| The Berenstain Bears and the Big Election | |
| Season 3, Episode 1b | |
| Series: The Berenstain Bears (2003) | |
 | |
| Air date | April 25, 2003 (Treehouse TV) October 23, 2003 (PBS) |
| Written by | Bruce Robb |
| Directed by | Gary Hurst |
| Preceded by The Berenstain Bears' New Neighbors |
Followed by The Berenstain Bears at the Giant Mall |
“Brother: When Papa complains that the roads need repair...
Sister: The family says he should be the new mayor.”
—Opening quote
The Berenstain Bears and the Big Election is the second segment of the first episode in season 3 of The Berenstain Bears. It first aired on Treehouse TV on April 25, 2003, and later on PBS on October 23, 2003. It is based on the book of the same name.
Summary[]
Papa decides to run for mayor after learning that Mayor Honeypot isn't doing anything to address the issues that are arising in Bear Country. However, when Papa tries to run for mayor, he learns that it is a big responsibility and he must keep his promises.
Plot[]
While out for a drive down a bumpy road the Bear Family gets a flat tire and unfortunately this is not the first time they got a flat tire from the potholes. Papa has tried to tell Mayor Honeypot about the potholes for a longtime, unfortunately Papa's complaints to City Hall about all the potholes around town seem to be falling on deaf ears. Fed up with his letters going unanswered, he decides to go to City Hall and see the Mayor himself. While playing a board game, Papa tells them he didn't get to see the mayor as he was in a meeting, and was told by his secretary to write another letter. Papa decides to take matters into his own hands and run for Mayor. The family supports Papa running for Mayor but Mama tells him this is a big job. He gets his campaign off the ground with all his flyers, signs and speeches. He promises to not only fix the Potholes but to also to not have to write so many complaints about what happens. Before long, Papa gains momentum and is sure to become Mayor now.
Soon many citizens in town need things done, including changing out the tulips on Main Street to Petunias and rescheduling the Honey Festival time and place during the year. While trying to take care of everyone's concerns, Papa ends up promising everything to everyone and soon discovers that Mama was right about Mayor Honeypot's job being no easy task. Not to mention the fact that he barely gets a chance to have a decent meal without someone wanting to talk to him. After rescuing Percy, Mrs. Grizzle's cat, from a tree, Papa comes up with an idea to put some fertilizer on the trees (which is too smelly for Percy) so that way they wouldn't have to cut down all the trees on her street. That night Papa cannot sleep as he looks over all the things people need fixed; The school needs a new roof, the bridge is falling apart, they need more parking at the hospital and new books for the library. After all the people coming to his house asking for things to be fixed, Papa now understands why he wasn't able to see the mayor in person, as the potholes are the least of his concerns. Papa now becomes worried he will not be able to do it all, but Mama points out he did save the trouble of cutting down all the trees on Ms Grizzle's street. After hearing this, he wishes everyone in Bear Country could do something to take care of the troubles in Bear Country instead of telling the Mayor. In the end, Papa decides he can fulfill his civic responsibility much better by being part of the solution instead of part of the problem, so he decides to drop out of the race and instead help lighten the Mayor's load by organizing a group of volunteers to repair the potholes and everything in town themselves.
Differences from the Book[]
Of all the books from the series, this one differs strongly from the episode:
- The book had the same premise, only this book said the chief executive was a president. The Bear family run into potholes. Rather than Papa attempting to go through proper channels to address the problem, a casual saying of "if you were president that would be no problem" sets things in motion.
- In the book, Mama is against the idea from the start, namely because she sees campaign posters for several other bears seeking the office. Papa gains support by a bunch of promises to the bears, such as "Honey in every pot and a scratching post on every street corner". He even makes promises to the non-anthropomorphic animals, such as promising the robins more worms and the worms fewer robins.
- Papa wins the election, and the Bear family dances the night away in an exciting inaugural ball.
- On Papa's first day as president, he is confronted by a group of protesting nonspeaking animals, holding signs such as "Keep Your Promises!", a group of worms holding a sign "Fewer Robins" and a group of robins holding a sign "More Worms".
- Brother remarks "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it" and the pothole issue is never resolved. At the end of the episode, the potholes are resolved right away.
Trivia[]
- This episode tackles politics in a way that kids would understand.
- People note that whenever a person tries to get something done that the previous political officer didn't do, but in the end, they don't accomplish it either as they made many other promises along the way.
- Footage from this episode was used for the show's Sprout Diner webisode as Benedict Campbell rerecords his lines.
Goofs[]
- At the beginning of the episode, Sister has a fish and bowl with her, it is unclear why she brought it with her.