Teddy Drop Ear (Polish: Mià  Uszatek), also spelled as Teddy Drop-Ear and known as Teddy Floppy Ear, is a Polish animated television series produced by Se-ma-for from 1975 to 1987, for a total of 104 episodes. He was created jointly by Polish writer Czesà Âaw Janczarski and cartoonist Zbigniew Rychlicki.
Mià  Uszatek's first appearance was in a Polish comic magazine for children, "Mià Â", on 6 March 1957. Later, he was the main character of several children's books, which were translated into many languages. However, Mià  Uszatek became very popular in 1975, when à Âódà º Animated Forms Studio (Studio Malych Form Filmowych), Se-ma-for, created a series of stop motion animation for the Polish TV network, featuring actor Mieczysà Âaw Czechowicz, who voiced the characters. In all-time Polish rankings of animated programs, the show usually comes second only to Bolek i Lolek.
Mià  Uszatek and his friendsâÂÂProsiaczek (Piglet), Króliczki (Little Rabbits), Zajàczek (Little Hare), as well as Kruczek the PuppyâÂÂwere loved by preteen kids. At the same time, Teddy Drop Ear played the role of a friend from kindergarten. He was also liked by parents, as he would always go to bed at an appropriate hour, singing the goodnight song:
All together, Se-ma-for created 104 episodes of the animation series; the last one was made in 1987. In the 1960s, two theatrical movies about the friendly bear were made. Also, in the fall of 2007, the Se-ma-for studio announced that it was planning to make more episodes, but later these plans changed in favor of a possible full-length movie, to be created with help from the Japanese company Eden Entertainment. As of 2008, Mis Uszatek airs on Polish TV every Thursday.
In July 2007, local authorities in à Âódà º decided to construct a monument dedicated to Mià  Uszatek, to be placed along à Âódà º's main street, Piotrkowska.
The animation series is also popular in other countries; it is one of the best-selling exports of Polish television. All together, Polish TV have sold it to 22 countries, including Canada, Iran, and a number of African nations.
In June 2010, Mennica Polska S.A. minted 8,000 silver 1-dollar coins depicting Mià  Uszatek on behalf of the government of Niue.
In the UK, the footage from this animation series was also shown on Tots TV as animated illustrations for some of Tom's stories which he makes up and writes âÂÂhimselfâÂÂ.