Seriously.. that bear will mess you up. Smokey the Bear (apparently, he’s officially “Smokey Bear”, but that’s news to me) has always been at the forefront of the fight on forest fires. Yes, I enjoyed getting to write that. Anyway, I grew up with the image of him telling me that only I could prevent forest fires – which at the time I didn’t entirely understand. I realised that I was a child, and I wasn’t really sure why they would give me – a child who rarely ventured into the forest – all of this fire fighting power. At some point I suppose I came to the conclusion that Smokey was speaking to all children individually, but regardless of how he went about it, he did reinforce some bits of fire safety. Well, other than the phase most boys go through where they enjoy lighting things on fire. Fire is pretty cool. Oh, the shirt! Right. This violent and aggressive side of Smokey isn’t one I really remember, but if the man (or, I should say, the bear) wants to really hammer his point home to children who won’t listen, sometimes a wallop with a shovel is the only answer. Most bears would use their claws, but not Smokey – this shirt shows how civilized he truly is. (Available at Threadless)
There’s not much description of this shirt that could quite do it justice, but I’m here to give it my best. A giant teddy bear fights a rabbit Godzilla style, wrecking a building with his massive stuffed punch? Like I said, it’s not doing it justice. I love the line art style, and again, really, any shirt that depicts a teddy bear breaking apart the corner of a building is a win. Also, bunnies. (Available at Threadless)
Jelly bears in the wild! Warn the campers! I don’t think the wild jelly bears seen on this shirt would pose much of a threat, actually. I think they would be tasty, and do gummi bears (as we all know the shirt references) actually eat? And what would a Gummi Bear eat, if a Gummi Bear could eat? I don’t think people. So, we’re safe, and potentially full of delicious candy, if we want to go hunting. (Available at Threadless)
Adorable! This shirt shows the lengths a hungry bear will go to to get honey. Bees, from what I’m to understand, are pretty smart, though. They might see through his ruse and recognize that the wings are actually tied onto his back. Plus, he’s pretty big for a bee, I’m not sure he could even fit into the hive. Still, honey is pretty awesome, so I can understand why he has to at least try. (Available at Threadless)
Not to be confused with the Adam Sandler movie, this shirt with a little boy leaning back on a friendly bear in the middle of the woods is pretty awesome. It reminds me of Where the Wild Things are or My Neighbor Totoro – where traditionally ferocious forest creatures are friendly to the small children that find them. Well, maybe the bear and the raccoon – I’m not sure bunnies and tweety birds are ever ferocious. (Available at Threadless)
