Overview: The Bear is a 1998 short animated television film directed by Hilary Audus. Based on the book of the same name by the author Raymond Briggs, the film first broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom during Christmas 1999. It was also released on Buena Vista Home Video in 1998, the year before its release on British television. Like The Snowman, the film does not have any spoken dialogue, 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.