Christy:
Good or bad, you're still a person...or whatever you are.

Dark Heart:
Huh? If you knew what was good for you, you would've left me.

Christy:
That's what you would've done. ..Maybe that's the only difference between us.

[With a magic snap of his fingers, Dark Heart takes Christy to the other side of the lake.]

[At the conference inside the Hall of Hearts]

Tenderheart Bear:
So...this is all of us that are left.

Harmony Bear:
Oh my, oh dear! What can we do? We were so many...now we're so very few.

Brave Heart Lion:
Well, we can't just stop helping people, Harmony Bear! I mean, we just can't stop caring!

Tenderheart Bear:
Brave Heart's right. And Dark Heart knows it too. Each time we go to help someone in trouble, that someone could be Christy setting another trap.

Grumpy Bear:
But what about Noble Heart and True Heart?

Tenderheart Bear:
I don't know, Grumpy. But what we do know is that we can't wait for them to come back. This is up to us! If we lose, there'll be nothing left.

[While Tenderheart and Brave Heart enter Dark Heart's cave, the Star Buddy lights up above the camp outhouse to show that both have gone in.]

Bright Heart Raccoon:
There's Brave Heart's signal. So do you two know what you have to do?

Dawn:
Leave Christy to us.

John:
You help the others.

[True Heart and Noble Heart try to stare away Dark Heart.]

True Heart Bear:
Noble Heart, look! It's not Dark Heart at all.

Noble Heart Horse:
It's, ...it's, his shadow.

True Heart Bear:
We've been tricked into leaving the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins all alone!

Noble Heart Horse:
Hurry! We have to get back and hope we're not too late!

[The Bears and Cousins get trapped into cages, thanks to their villain.]

Dark Heart:
Ha ha ha! Now I've got you all!

Brave Heart Lion:
You can't keep us in here, Dark Heart!

Dark Heart:
Oh, but I don't intend to. I have a special place all set. (yawns) But that won't keep until after I've rested.

[Shortly after Dark Heart has hiccuped into different creatures in the distance, slinking away]

Bedtime Bear:
Now we're all here!

Tenderheart Bear:
That's the plan, Bedtime Bear. We wanted to get caught. We're strongest when we're all together, so now we can make a unified stand against Dark Heart. (whistles to Star and Heart Buddies)

Brave Heart Lion:
Hurry, little Star Buddy. We don't have much time!

[Christy is throwing stones at the lake when her friends Dawn and John come by.]

Dawn:
Christy?

Christy:
(sighs) John? Dawn? Oh, what are you doing here? Run away before he gets you too!

Dawn:
No, Christy. We're staying!

John:
We're gonna help.

Dawn:
We can make things go back to just the way they were before Dark Heart came here.

[Christy goes away from them, over to the lake's edge.]

Christy (turning to Dawn and John):
Since I've been Camp Champ, I've never made you do trash duty, or push you in the mud. Well, no one laughs at you anymore when you trip or fall on your face...I won't let 'em! Oh, I can't go back to being a nobody...not now!

Dawn:
You were never a nobody, Christy.

John:
You were always good at being our friend.

Dawn:
And a friend is the most special person in the world.

Christy:
(grunts and gets away from them again) I made a bargain with him. I had to keep my part of it. Oh, it's too late! The damage has been done!

Dawn:
All right. You've paid him back. Now you have to stop him from hurting all the others.

John:
It's time you start thinking of them...of your friends. (giving Christy her marble) You were always the marble champ, Christy, and that you did all by yourself.

[Christy looks at the marble, and then at her friends.]

Christy:
Dawn! John! Wait for me!

[She joins the other two campers in order to stop Dark Heart.]

[Dark Heart the human has imprisoned the Bears and Cousins in his secret chandelier, just as the three campers arrive to stop him.]

Christy:
What did you do to them?

Dark Heart:
Well, well, if it isn't the Camp...Champ!

Christy:
Where are they, Dark Heart?

Dark Heart:
The Bears? Their Cousins? Why, I've created my most prized treasure.

[After the villain snaps his fingers, the three campers scream as the chandelier comes towards them.]

Dark Heart (laughing):
Hah! A chandelier of frozen feelings. Take a look—all of your friends frozen in my crystal...

[Christy looks at the Frozen Crystal it's Tenderheart Bear and Lotsa Heart]

Christy:
NO!

Dark Heart:
...prison. All that feeling and love's right where it should be—trapped forever!

[John Looks at the Frozen Crystal it's Cozy Heart Harmony Bear and Swift Heart Dawn Looks at the Frozen Crystal it's Friend Bear and Bedtime Bear]

Dark Heart:
Ha ha ha!

Christy:
You can't do this. I won't let you!

Dark Heart:
But you made it all possible. Now, like this camp, everything I touch will be drained of goodness...and kindness!

True Heart Bear:
You have to deal with us first, Dark Heart!

Noble Heart Horse:
The time has come to put an end...to your evil trickery.

Dark Heart:
Ah. Noble Heart and True Heart. True and Noble to the very end. I'm glad you came, but you see, you're already too late. Now, you shall join the others and leave me to do as I will!

[Dark Heart transforms into the red cloud and laughs]

Christy (running to True Heart and Noble Heart):
No! Stop.

Noble Heart Horse:
Christy! Move out of the way!

Dark Heart:
Christy, do as he says.

Christy:
No. I won't let you do this! Free the others!

Dark Heart:
We have concluded our bargain. I'm allowing you to leave. Now go!

Christy:
I know you don't want to do this!

Dark Heart:
Leave us, or I'll take back all that I have given you. (seeing Christy refuse to take heed) So be it! (thunder cracks) You are back to the way you were: a loser!

Christy:
Okay...so what? I helped you do this. And I'm gonna help stop you!

Dark Heart:
You saved my life, Christy! Now run and save yourself! Go.......!

[Dark Heart transforms into his human self for the last time, after having frozen Christy with his lightning (as the red cloud).]

Dark Heart:
Help me, Care Bears.

Noble Heart Horse:
Oh.

[Noble Heart steps over to Christy and gets stung after touching her. Some of the Bears nearby gasp.]

Dark Heart:
You must bring this child back from where I've sent her!

Noble Heart and True Heart (tearfully):
We...we can't.

Noble Heart:
It would take more love and...caring than even we have...all put together.

Dark Heart:
No! You've...got to do something. What good is all your love...your caring...if it cannot...save this child? If you can't help...who...can?

Dawn:
We care! We all really care! There have to be other people who care as much as we do—people somewhere...anywhere.

True Heart Bear:
If all of us...and everyone, everywhere, all cared together, it just might be enough to save Christy.

Noble Heart Horse:
Everyone hold hands, and together, open your hearts, and your ears, and listen real hard for the voice of those who care!

Cheer Bear:
We care...we care.

[Everyone starts chanting "We care!]

True Heart Bear:
[to the audience] If you have ever cared, do it now. Help us—tell us you care. Tell your friend next to you that...you care. Tell them how much you care. Tell them again. Say it. Shout it! Help us... (joins in the chanting) We care.

[Escaping from the secret cave-turned-outhouse, the Care Bear Family and the campers are finding a new friend in Dark Heart.]

Dark Heart:
Thank you.

True Heart Bear:
Thank you for caring.

Dark Heart:
But—but...I did care, didn't I? I never really understood why you pulled me out of the river, but I think I do now.

[He hugs Christy, and the Bears and Cousins cheer.]

Christy (gasps):
Your eyes! (hands over a mirror to Dark Heart) Look!

Dark Heart:
I'm a boy! A real boy!

True Heart Bear:
Your evil left you when you realized how much you really cared.

Dark Heart (dancing with Christy):
Whoopee! I'm a boy—I can jump! I can run! I can turn cartwheels!...Whoa!

[As Dark Heart laughs, the others join him.]

Christy:
Don't worry. We can learn together.

Grumpy Bear (to the others):
Hey, come on!

[The campers, the new Dark Heart, and the other Bears and Cousins come along with him to bathe in the lake.]

[The following evening, the campers and the former Dark Heart (now "The Boy") say good-bye to the Care Bear Family.]

The Boy:
This camp is the greatest place to be. I'm gonna see what I can do about staying here, and helping to make sure that everyone's a Camp Champ.

Christy:
Just remember: everybody's already a Champ, because no matter who they are, they're friends.

[Other campers around a campfire laugh happily in the distance. The Boy and his new camper friends walk along and join them.]