It was Disney's second theatrical film based on an attraction at one of its theme parks, and the third overall film based on an attraction following the television filmTower of Terror (1997) and the theatrically released Mission to Mars (2000). The film was released theatrically in the United States on July 26, 2002. This was Hastings' directorial debut, and it was a critical and commercial flop, grossing $18 million of its $35 million budget.
Plot
In a universe where anthropomorphic bears coexist with humans, an all-bear country rock band called The Country Bears disbanded in 1991 after years of popularity. Beary Barrington, a preteen bear adopted and raised by a human family, feels different. His adoptive parents tell him his family love him unconditionally and that differences lead everyone to their purposes. When Beary's adoptive older brother, Dex, tells him the truth about his background, Beary runs away and ventures out to the Country Bear Hall, the Country Bears' former concert hall.
Beary learns from the caretaker Big Al and the band's manager Henry Dixon Taylor that Country Bear Hall is threatened with destruction by greedy banker Reed Thimple. After many attempts to save Country Bear Hall, Beary suggests that Henry hold a benefit concert and the two set out to reunite the group with the band's bus driver and drummer Roadie. The Barringtons enlist police officers Cheets and Hamm to find Beary.
First, they recruit Fred Bedderhead, the harmonica and electric bass player, who works as a security guard on the set of pop singer Krystal's latest music video. Henry needs promotion and Beary suggests the group's former promoter Rip Holland, whom Henry claimed had "stolen" the Country Bears. Henry phones Rip who gladly agrees to promote the show. Fred mentions a talent show history where they defeated an armpit musician named Benny Bogswaggle, who flew into an angry meltdown and struck Zeb Zoober with a wooden chair. Thimple approaches Big Al and learns about the Country Bears' plan and about Holland promoting the show.
Next, they approach the band's fiddler Zeb Zoober, who has spent years drinking honey and owes a $500 bar tab. Zeb wants to return but must pay his debt. Beary places a bet to let Zeb off the hook by beating the house band in a playoff. Zeb starts his performance poorly but wins after warming up. Officer Cheets and Officer Hamm approach Big Al for directions to where Beary went. Because of miscommunication, the officers think the bears have kidnapped Beary.
Tennessee O'Neal, the one-string guitar player, is now a marriage counselor. He is very reluctant to rejoin the band because he wants to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend Trixie St. Claire, the band's keyboard player. After being chased by Officers Cheets and Hamm through a car wash, the Country Bears stop at a motel where Trixie St. Claire is performing. Tennessee sings a duet with her, and she comes with the band to their reunion.
They finally head out to find Ted Bedderhead, the lead vocalist and guitarist. They learn from Elton John that Ted, who appears very wealthy, is at a wedding at the local country club. After Ted has the other Country Bears members leave (except Fred), Fred finds Ted and learns that he is only a wedding singer. Fred knocks out Ted and drags him onto the bus. Zeb claims Ted to be the reason for the band's disestablishment, but Ted claims he held them together. Ted says the real problem was Zeb's drinking, Tennessee's emotional outbursts, and Fred's immaturity. Beary reminds them that they claimed each other to be family in a People magazine. Still, Ted says it was meaningless publicity and tells him that he doesn't know anything about the real bears and that they are not a family. Beary realizes the real meaning of family and returns home, where he is happily reunited.
The Country Bears read Beary's school essay about them and realize that Beary was right. Reconciling with Beary, Ted goes over to Beary's house, then apologizes for taking his anger out on him and tells Beary how much he has helped them and they will only do the show with Beary. They learn from Roadie that Thimple kidnaps the rest of the Country Bears and steals the bus. Thimple reveals he is Benny Bogswaggle and seeks vengeance on The Country Bears for stealing his chance at fame. Beary, his family, and Ted track down and rescue the band, and they head to the concert together.
There, they discover that Thimple paid Rip not to promote the show. Big Al suddenly arrives and reveals, to everyone's surprise, that he promoted the show himself, and everyone is in a different parking lot. A surge of people rushes in. Defeated, Thimple is driven out of the building while vowing that his feud is not over. The money raised from the concert is enough to save the hall and the Country Bears perform with Beary as a new member of the band.
Cast
Live action
Christopher Walken as Reed Thimple, a banker who plots to destroy the Country Bear Hall. He is actually an armpit musician named Benny Bogswaggle who harbors ill will towards the Country Bears after losing a talent competition to them long ago.
Michael Lawrence Morgan as Young Benny Bogswaggle
Stephen Tobolowsky as Norbert Barrington, Beary's honorable and good-natured adoptive father.
Krystal as Herself, she was seen filming a music video.
Don Henley as Himself, he appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
John Hiatt as Himself, he appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Wyclef Jean as Himself, he appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Sir Elton John as Himself, he is mistaken as Ted's gardener by the other Country Bears and has allowed Ted to bunk with him and later appears in a documentary about the Country Bears.
Queen Latifah as Herself, she appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Latifah also plays "Cha Cha", the manager of the Swarming Hive Honey Bar restaurant.
Willie Nelson as Himself, he appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Bonnie Raitt as Herself, she appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Brian Setzer as Himself, he appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Brian Setzer also plays the lead in the house band that Zeb duels against.
Don Was as Himself, he appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Xzibit as Himself, he appears in the documentaries about the Country Bears.
Voice cast
Haley Joel Osment as Beary Barrington, an optimistic bear cub who idolizes the Country Bears.
Diedrich Bader as Ted Bedderhead, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the Country Bears, and Fred's older brother who became a wedding singer ever since the Country Bears broke up.
Candy Ford as Trixie St. Claire, the keyboardist and Tennessee's girlfriend who broke up with him following the Country Bears' break-up to date a wealthy panda for a brief time and worked as a singer at a motel. She later rekindles her relationship with Tennessee upon the Country Bears getting back together.
James Gammon as Big Al, the sluggish and elderly property caretaker for the Country Bear Hall who is protective of the grass in front of the Country Bear Hall.
Brad Garrett as Fred Bedderhead, the harmonica player and bassist of the band, and Ted's younger brother, who worked as a security guard.
Toby Huss as Tennessee O'Neal, the one-string guitar player in the band who worked as a marriage counselor ever since the Country Bears broke up. He is the most sensitive of the band.
Stephen Root as Zeb Zoober, the fiddle player for The Country Bears who owed money to Cha Cha following the Country Bears breaking up. He is the most naive of the band.
Puppeteers
Alice Dinnean as Beary Barrington (facial assistant)
Misty Rosas as Beary Barrington (in-suit performer)
Tony Sabin Prince as Zeb Zoober (in-suit performer)
Some of the puppeteers made cameos in the movie:
Buescher, St. Michael, and Hardin were seen at the Swarming Hive Honey Bar where Buescher played a waitress and St. Michael is seen as a patron with a tattoo of Tennessee on his arm (which was painted on him by Buescher).
La Rosa and his wife Bess were seen as patrons at the hotel bar where Trixie was performing.
Production
Development began when Disney VP of Production Brigham Taylor took his family to Disneyland and decided the ride would make a good movie.[3] Many within the company were skeptical of the concept, but Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group prexy Nina Jacobson was sold on the concept and immediately pushed the film into production with the blessing of then-Disney chairman Peter Schneider.[3] The movie was fast-tracked into production, both because of its low cost and to have releasable product on hand in the event of an impending writers strike.[3]
Filming took place from March 15, 2001, to August 21, 2001. It was filmed in Franklin, Tennessee as well as various locations in California.[5] The film was also the last film role for Daryl Mitchell before he became a paraplegic from a motorcycle accident on November 10, 2001, eight months before the film was released theatrically.
The film was released on VHS and DVD on December 17, 2002. The film was filmed in 1.85:1 widescreen. All copies present the film in 1.33:1 fullscreen.[7][8] This DVD release is THX certified, featuring a music video, an audio commentary, a documentary and other bonus materials.[9]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 31% based on 85 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critic consensus states: "Despite all the celebrities on hand, this spin-off from a theme park attraction still feels tired and hokey."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 21 critics, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews".[12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[13]
A. O. Scott of The New York Times gave the film a score of two out of five, explaining that "the plot combines The Blues Brothers and Almost Famous (but with bears, and a G rating), with an excruciating dollop of Disney sentimentality mixed in for good measure."[14] Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a two out of four stars and said, "the formidable technical skills in The Country Bears must not be allowed to distract from the film's terminal inanity."[15] Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDwire gave it a one-and-a-half out of four rating, calling it "an outdated, Chuck E. Cheese-quality Disneyland attraction...turn it into a trite, cliche-packed embarrassment of a feature film."[16] Emma Cochrane of Empire gave the film a two out of five stars and said, "Too American, too country, too much like a slick, band extension cash-in, Country Bears hovers between cult video hit and utter rubbish, never being compellingly either."[17]
