The Country Bears (2002) User Reviews

Had its moments...

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 22 February 2011]

I personally do not think The Country Bears is that great, but I also don't think it is that bad either. I can think of worse movies that have a higher rating, but I can also think of better movies too. The Country Bears may have a lot of faults, that I agree, it does have its good points.

Let's start with the good points shall we? First and foremost, Christopher Walken seems to be really enjoying himself as the villain of the piece, he is deliciously theatrical and really breathes life into any shortcomings the film has. The soundtrack is also great, country-and-western music I can take or leave but it was used and performed very well here. Most of the cameos are pretty entertaining, it was nice to see Elton John, Willie Nelson and Queen Latifah, while the production values are good, Haley Joel Osment is appealing and the country bears of the title are convincingly played.

However, the film does have its shortcomings, starting with the length. The film is too short, and could have been longer with a little more detail to plot. I didn't mind the plot was simple, some of my favourite films have simple stories, but it is a predictable and rushed one with an ending you can smell a mile off. The script is also rather weak likewise with the jokes some of which were embarrassing(1812 Overture played with the arm-pits, what next?), the film is rushed I think and the direction is sloppy.

So overall, The Country Bears had its moments, and it is much better than the trailer which was embarrassing, but it wasn't enough to sustain into a good enough film. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Even these actors can't save this film.

[SuperNoah · 4/10 · 3 January 2003]

As I watched this movie, I couldn't help but think it must have been taken from the Disney Channel. Look at all the Disney standards: taken straight from, and in order to promote, their theme park division; hero feels out of place and quests for self-fulfillment; and random musical numbers totally out-of-place with the film (unlike animated musicals, the music in this movie is, in many cases, supposed to be spontaneously created from whatever's around, but is really overdone; it's hard to willfully suspend that much disbelief.).

One GOOD thing about the movie is that most of the cast is well-known (household names like Walken and Osment join veteran voice talents Huss and Root, alongside the familiar faces of Mitchell and Bader); yet even such a strong cast (which also features Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond) can't rescue a script (and premise) that was doomed from the start. The cops and mom are stereotypes, the dad is an exaggeration, and Dex, who SHOULD be the sanest family member, can't help but fall into Disney's "everyone loves everyone" mode despite his efforts not to. While most of this is allowable to some extent in a movie aimed to kids... this is excessive. I watched it with a group of kids, and most were bored. Seems to me that to really enjoy this movie, one must combine a child's tolerance for saccharine moments with an adult's attention span. Otherwise, it's a below-average movie propped up by strong acting talent and slick animatronics.

Great for children and inner children

[Seraphim99 · 4/10 · 27 December 2004]

I'd never heard of the Country Bears before - even the Disney attraction - and picked up the DVD for half price as a 'stocking filler' for my 8-year-old. I was pleasantly surprised - it's great to see something so innocent and good hearted that isn't packed with the sort of mawkish sentimentality that often finds its way into kids' films. The bears are the stars of the show, with some excellent costume puppetry and some great characters (my favourite is Zeb, who plays a mean fiddle). The story is a simple one, and you know how it's going to end. And I usually hate country music, but enjoyed the rocky tunes that punctuate the movie. This is the sort of thing that will keep most kids amused for an hour and a half - and any adult who can let their inner child out for a bit will get a kick out of it too. I'd be happy to see more of the Country Bears...

wow, the guys at Disney are on some high quality drugs here...

[gijoe nut · 4 August 2002]

it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be (c'mon, the trailer is just painful to watch), but man o man, there's some trippy things in this movie, and they actually make it worth watching.

the musical sequence at the diner in the middle of the movie is painful to watch, but I was laughing so hard that it didn't matter; that is PERFECT satire of the entire genre of movie musicals with the talented character breaking out in song randomly and having everyone else in the scene break out in choreographed dance. The song the waitress sung was awful, but the parody was genius.

the cameos by so many of today's artists are priceless, especially the out-of-the-blue appearances of Xibit and Elton John. I'm not sure why any of the reviews I read of the film never mentioned so many famous people wandering in and out of this movie, but I'm glad they didn't because they all cool surprises. (on a side note, why Mr. Walken never showed up in the trailer is beyond me, but his performance here is priceless!)

the prospect of the actor playing Beary's "brother" going from being Stifler's little brother in Pie and Pie 2 to this nicely obnoxious kid who has a bear for a sibling is just so absurd it's funny.

the country music numbers were kick-@$$ enough to make me consider buying the soundtrack...

and the groundskeeper bear was funniest thing in the whole movie to me, he cracked me up all the way through. heck, they can spin him off into his own show if they want, I liked him.

I'm not going to go around recommending this weirdness of a movie to people, but I say give it a try; do NOT form an opinion based on the trailer, because it's not fair to the movie itself. It might not be the world's most intelligent movie, but it was worth watching for sure. (And seriously, the talking bears thing might work for a theme park attraction, but the idea of human-like bears living amongst humans just makes me wonder how much LSD the writers of the screenplay had dipped...)

I give "The Country Bears" a 7 out of 10, it really wasn't bad, just really trippy and weird!

Bearly Tolerable

[StevePulaski · 2/10 · 4 July 2010]

This is without a doubt one of the creepiest kids movies I have ever seen. Scarier and even more grim than How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The Country Bears are based on an attraction at the Disneyland Theme Park, but who thought a movie on these creepy bears would be a good film and declare it greenlight? I remember when this film came out I said it was scary and odd. But in 2010, I faced my fear and pressed play on this pathetic excuse for a film.

If you've seen the bears in this movie, you know why this was panned. The bears are overwhelmingly fake and just cant be taken seriously. I believe that the technical effects were either CGI or just guys in suits. Either way, it looks appalling. Not one human cares that they are on the same floor as a bear. I'm waiting for the actor to just start laughing. How anyone, especially Christopher Walken can take this seriously is beyond me. This is a joke. Christopher Walken is a great actor, who's nice to see in a film, but he is just letting his career slip when doing crap like this and the 2006 "Comedy" Click.

The plot involves Beary (voiced by Haley Joel Osment) a bear obviously who runs away, after learning he is adopted, to Country Bear Hall to see the band try and reunite the band he idolizes after a ten year absence. Country Bear Hall is going to be tore down by Reed Thimple (Christopher Walken). Beary is determined to get the band back together to once more hear their music, and to save Country Bear Hall.

This plot probably wouldn't have pulled through for any other movie. The plot isn't special, we know they'll find a way to save it, and to top it all off, Country Bear Hall doesn't even exist so why care? But the fact that bears are the lead singers makes the film even worse. The imagination may have worked for a five year old kids dream or a thirty year old's nightmare, but an 88 minute movie watching bears prance around the stage singing cover songs is WAY too excessive. We should get a kick too on how Willie Nelson and Elton John state they got inspired by creepy talking bears. Did singing bears really inspire Willie and Elton to sing the spectacular songs they sing today? Who knows? Back to the Christopher Walken issue again, it's just an honest shame to see him waste his talents in an abysmal film like this. Its torture to watch a great actor do a poor job and play as someone he's not meant to play. Like Robert DeNiro in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle. Its a mystery why no other well known actors were used. If you're going to ruin Walken's career, why not take on Nicholas Cage's? Robert DeNiro's career? Leonardo DeCaprio's career? Or do they know better not to be in a film with bears? Probably, anyone would. Except for Walken.

Starring: Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Michael Richardson, Diedrich Bader, Brad Garrett, Stephen Root, Toby Huss, Candy Ford, James Gammon. Directed by: Peter Hastings.

All you need to know about this one...

[GrandpaBunche · 1/10 · 6 January 2010]

..is that it contains the indelible sight of Christopher Walken performing "The 1812 Overture" via armpit farts — yes, you read that right — for a captive audience of bipedal, talking redneck bears. And Walken is joined in this bit of lysergic lunacy by no less than Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Alex Rocco, Willie Nelson (!!!) Wyclef jean and Brian Setzer, so it's simply got one brain-trampling moment after another. Yeah, I know it's a kid's film, but what kids were clamoring to see this? Was it made as a tax write-off? But even with those burning questions in mind, it's certainly a truly bad movie, but I sat through it in a state of greatly amused slack-jawed disbelief, so I say see it. Preferably girded with a couple of sixers of beer.

Disney has hit bottom!!!!

[srmccarthy · 1/10 · 13 December 2002]

"Awful" is an understatement for this movie! It is an absolutely loathsome attempt by Disney to entertain children of the 21st century by the standards they expect them to have! They could not be further from the truth! Today children are a lot more mature than when I was a child (and you might say that it is sad that kids can't be kids).

This movie has people in bear costumes acting like people. In my opinion, I would like to request that they "MAKE UP THEIR MIND!". In other words, why can't we feel compassion for a person instead of a puppet! Let the people BE people!

Sorry Disney, but this attempted "Stuart Little" rip off does not even come close! Please try examine movies like "Old Yeller" to get an idea of what is desired by your viewing audience

Bad

[Spanner-2 · 3/10 · 30 July 2002]

Unfunny adaption of the Disneyland attraction. The film tries to follow the "Blues Brothers" formula of "let's get the band back together" and basicaly bores the audience to death in the process.. For the very young only, anyone else will find themselves looking at their watches a few minutes into the film. GRADE: D-

A Disgrace to Mankind

[sheagallagher · 1/10 · 3 November 2014]

I surely cannot be alone in the notion that The Country Bears is one of the most abominable creations in the history of cinema. It is weak, rambling, incoherent, unfunny, irritating, tedious and just plain stupid. With no shortage of bizarrely and ridiculously out-of-place moments, watching The Country Bears is a harrowing experience. A worthless and shameful film, it seems as though Disney has tried to hush this disgrace up as much as they could; I, unfortunately, stumbled upon it anyway at the recommendation of a supposed friend.

Based on a theme park ride, The Country Bears tells the story of a fictional band of anthropomorphic bears who have not only gained the ability to interact with humans, but also to play country music at an adept level, and do so without any question from the human race. This concept alone is awfully flimsy, but one would assume a company as experienced as Disney would be able to pull it off for a family film.

They couldn't.

After a nauseating montage of bears playing god-awful country music, the audience (already molested on a cinematic level) is subjected to a dinner table scene that rivals that of Eraserhead on the defecate-yourself-in-fright-o-meter. Beary Barrington (a bear, just in case you hadn't guessed) decides to confront his human parents about the nature of his upbringing, as he is beginning to feel left out. It turns out that Beary is on to something, because although his parents deny anything fishy, stating that they will always love him no matter what, Beary's human brother Dex reveals to him that he is adopted. Enraged at this utterly shocking revelation, Beary leaves home and embarks on the trip of a lifetime.

Because he is the number one fan of the Country Bears, Beary heads to Country Bear Hall, the primary concert hall for the band before they split up. It is there that Beary learns from the property caretaker and the Country Bears' manager (who both happen to be at Country Bear Hall at the precise moment Beary arrives) that there are plans to demolish the building. Overseeing this act of pure evil is unhinged banker Reed Thimple – played by Christopher Walken.

To raise money for Country Bear Hall, Beary Barrington's IQ boosts itself by several hundred points and Beary suggests getting the band back together to do one final gig. Henry, the band's manager, seems to think this is a good idea and thus begins the odyssey of torturous ursine antics.

Imagine the first half of the 2011 Muppet film, except devoid of any wit whatsoever. The movie takes a standard road-trip story, and whilst trying and failing miserably to be a biting satire of country bands, throws in poorly thought-out (and equally as poorly executed) sequences of slapstick violence, turgid musical performances, and pseudo-Spielbergian familiarity, all to create a haemorrhage-inducing nightmare.

After a painfully irrelevant musical act in a restaurant, the band of bears discover they are wanted by the police for supposedly "kidnapping" Beary Barrington. Cue a police chase that would give Bullitt a run for its money, which features the policemen being sucked out of the patrol car into a car wash and subjected to the horrors of automobile cleaning, resulting in a side-splitting gag involving the policemen's disheveled hair.

At the wedding, the bears find Ted, but he refuses to play the last Country Bears gig (for reasons undisclosed). Instead of actually coming up with an intelligent way to resolve this problem, screenwriter Mark Perez settles the matter with one of the bears punching Ted in the face (knocking him out) and dragging him onto the bus against his will. When Ted regains consciousness, it's not touched on again.

Soon the Country Bears are fighting amongst each other about whether or not they are in fact a family (not in blood, but in bond). Beary Barrington somehow comes to the conclusion that the humans that raised him are his real family (totally irrespective of the fact that he is a bear), and thus he returns to his home to reunite with his human parents and brother. After finding and reading a piece of fan-mail from Beary, telling the Country Bears how much they meant to him, Ted visits Beary and apologises, seeing the error of his ways.

The film builds to a stunning climax as Christopher Walken kidnaps and threatens to kill the other Country Bears. It is at this point where the film dishes out a twist that would make even M. Night Shayamalan writhe with shock. I shan't spoil it for you, but I will say that Christopher Walken's character is a lot more layered than we were led to believe, and Mr Walken really gets to show off his acting chops.

Sarcasm aside, all the problems are resolved more or less peacefully (or not resolved at all), and the film finishes with not one, but TWO terrible songs from the Country Bears in their last gig. Beary Barrington even gets to perform with his idols, despite having no practice with them (or anyone else, for that matter). It makes no sense for the bears to be able to play musical instruments anyway – they don't have the thumbs for it.

The atrocious pacing and the vacuously prosaic music don't help this dire trainwreck of a movie, but it's the pathetic excuse for a screenplay that really turns this film to trash. The only thing redeemable about this film is Christopher Walken, but even his performance is only enjoyable from an ironic angle. The Country Bears is an insult to music, an insult to cinema, and an insult to the minds of children. I'm ashamed for the human race that this film has seen the light of day, and I hope that maybe we can learn from this heinous mistake so that the future may be a brighter place to live.

See it for the music, not for the story

[elonka · 6/10 · 27 July 2002]

I went into this movie with low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. It's actually less of a storyline movie than a loose shell to hold together some song & dance numbers, like an old-style musical. There are lots of cameos with famous artists from Elton John to Bonnie Raitt, Brian Setzer, Queen Latifah, and Don Henley, and a mix of musical styles so it's not all country. Plus there are some cute musical in-jokes here and there which the older people in the audience will get (if any of them actually go see it). I can also see this movie having some good replay value on video, as some of the musical numbers are excellent. The movie's weakest points, in my opinion, are in the story & plot, which feels rushed and silly, despite some good comedic performances by the actors (I always enjoy Stephen Tobolowsky's work, and Christopher Walken is always a pleasure to watch). Another strong point was the special effects, as the bear's faces and bodies portrayed emotion extremely well. But even with that, sometimes I'd be thinking during the movie, "Okay, enough of the silly sight gags and Keystone Cop chase scenes, let's get another musical number going." Overall, I'd give the musical parts of the movie an 8 out of 10, and the plot/story about a 4. But I'd definitely be willing to go watch it again.

I got some bad news for you. The Country Bears was unbearable.

[ironhorse_iv · 3/10 · 9 July 2016]

Honestly, I really don't get why this movie directed by Peter Hastings was even made!? It's pretty odd that Walt Disney Company would made a movie out of a really old outdated Disneyland attraction where animatronic bears sing country songs. Yes, I know, the show at one time, was once overwhelming popular, but in 2001, 'The Country Bear Jamboree' was nothing, but relic of what it was, was. After all, during that same year, Disneyland closed the Jamboree show, due to poor attendance and replaced it with 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'. While, it's true, that the other Country Bear Jamboree shows in the other Disney theme parks, are still open, as of this writing, however, it didn't help bring the viewers to see this movie. Budgeted at US$35 million, it grossed $16 million in the US and an additional $1 million overseas. The film flopped so badly in the U.S., it was released straight to video in the UK in 2003. That's really, really horrible! I think, one of the biggest reasons, why this movie fail to reach an audience, is because the movie barely use the source material, right. While, the movie use a lot of the original names, none of the bear characters in the film, really matches, their original persona. A good example is how the movie thinks that Big Al (Voiced by James Gammon) is a sluggish and elderly property caretaker for The Country Bear Hall & Henry Dixen Taylor (Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is the band's manager, when in truth, both were part of the show, playing the guitar and being the Master of Ceremonies. Also, the main band of the show wasn't call, 'Country Bears'. It was call 'The Five Bear Rugs' which most of the characters in the film, were members of. Also, Ted Bedderhead (Voiced by Diedrich Bader) was never the leader of the band, as that role was for, the very surprising absent, Zeke, whom along with Oscar isn't in the film. Also, Trixie St. Claire (Voiced by Candy Ford) was never part of the original band, nor was dating Tennessee O'Neal (voiced by Toby Huss). In the original show, she had a slight crush on Henry. I was also, somewhat disappointed, with the film, due to the absent of classic characters like the Sun Bonnet Trio and the talking mounted animal heads, Buff, Max, and Melvin. Where the hell, was them!? Instead, the film follows a new bear character named Beary Barrington (Voiced by Haley Joel Osment), whom trying to reunited the long-since broken-up band in an attempt to reunite for one final show to save their own concert hall from the evil banker, Reed Thimble (Christopher Walken). Without spoiling the film, too much, I have to say, I really didn't like how the idea of having the events, take place in a live action world where humans and talking anthropomorphic bears coexist. While, for the most part, the bear suits, designed and constructed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop kinda work, minus the singer, Elton John cameo scene; I think this movie would had work better if this film was a hand-drawn or computer animation cartoon. It comes across, somewhat jarring and creepy to see people interact with men in puppet bear suits. Another thing, I really didn't like, how the voice-acting didn't match up with the singing voices. It's really weird to see, a character with a normal gravelly voice, be able to sing a beautiful power ballad in a few scenes later. The music that came with the film was alright for the most part. Nothing too memorable to note of; but I couldn't stand, on how forced and randomly out of place, some of these musical numbers, come from. Also, the celebrity cameos for this film, was kinda weak. Honestly, I never even heard of singers, Krystal Marie Harris or Jennifer Paige before this, or after. Despite that, I did like the cameos of Jess Harnell, Don Henley, Willie Nelsen and others. Another problem with this film is the humor. It's not really that funny. It was mostly a miss than a hit for me, because of how dumb, some of the jokes, were. Plus, I really didn't like, how they recycle jokes from older films like 1979's 'The Jerk', 1979's 'The Muppet Movie' & 1980's 'The Blues Brothers'. It didn't seem, so creative. It made everybody in the film, look like total idiots. It's sad to see Christopher Walken sink so low. Overall: Disney's third movie based on a ride or attraction, following 1997's 'Tower of Terror' and 2000's 'Mission to Mars' was indeed a failure. Thank God, 2003's 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl', somewhat save the idea. I can only hope, future Disney movies based on their theme rides would be awesome, and not awful like 2003's 'The Haunted Mansion' or this film.

I have the DVD because.... IT'S A DAMN FUNNY MOVIE

[Punjana · 10/10 · 12 July 2015]

3.9? only 3.9 for this??? That's worse than 'plan 9 from outer space' (the worst movie of all time) This is just wrong people.

This IS one of the funniest films I have ever seen, and I first watched this at the tender age of 35. Christopher Walken had me almost wetting myself; "oh no!". Even now thinking about "oh no!" I'm giggling to myself. Officers Cheets and Hamm in the car wash? And who doesn't like bears that can talk and play guitar?

Yea it's totally preposterous, yea it's meant for kids, yea yea yea it's got singing bears in it.... but it's got gags and one-liners that will make you bust a rib.

Spinal Tap meets the Muppets..

[Raindogs70 · 7/10 · 5 March 2003]

The movie came off more as one of the Muppet movie, not because of the bear characters, but because of the cameos throughout the film, from Queen Latifah to Don Henley... I still think Muppet Movie was far better, and Charles Durning a better villain than Christopher Walken, who basically did a walk-on and made some silly faces. But the basic storyline about them getting back together will remind you of other bands that people have wanted to get back together for years...

Oh. My. Lord. This is actually a movie.

[matthewssilverhammer · 1/10 · 6 July 2017]

People got together, thought of the concept, wrote a script (assumedly) made of words, hired and fed a crew, filmed some stuff, edited together said stuff, and unleashed the product onto the world. If you've ever been to the Disney World attraction, and your favorite part was the somber family melodrama of the singing animatronic bears, then you're in luck. Otherwise, this is just a painful disaster that could not possibly be more ill-advised or ill-conceived.

I loved this movie.

[TheOutcast05 · 5 January 2003]

I don't know what people found wrong with this film. When I first saw the trailer, I didn't think much of it, but then I saw the DVD of it, and I loved it.

The music was good, and the story made sense (for a movie with talking bears) and considering it's based on a Disney Attractions that's been there since the beginning of Disney (or close) it's suprisingly fresh. Certain parts of the plot remind me of Blues Brothers (One of my Fav. movies) And that just added to it.

Don't listen to the people that bash this movie. Go see it and make ur own choice on it's worth.

Not worth speding money on

[Sparrow_in_flight · 1/10 · 29 September 2003]

I saw this movie over the summer at a Family Flicks night sponsored by our local park district. Fortunately for me, since I was there doing duty as a Police Explorer, I saw it free and half the time i was nowhere near the movie screen. The people who had to pay were really ripped off, even though they only paid a quarter. This is Disney at its worst.

nauseatingly bad

[robot-cat · 1/10 · 14 September 2004]

i'm amazed there are people that actually like this tripe.

i'm even more amazed that i made through the whole thing without falling asleep. (for you see i had been up all night.)

i didn't expect it be very good, but i was genuinely surprised about how bad it was. it was like watching a never ending train wreck.

80% of the movie is mostly a boring music video.

the rest filled with random cameos, lame dialogue, spots of slapstick, and a semblance of a plot.

a must see for those who enjoy viewing the occasional pile of dung. it will certainly give you more appreciation for the 1000's of great films that are available for your viewing pleasure.

1/10

Terrible movie; lame, boring, and trite.

[dollpenguin · 1/10 · 18 August 2006]

The Country Bears, based on an attraction at Disney World, features excellent voice talent. Sadly, the talented actors are wasted on lame dialog. I cannot recall a single humorous line spoken in this insipid waste of celluloid. The plot is very similar to the Blues Brothers, except instead of hilarious blues singers trying to reunite the old band, these are unamusing hillbilly bears trying to reunite the old band.

One way that the Country Bears fails miserably, is by not introducing any conflict. Instead of a story, this film is a string of predictable events leading to one logical conclusion. A five year old could predict the outcome of each scene in this motion picture. Long before it ended, I was bored to tears and just wishing the movie would reach its prognosticative conclusion.

I'll admit, the singing and dancing can be fun for fans of honkytonk music. It seems that the entire film was created as an excuse to make the bears sing and dance.

I would recommend skipping this movie, and taking the children to Chuckie Cheese instead. There, you can enjoy singing animals onstage and skip the mind-numbing dialog that is spoken throughout The Country Bears.

Musical Bears (sigh)

[Howlin Wolf · 1/10 · 16 February 2005]

... The contempt that I feel is my due after the lame punning of that summary (and believe me, that's quite a lot!) is NOTHING compared to the absolute unbridled contempt I hold for this movie... Now, I hate country music in general - always have; but bears? Eh, never really had a problem with 'em, since I've never stood in the way of a pot of honey, or roughed it alone in the woods with only a sleeping bag for protection...

Now I got a beef with bears *big time*... !!!!!!!! I don't care if I've never seen any 'real life' bears stage a rock concert; the pure awfulness of this movie has taught me the best course of action should I ever do: Nail those suckers with a 12-gauge... Do something for me, people; I don't care how - but find the gauche 40yr old 'mummys boy' who had the brainwave that he knew what the kids wanted, and it was this - find him, and smear honey all over his favourite body parts while I fetch Mr. Grizzly... It's the only way he and people like him will learn... Trust me, not only am I gracefully telling you to skip this; but you don't want the horror that would be "The Country Bears 2"... It truly boggles my mind that there must be some people out there who actually thought this might work... !!

I'm sure most of you reading have been to a theme-park, right??! Well then, you know of the 'sideshows' I am about to refer to. The ones where the stench of meat that is overcooked or undercooked - but never 'just right' - hangs thick in the air... Where parents take their cranky kids in hope of a brief respite after the children have just been sick following a massive sugar overdose. Does the sight of minimum wagers baking in a fur suit under the hot sun USUALLY make them feel better? No??! Well, my take is that most normal people won't even need the help of popcorn for them to throw up in a nice air-conditioned theatre if THIS is playing on screen! Hello???! - if THIS is 'live-action', then why have I seen better for loose change at times when the carnival has ridden into town???! Disney are really taking liberties this time, they don't even bother to dress the filthy stinking hobo in gents clothing...

Yes, I know it's a kids movie; but that's not even approaching any kind of viable excuse. It's already somewhat tarnished the reputation of ONE child star, merely by association... Careful Haley, or by the time you're a veteran in this business you'll have no qualms about demeaning yourself for money. Just ask Christopher Walken...

Kids; adults; bacterium - this THING is not fit to be in the company of any of 'em... !

Gag!

[zetes · 2/10 · 4 April 2003]

The reason I always get so p***ed off at those who demand that all the imdb ratings they give average out to 5.5 (or, if their math skills are poor, 5) is because I am rather sure that most people are smart enough to avoid movies like The Country Bears, thus missing the type of movies that would make a Bell Curve remotely possible. The reason my own vote history averages out to a high 7.5 is because I can see a preview for a movie like this and say `I'm never going to see this movie.' However, once in a while, I just have to bite the bullet and watch an awful movie. As long as it's short, how bad can it hurt? I usually watch these kinds of movies with my brother, who has a far less refined taste in movies than myself. I'm sure he sat down to watch this particular movie to see just how bad it could be (he rented it for his two and a half year old). And, oh lord, is it terrible. I don't know if I've ever heard lamer jokes delivered with worse timing. Some of the jokes might have even been funny if the actors cared whatsoever, but they really don't. Celebrities pop up in thankless cameos. You'd think Brian Setzer would know better. Christopher Walken tries hard to make something out of his role as the villain, who wants to knock down Country Bear Hall really bad (his hood ornament is a wrecking ball). The script is far too awful to allow him even a decent moment. Alex Rocco, Moe Green from the first Godfather movie, wears his hideous red wig and acts like he wants another bullet in the eyeball. The actual Country Bears wouldn't have been impressive when I was a kid; they made me long for the live action Ninja Turtles. Haley Joel Osment is lucky he didn't actually have to appear in the movie. My brother and I spent most of the movie fiercely debating whether the man who drove the Country Bear tour bus was played by Ted Nugent. Dammit, I lost the bet. I should have known Mr. Nugent had more integrity than that (for the record, Queen Latifah, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Wyclef Jean, and Willie Nelson do not). 2/10 (why 2 and not 1? Well, I liked a couple of the songs and that Krystal chick is hot).

a nice movie to get through a boring winter night

[Roy-K · 6/10 · 18 December 2002]

Well, I watched this movie today and I must say it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after reading most of the comments. It's a nice (family) movie that contains some funny scenes and some touching (atleast my girlfriend told me that ;-)) as well. It's about a young bear in a normal human family, and he realises that he doesn't fit in. In the past, there was a bear music group thingie, from which he thinks would suite him better. So he visits them and try to keep that group and their "club house" alive. This to find a proper home for him. But after a while he realises that wat he had wasn't so bad at all. Watching the movie on a boring winter night will do just fine. Don't watch it because you want to see a good movie. Because you will be dissapointed. The storyline of the movie isn't good enough to take your breath away during the 1.5 hours it lasts.

I noticed...

[cw64216 · 2/10 · 13 January 2008]

Aside from the fact that this was a sad excuse for a film, Did any other IMDb member take note that the restaurant where the bears all eat and the waitress sings their song to them in an extremely overdone production is the same restaurant from the outside as the one from 'Jawbreaker'? You know, when the girls have Liz Purr in the trunk of Courtney's car and they park in the parking lot and talk about how they're going to tie Liz up to a flag pole after stuffing her face with pancakes. I'm the kind of person who took notice to things like that especially when watching a movie that doesn't meet any of my standards. ha-ha But anyways, just let me know if I'm right in my observation. I love pointing out stuff like that.

Quite enjoyable, with great music and a cute story line!

[liplash · 10/10 · 23 February 2003]

I do not know what I can say to convince the world to see "The Country Bears". I loved the attraction at Disneyland and I **loved** the movie! I even dragged my hesitant spouse along to see it. We both agreed afterward, that it was quite enjoyable, with great music and a cute story line. We felt uplifted and happy for the rest of the day!

Wait for the rental.

[lschmalz · 6/10 · 5 August 2002]

If you've seen the trailer, you've already seen the best parts of this movie. Honestly. "Beary Barrington" is a bear who talks and lives with a human family and realizes one day that he's different. So he runs away, hoping to find his purpose in life by reuniting a now defunct singing bear band. After each encounter we are treated to a cheesy musical number, and some silly slapstick comedy. My five year old son thought the movie was "okay", but from an adult point of view, the characters (especially the old bears) are dull, the songs ridiculous, and the humor flat. Even the cameo appearances by such stars as Elton John, Don Henley and Bonnie Raitt can't add spark to this lifeless and predictable children's film.

Should have gone to hibernation instead

[boxcarracer · 1/10 · 25 September 2002]

Bad film about a bear cub trying to find his place in the world with a singing family of bears. Bad can't describe this film enough. It's so bad in fact that it's really down right disturbing to look at. The sad part of all of this is the fact that Christopher Walken does his ` Just doing it for the money cameo. Avoid at all cost.