'We Bare Bears' creator reveals inspiration behind Ice Bear

As we say goodbye to "We Bare Bears," can we all just appreciate Ice Bear?

He's the stoic white polar bear who likes to refer to himself in the third person and speaks only in one-liners throughout the show.

But don't let his cuddly and chill persona fool you — Ice Bear is actually the biggest and the strongest out of the bear brothers despite being the youngest. He also has an impressive set of amazing abilities that usually come in handy whenever his older brothers Grizzly and Panda need saving.

A legend like that couldn't possibly go unnoticed, so GMA News Online asked the show's award-winning creator Daniel Chong how he came up with such an iconic character.

The San Francisco Bay Area-based animator shared that he actually took inspiration from his mom, but admitted that he also saw a bit of himself in the cartoon polar bear.

"In some aspects, he (Ice Bear) is me, you know? When I'm with my family, I think I have a little Ice Bear that comes out," Chong said in a roundtable interview.

"And another thing Ice Bear was inspired by was my mom. My mom, she sometimes spoke in the third person and sometimes would say like ‘mom wants to know when you're coming home’ or ‘mom wants to know how your week was... And, obviously, she took care of all of us in the same way as Ice bear takes care of his brothers, you know?" he added.

Basically, Ice Bear was created "place of love" and Chong was glad to know people responded to it so well during the show's four-season run.

According to the creator, Ice Bear became a crowd favorite for a lot of reasons.

He always has the best punchlines and always ended the episode with the best joke. He can do all these amazing stunts and is handy with things like throwing ninja stars, but he also does most of the chores in the house and doesn't hesitate to protect his brothers.

And even if Ice Bear is very smart and talented, his quiet persona and chill approach to life was also made very relatable.

"We all wish we were him in some ways, you know?" Daniel explained. "We all wish we could speak you know dozens of languages, we all wish we could do flips and beat up bad guys and we all wish that we were bold and strong and fearless like him, you know?"

"And he's not without his flaws. He does have some, and I think his speaking being so limited is one of 'em but, yeah, I think that is one of the reasons that people love him so much," he added.

"We Bear Bears" has been a beloved animated series since it came out on Cartoon Network in 2015.

Known for its cute and cuddly characters, vibrant storyline and light, family-friendly humor, the Emmy-nominated cartoon has amassed millions of fans from different age groups all over the world.

Saying goodbye to Griz, Panda and Ice Bear may not come easily for all the fans who found joy and comfort in the show, but "We Bare Bears" continues to be available on various platforms including Cartoon Network and Netflix. Chong also confirmed that there will be a spin-off series.

"We Bare Bears: The Movie," which concludes the series, is set to arrive in the Philippines on September 12, 2020. —JCB, GMA News