''Bernard'', known as ''Backkom'' ( Hangul: 빼꼼) in South Korea and ''Berni'' in Spain, is a

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

television series produced by RG Animation Studios, with the investment of the French broadcaster M6. The animation style is of a combination of computer-generated and cel animation. The stories are written by the creative studio ''Screen21'', the directors are José Luis Ucha Enríquez and Claudio Biern Lliviria. The music was written by Oscar Maceda Rodríguez. ''Bernard'' also was a part of

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

's ''Sunday Pants''. In South Korea, season 1 aired on EBS TV in 2006 and consists of 52 episodes. Season 2 aired in 2009, and it also consists of 52 episodes.

Plot

The show centers on a circus

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

named Bernard, whose bumbling

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

antics and clumsiness typically result in the bear being knocked unconscious or being severely injured by the end of an episode. Bernard almost doesn't speak, but he does communicate through guttural sounds. Bernard’s friends include Lloyd and Eva the

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

s, Zack the

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

, and Goliath the

chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

Episodes

Films

A feature film based on ''Bernard'', titled ''

Mug Travel ''Mug Travel'' (, known as ''My Friend Bernard'' in English) is a 2007 South Korean computer-animated film, directed by Lim Ah-ron and based on his animated TV series, '' Bernard''. Plot A little girl named Bebe (known as Sam in the English ver ...

'' in South Korea and ''My Friend Bernard'' in English, was first released in South Korea on 22 March 2007. It was directed by Lim Ah-ron and produced at RG Animation Studios. Another film, titled Backkom Bear: Agent 008 was released in China on 13 January 2017 and South Korea on 3 May 2017. A third film, titled Agent Backkom: Kings Bear was released in China and South Korea on July 23, 2021.

Award history

''Bernard'' has been nominated for a number of awards, including ''Best Animation series'' at the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (2006), Mipcom Jr. Licensing Challenge Award (2004), Prize in ''Children and Education'' at the Dong-A International Festival of Cartoon & Animation (2004) and was a finalist at the

Annecy International Animation Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

(2003). # Nominated for The Best Animation Series at Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (2006) # Mipcom Jr. Licensing Challenge Award (2004) # Won the Prize in Children and Education at DIFECA (Dong-A International Festival of Cartoon & Animation) (2004) # Was the finalist in Annecy International Animation Festival (2003).

References

External links