Teddy Bears' Picnic
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A teddy bears' picnic is a party for young children which involves a picnic and to which the children are invited to bring their teddy bears. Teddy bears' picnics may be held as a form of birthday party, or by primary schools or elementary schools or other organized children's groups.
The music for the popular song of this title was written by John Walter Bratton (1907), with lyrics added later by the prolific songwriter Jimmy Kennedy (1913).
The song in its instrumental form could be heard briefly in the musical score to accompany Buster Keaton's silent picture The General.
It was recorded in the United Kingdom in 1932 by Henry Hall and His Orchestra EMI SH 172, with Val Rosing singing. It was one of the songs featured in the Dennis Potter drama The Singing Detective. The Hall rendition is perhaps the most well-known in the UK.
"Teddy Bears' Picnic" resurfaced again in the late 1940s and early 1950s when it was used as the theme song for the Big Jon and Sparkie radio program, a children's show presented on weekdays and Saturday mornings. The version of the song used to start the show was recorded/performed by organist Ethel Smith. The Saturday Show later became "No School Today". This perennial favorite has appeared on many children's recordings ever since.
The song has been recorded by singers including Bing Crosby, Frank DeVol, Rosemary Clooney, Dave Van Ronk, Jerry Garcia, John Inman and Trout Fishing in America. It was the theme song of the Commodore 64 game "The Hunchback", by Ocean, and for the BBC Micro game "Nemesis" by Micro Power. In November of 2005, agency McCann Erickson produced a commercial for Microsoft's Xbox game console featuring the Henry Hall/Val Rosing version as the primary soundtrack. The background music of Gruntilda's Lair in Banjo-Kazooie is based on this song.
The song is featured in the third episode of The Young Ones, entitled "Boring". When the roommates are away at the pub, various inanimate objects in the flat come to life. The song plays as a young girl enters the flat and tastes all three bowls of food that sit on the table.
The song features prominently in Peter Greenaway's film A Zed & Two Noughts.
The song also features prominently in the family CGI movie Open Season. Boog's teddy bear plays the melody of the song when he pulls the string on its back.
First, Beth (park ranger) sings it to Boog (grizzly bear) to help him sleep.
Next, Elliot (deer) tries to sing the song to Boog to help him sleep, but doesn't know the words so makes them up:
Finally, Shaw (hunter) sings the song menacingly as he approaches Boog in the basement of his house.
