| The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's | |
| Season 1, Episode 3b | |
| Series: The Berenstain Bears (2002) | |
 | |
| Air date | September 13, 2002 (Treehouse TV) January 16, 2003 (PBS) |
| Written by | Erika Strobel |
| Directed by | Scott Glynn & Gary Hurst |
| Preceded by The Berenstain Bears Go to School |
Followed by The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Pets |
“Brother: When Mama and Papa have a week-long retreat...
Sister: The cubs went to Grandma's and were in for a treat.”
—Opening quote
The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's is the second segment of episode 3 in season one of The Berenstain Bears. It first aired on Treehouse TV on September 13, 2002, and later on PBS on January 16, 2003. It is based on the book of the same name.
Summary[]
Mama and Papa both go on their second honeymoon to the Grizzly Mountain Lodge, whereas Brother and Sister are staying with their grandparents. At first, they are reluctant about staying with them, but have fun as the week goes on. Meanwhile, Mama and Papa learn that things at Grizzly Mountain Lodge aren't what they used to be.
Plot[]
Mama and Papa plan a vacation for the week. Brother and Sister are readying up for travel, only to be told that this trip is not for cubs. When questioned about this, Papa says that he and Mama have planned a second honeymoon, which will try to recreate their first honeymoon. Sister asks what a honeymoon is, so Mama shows her pictures of their first honeymoon, which shows a younger, slimmer Mama and Papa doing activities such as boating, tennis, and dancing at a place called Grizzly Mountain Lodge, which they stayed at immediately after their wedding, and explains that when a bride and groom get married, they often celebrate with a vacation known as a "honeymoon". That point has passed in Mama's and Papa's marriage, and they have overcome some problems, so now that they have some free time, they want to relive that vacation with a second honeymoon. Brother and Sister are interested to see what their parents were like before they were born and now understand, but wonder what they will do when Mama and Papa are away. Mama says she has taken care of that issue and has them stay with parents, Grizzly Gramps and Gran.
Brother and Sister are certain they’re in for the most boring time of their lives, spending an entire week with their grandparents, so they pack board games, coloring books, and many other things. When Papa notices everything out on the porch he asks why they have so much with them and Brother says they need to keep busy. Mama reminds them that they don't need all those things and they always have fun there. The cubs love Gramps and Gran; it is just that they are so... old. Brother also points out that he and Sister have only spent an afternoon with them, not a whole week.
However, their perception changes in spending time with them. For example, Brother brought along his yo-yo, and Gramps shows that he's good at it as well, able to do tricks such as "walk the dog". Sister is impressed when Gran teaches her how to play the harmonica. They go on a picnic with hot soft pretzels, honeybuns, and homemade jams. Gran also takes the cubs fishing at her favorite fishing hole, and Gramps shows them how to obtain fresh honey from a beehive and how to build a model ship and place it inside a bottle. Brother and Sister are also amazed by Gramps and Gran going to the square dance and participating, and teaching Brother and Sister how to square dance as well.
The cubs are having more fun than they'd imagined; the same can't be said for Mama and Papa on their second honeymoon, as the resort has changed much since their last visit, and the changes ruin Mama's and Papa's attempts to have fun (Papa: "I guess the place has... changed a little over the years. Mama: "That's okay. So have we").
First, their game of tennis is ruined when Papa serves a ball at Mama, only for it to be stolen by a dog. Then, they are forced to go hungry after Papa accidentally knocks their picnic into the river, as while they are canoeing, a mosquito bothers him. During dinner, it seems that some things haven't changed, until they find out that the food portions have been cut smaller (which also adds more pain from the picnic basket incident). Finally, instead of slow dancing music, they find themselves dancing to loud rock'n'roll music.
At the end of the week, when Mama and Papa collect Brother and Sister, the cubs admit that they were wrong about Gramps and Gran. As Brother puts it, "they're really kind of cool", and Sister wants to know when she and Brother can spend another week with Gramps and Gran.
Differences from the Book:[]
- In the book, Brother and Sister were a little sad after Mama and Papa dropped them off at Gramps and Gran's house. In the cartoon, they were a little annoyed.
- Brother and Sister felt that their grandparents’ house wasn’t home in the book, this was omitted in the show.
- We don’t see how Mama and Papa’s trip went in the book, we only see what the Cubs did.
- In the book, Gramps takes Brother and Sister fishing in a rowboat. In the cartoon, Gran takes them fishing, and they stand at the side of the fishing hole.
- Despite the story taking place over the course of a week in the show it felt as if one day had passed.