Walt Disney Pictures used to be the center of original family entertainment year after year. It used to be the studio that all others looked up to for the next big thing for children young and old. What happened?! It seems the once center of fantasy magic has had a drought in the department of original ideas as the company recently announced the rollout of three live-action feature films based the Mouse House’s theme park attractions. The first of these to test the mainstream waters is The Country Bears with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Haunted Mansion soon to follow. Along with these attraction-based features, the studio will be digging through their archives and updating such classics as The Shaggy Dog and Freaky Friday. Will this work in revitalizing the studio’s sagging box office returns? Hard to say at this point but critics have already given a thumbs down on the matter.

The story focuses on the adventures of a young talking bear out to discover his roots and reunites an old band in the process. Beary Barrington (some joke, huh?) always knew he was different then other boys but when his older brother informs him that he is adopted, the bear cub runs away figuring he doesn’t fit into his adopted family. Beary sets out to seek his higher purpose in life and along the way he falls upon Bear Hall, the former home of his favorite band, The Country Bears. Unfortunately due to conflicting issues amongst the band members, they broke years ago and the Hall is faced with destruction if $20,000 isn’t paid in time. Beary’s new mission is to reunite the old members of The Country Bears so that they can perform a benefit concert to save Bear Hall before it meets the wrecking ball. The story for The Country Bears resembles that of the theme park attraction, from which this is based on, in that it offers a few catchy tunes but the performance wares on as the show rolls along. The uninventive storyline is all too familiar to the plot for the Blue Brothers 2000, thus the whole movie seems uncontrived and lacking in the least sense of substance.

Most of the main characters for the film are … well, you guessed it, bears! Actually, they are audio animatronic puppets, created by the talented folks at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, who have facial expressions controlled by puppeteers off screen but have a person inside the costume walking through the scenes. Granted there are some human characters within the feature but they are as interesting as the audio-animatronic bears. Beary’s family, unfortunately, is like any other typical Disney movie family complete with the loving father, worried mother and punky older brother. These were the least interesting characters in the film, which defeats the film’s message of the importance of family entirely. Deidrich Bader and Daryl Mitchell offer some off-beat comic relief as Officer Cheets and Officer Hamm (get the joke?) but intentions can be deceiving especially by viewing the trailer for the film. They aren’t nearly as funny as television spots made them out to be and the filmmakers seem to know this as the two officers seem to disappear completely near the end of the film. The only redeeming factor is the casting of Christopher Walken, who never seems to disappoint his fans. He presents a relatively serious character in the beginning but manages to make humorous in the long run.

Overall, The Country Bears is one of the most unoriginal feature films of the year and quite a disappointing start to Disney’s theme park feature rollout. There is little to compliment this film, though one can make the argument about the music. The songs themselves, for the most part, were catchy and get your foot tapping every now and then but if you want to go for the music then just go to the local store and buy the soundtrack. The main problem with the musical numbers, though, is the feeling that they are too staged. Someone in the course of the film would utter a one line comment and then suddenly the entire cast would brake out into a song and dance number. Outside of Christopher Walken and some of the songs, The Country Bears leaves little to the imagination. Note that the film is intended for children and thus this review may be meaningless to them. Take this into consideration when taking the children to the film. But if you are a parent and hate to be dragged to this then follow my suggestion: Sit back, relax, pay attention when Christopher Walken comes on screen, tap your foot to some of the music and thank God that they didn't make an It's A Small World movie.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4