BEARY APPEALING PBC INTERNATIONAL'S FURRY, HUGGABLE PRODUCTS WARBLING THEIR WAY TO LUCRATIVE PROFITS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

OXNARD - There's a bear sitting in Lionel Neff's palm, dressed in a flouncy purple tutu, singing Bette Midler's ``From a Distance.''

He's in a room full of fuzzy plush toys, all of which sing and dance, most dressed in showy costumes and oversize hats. One belts out Mariah Carey, while a polar bear in a flapper's feathers oozes Marilyn Monroe while cooing '`I Wanna Be Loved By You.''

Neff chuckles as he shows off the toys, but they form the foundation of a very serious business. He's chairman and chief executive officer of PBC International Inc., the gift maker that produces the Chantilly Lane bears. In the past few years, they've grown to account for 80 percent of the 26-year-old company's annual revenue, projected to hit $20 million this year.

In coming months, PBC will move the bears into international markets for the first time. A recently signed deal with candy maker Jelly Belly should push them into even more retailers than the more than 7,000 that currently sell the toys.

These 22-inch-high creatures, with their outlandish fashion sense and warbling singing voices, are business partners to reckon with.

``It all goes back to Teddy Roosevelt saving that bear,'' Neff mused - recalling the former president's refusal to kill a bear cub while hunting - and watching his creations belt their hearts out. ``Or when you're a kid and you got your first teddy bear. Maybe it's primal, I don't know. But I do know that no one wants to hug Teddy Frog.''

Talking to the goateed 56-year-old chief executive reveals some interesting contrasts. He's worked to develop both cotton-candy cute bears like the tiara-attired Midler impersonator and a remote-controlled flatulent dog that offers six different bodily noises.

He was once so touched by hearing Julio Iglesias croon a love song in concert that he rushed back to the office the next morning to find a way to license the tune for one of the bears. He also ruminates on ideas for the cuddly toys while roaring around the Conejo Valley on his Harley.

``We're all a little bit nuts here,'' said Collina Meyer, PBC's art director. ``That's why we work so well together.''

Altogether, the company sells more than 80 different characters, which use motors and digital voice boxes to reproduce standards and rock songs from a bygone era. Whether targeting seniors with gray-furred, glasses- wearing bears that sing ``When I'm 64'' or soft-hearted motorcyclists with a ``Born to Be Wild''-braying bulldog, PBC relentlessly pursues a noncontroversial, feel-good vibe.

``How can you resist picking it up and giving it a hug?'' said Caroline Kennedy, executive editor of the monthly trade magazine Gifts & Decorative Accessories. ``If it helps you feel better with a cute little line or something, how can you not grab it?''

Buyers appear to agree. Sales of the plush characters are up 40 percent this year, even before the crucial holiday sales period. To make way for the backlog of characters that PBC's built up, Neff's even been trying to retire some of the more popular ones, stoking interest in a new wave.

``In this world of doubt, it gives people hope,'' Neff said. ``The moment you see them play that music, you just see them light up and relax.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Lionel Neff, president and CEO of PBC International, shows the singing bears that have hiked revenue for the Oxnard firm.

PBC has inked a promotion with its singing bears and the candy maker Jelly Belly that it expects will further improve revenues.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer