The Tap Dancing Teddy Bear

Bear

The Tap Dancing Teddy Bear is one of the 7 Magical Events. It features a yellow Winnie the Pooh look-a-like teddy bear who wears a white hat with a blue stripe, a Charlie Chaplin-like shirt (which almost looks like Winnie the Pooh's red shirt), a purple Bow tie, and black tap shoes. He taps and dances in a small carousel. Some of the Teletubbies fans think the bear is related to the Disney character Winnie the Pooh because the bear is yellow. Also, his Charlie Chaplin shirt is red like the Disney character's shirt.

Appearances

Episodes

UK Series (on BBC)

• Painting with Hands and Feet (twice) (first appearance)
• Larette Tap Dancing (once)
• Humpty Dumpty (once)
• Jumping (twice)
• Yellow Cow (once)
• Arthur Robot Story (once)
• Dandelion Clocks (once)
• Sandcastles (once)
• Good Morning (once)
• Pancakes (once)
• Hanukkah (once)
• Cafe Eggs (once)
• Sea Lions (once)
• Haircut (once)
• Clogs (once)
• Basketball (once)
• Body to Body (once)
• Carousel (once)
• Moon (once)
• Goats (once)
• Going In and Coming Out (once)
• My Pretend Friend (twice)
• Crazy Golf (USA) (once) (last appearance)

Sunday Specials

• Frogs + Colours Orange (once)

US Series (on PBS)

• Jumping (twice)
• Rolling (once)
• Numbers - 1 (once)
• Numbers - 6 (once)
• Dad's Portrait (once)
• Brennan's Moonwalk (twice)
• Circles (once)
• Making Salad (once)
• Ballet (once)
• Drumming (Taiwan) (twice)
• Carousel (France) (once)
• Football (Argentina) (once)
• Lanterns (Taiwan) (once)

Home Media

Special (VHS/DVD)

• Dance with the Teletubbies (twice)

DVD

• Fun at the Beach (Asia) (Sandcastles)
• What Lovely Hair! (Asia) (Haircut)
• Messy Time with the Teletubbies (Asia) (Painting with Hands and Feet)
• Jumping Fun (Asia) (Jumping)
• Teletubbies 10: Happy Birthday! (UK) (Larette Tap Dancing)
• Naughty Cow (China) (Naughty Yellow Cow)
• Story Time (China) (Arthur Robot Story)
• What's That Noise? (China) (Clogs)
• Where is the Goat? (China) (Goats)
• Arts and Crafts (Australia/Non-DVD) (Painting with Hands and Feet)
• Sporting Fun (Australia/Non-DVD) (Basketball/Crazy Golf (USA))
• Nursery Rhymes (Australia) (Humpty Dumpty)
• Sing and Dance (Australia) (Jumping/Good Morning)
• My First Nursery Rhymes (US) (Humpty Dumpty)

Synopsis

The sketch starts with The Magic Windmill spinning for a lot longer than usual. The Teletubbies arrive at the Magic Event place and the Baby Sun giggles. Soon the Teletubbies hear a galactic beeping sound and run off to the destination of the Magical Event. The Teletubbies arrive at some flat hills in Teletubbyland as a tiny dot appears in the sky. The Teletubbies gasp in excitement as the magic dot gets closer and is revealed to be a magical flying blue and white carousel. It continues to make the galactic beep until it is very close to the ground. The excited Teletubbies watch it land as it spins and starts making a different sound. The carousel lands on the ground and the Teletubbies then sit down around it. The blue walls of the carousel magically disappear and reveal a yellow bear (who looks like the Disney character Winnie the Pooh) in a Charlie Chaplin-like outfit (which almost looks like said Disney character's red shirt) holding a cane and wearing a hat. The teddy bear spins around and then stops with his face covered by his hat. Jolly piano music starts playing, and the teddy bear stops bowing and his face is revealed from behind his hat, from up close. The teddy bear starts doing a tap dance which the Teletubbies watch quietly and happily. The bear tap dances around the carousel, in the carousel, outside the carousel and all over the place. He then does his great, big finale dance and then bows. The teddy bear freezes in his joyful bow and then the walls of the carousel magically re-appear. The Teletubbies sigh happily and then gasp as the carousel takes off with the galactic beeps replaced with a joyful tune as it floats away into the sky, disappearing out of sight. Either the Magic Windmill stops spinning or the Sun Baby giggles.

Trivia

• The carousel in the magical event has been used in the White Rose Shopping Centre, albeit black-and-white tint and the blue walls are replaced with the television-styled walls, which includes trailers, adverts, and music videos.
• In Painting with Hands and Feet, Jumping, My Pretend Friend, the US Versions of Drumming (Taiwan), Brennan's Moonwalk and Dance with the Teletubbies (VHS), the Bear dances twice. After the Bear bows, the Teletubbies cheer and as the carousel begins to take off they want to see the Bear dance one more time so the carousel will land on the ground again and the walls of the carousel magically disappear again and the Bear dances. But in the other episodes, the Bear only dances once.
• In Painting with Hands and Feet, Larette Tap Dancing, Humpty Dumpty, Dance with the Teletubbies and the US version of Lanterns (Taiwan), when the Teletubbies rush off to see the Tap Dancing Bear, the Sun Baby is not shown giggling.
• The Teletubbies' bottoms don't make any noise when they sit down to watch the tap-dancing teddy bear. This also happens in the original sketch of The Lion and Bear (original sketch), Little Bo Peep and The Magic House.
• In Hanukkah, Carousel and the US Versions of Dad's Portrait and Brennan's Moonwalk, the Sun giggles for Tubby Bye-Bye.
• In Larette Tap Dancing and Going In and Coming Out, the Tap Dancing Teddy plays before the TV Event.
• This is the first magical event to show clips of the Teletubbies. The second is the Lion and Bear.
• This is the only magical event where the Teletubbies say 'Again! Again!'.
• This is the only Magical Event that is played once or twice.
• The sound that the carousel makes when it floats in the sky is the 'EMU Proteus 3 World' sound font 'Spirit Catch'.
• The Dancing Bear later reappeared in a Season 4 short of the Tiddlytubbies series with a newer animation design and his gazebo is now designed as a music box toy playing the nursery rhyme Head Shoulders Knees and Toes.
• In Goats, and the US Version of Circles, the Tap Dancing Bear happens straight after the TV Event with opening shots. However, this also occurs in the US Version of Jumping, but without opening shots.
• Either Tinky Winky, Dipsy, or Laa-Laa can be heard whispering "Oh, wow," just before the carousel opens for the tap dancing teddy bear's first dance.

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