The Bear is a 1998 British animated Christmas special directed by Hilary Audus. Based on the book of the same name by the author Raymond Briggs, the film was first broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom at Christmas 1998 and released in the United States as a Direct-to-Video release by Buena Vista Home Video in 1998.The show won a Peabody Award in 1998. In 2000, it won the Golden Butterfly Award for the best short film in the international cinema competition of the 15th Isfahan International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Iran.Like The Snowman, the film relies only on music and action to convey the story, although for the American version, Judi Dench narrates the film. The musical score was by Howard Blake and the end theme "Somewhere A Star Shines For Everyone" was sung by Charlotte Church.