3 Talk

The Country Bears

Released	2002
Running time	88 min.
Director	Peter Hastings
Written by	Mark Perez
Original music by	Christopher Young
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures
MPAA Rating	G

The Country Bears is a 2002 feature film by Walt Disney Pictures. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the animatronic Bears used for the film, which were performed by Henson puppeteers/suit performers.

Based on a former attraction at Disneyland, the Country Bear Jamboree, The Country Bears was the first in a series of attraction-based movies which include The Haunted Mansion, and the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. It is also one in a long line of live action Disney family films. The movie is a satire of Behind the Music rock & roll bands. Beary, a young bear raised by a human family in a world where humans and talking bears coexist, attempts to trace his roots. He meets up with the Country Bears, a long-since broken-up band, a parody of bands like the Eagles. Beary helps the Country Bears reunite for one final concert, while searching for who he truly is.

Unlike Disney animation, where the stars voices are laid down first, it was the puppeteers who worked closely with the director and it was their voices that were captured during the entire shoot as they operated the animatronic heads. This gave the Bears the ability to improv and be directed as on-set performers. The stars' voices were recorded later.

For the movie's premiere at the El Capitan in Hollywood, the Bears performed a live Rock Concert (The Country Bears Live). And for a limited run, they performed before showings of the film. This was done to a pre-recorded track, with animatronic puppeteers operating the faces on the side of the stage.

A few of the puppeteers had cameos in this film. Julianne Buescher, Jodi St. Michael, and Terri Hardin were in the Swarmin Hive Honey Bar (Buescher was a waitress and St. Michael had a tattoo of Tennessee on his arm, painted by Buescher). Brian La Rosa, along with his wife Bess, were a patrons at Trixie's nightclub.