Episode 116: The Big Little Visitor

Bear in the Big Blue House

Written by	Andy Yerkes
Director	Hugh Martin
Theme	Family

Book.A Surprise in the Mailbox — *A Surprise in the Mailbox*, the 1999 storybook adaptation of "The Big Little Visitor".

Tutter receives a letter in the mail that his Grandma Flutter is paying a visit to the Big Blue House. Bear informs Tutter that the letter says she's coming today, which sends Tutter into something of a panic. His Grandma likes for things to be clean, but Tutter doesn't feel there's enough time to get ready. Everyone in the Big Blue House helps Tutter to make a go of it. They clean up the house, Tutter cleans out his mousehole, and Pip and Pop weed the flowerbeds with Ojo's help. Having all gotten dirty, they take a bath. But then, Bear does the cha-cha-cha and Tutter joins, leaving him all hot and sweaty. Grandma Flutter arrives and Tutter learns she's just happy to see him. He even finds out some things he never knew about her before.

Songs[]

Notes[]

This episode was adapted in book form as A Surprise in the Mailbox.
Bear's definition of a family was redubbed by late 2002, with two pieces of dialogue rewritten to better represent the wide diversity of families:
- "Families come in all shapes, colors, and sizes" was changed to "It's really kind of hard to define a word like family."
- "Families live together" was changed to "No two families are alike."

The version released on Disney+ contains the original dialogue.

Bear comments that Grandma Flutter's letter must have been delayed in the mail. This is no surprise, as viewers later learn that the mail in Woodland Valley is delivered by a tortoise named Jeremiah. In the fourth-season episode, "A Strange Bird," Bear learns that a penguin named Puck is coming to the Big Blue House when he finds a two-week old postcard at the post office.
The closing credits refer to this episode as including the songs "What's In The Mail Today?" and "Everybody in the Tub." However, these two songs are heard only in brief instrumental forms.