Care Bears

The Care Bears started life on greeting cards in 1981, which explains a lot about them. They were designed to be looked at fondly, and four decades later that still works. Each bear is one colour, one feeling, and one symbol stamped on its stomach.

The concept is almost aggressively simple. Tenderheart handles love, Cheer handles optimism, Grumpy handles the very important job of not being cheerful, and when things go badly they all line up and shoot rainbows out of their bellies at the problem. It should be ridiculous. It somehow isn't.

What makes the franchise last is that it never pretends feelings are easy. Care-a-Lot exists because someone decided sadness needed a counterweight, and Grumpy Bear gets to stay grumpy without anyone trying to fix him. That's a kinder message than most cartoons manage.

These cursors keep the pastel palette and the round, soft shapes - belly badges, cloud cars, star buddies, and bears in every colour the eighties had available. They sit especially well against a dark desktop, where the colours actually pop.

If your screen could use something gentler than a grey arrow, start here. Pick the bear whose mood matches yours today, and swap it out tomorrow.