Care Bears are multi-colored bears, painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. They were turned into plush teddy bears and featured in The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984) before headlining their own television series called Care Bears from 1985 to 1988. They also had multiple feature films including: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).

Each Care Bear is a different colour or shade and has a unique image on their stomach (referred to in various media as a "belly badge" or "tummy symbol") that represents their personality. In addition to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins", which feature Brave Heart Lion, Cozy Heart Penguin, Bright Heart Raccoon, Lotsa Heart Elephant, Gentle Heart Lamb, Loyal Heart Dog, Playful Heart Monkey, Proud Heart Cat, Swift Heart Rabbit, Treat Heart Pig and Noble Heart Horse created in the same style as the Care Bears.

In 2002, new plush versions of the bears were manufactured by Play Along Toys. This new artistic style featured in three animated films: Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004), The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie (2005), and Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! (2007).

A revival TV series, Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, premiered on The Hub on June 2, 2012, for one season. A continuation with the same characters, Care Bears and Cousins, was commissioned by Netflix and premiered in 2015. That year, toy company Just Play debuted a range of Care Bears toys (plush, figurines, and blind bag collectibles) based on the series.

The current TV series, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, debuted on Boomerang SVOD on February 1, 2019, and has since tied in with a new toy line from Basic Fun.