News Country Bear Jamboree is getting new songs and acts

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Were the old songs SUPPOSED to be familiar? I presumed they just chose a bunch of funny and bizarre songs that fit the theme and jokes didn't expect anyone to go in knowing them already.

(Davy Crocket being the exception.)

What if they went down the unknown rabbit hole of Disney songs?

Age of Non Believing
Razzle Dazzle Day
Candle in the water
Lavender Blue
Any song from the Happiest Millionaire..

 

[James Alucobond]

So by extension, the songs in the original became part of the IP since (again, over time) many had never heard most of them anywhere else. In that way they were somewhat adopted by Disney and became "Disney" songs themselves.

Turning the show into yet another "greatest hits" singalong attraction makes the bears themselves less about originality and simply a disposable, easily interchangeable vehicle to promote what Disney sees as "the brand." It's a somewhat lazy approach and risks overexposing the guests to songs they've already heard a million times before.

I agree up to this point. The Country Bears were not updated in a timely manner, plain and simple. As a result, the references no longer came across as originally intended, and the entire affair relied on nostalgia for the attraction itself, not external cultural familiarity with the music. Now, I can agree with the last point that Disney film music may not be the most desirable path forward and contributes to homogenization of the parks, but keeping something way past its sell-by date such that it no longer lives up to its original promise does not magically transfigure it into a timelessly “Disney” experience.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

What if they went down the unknown rabbit hole of Disney songs?

Age of Non Believing
Razzle Dazzle Day
Candle in the water
Lavender Blue
Any song from the Happiest Millionaire..

Id have much preferred this. It's IP but it showcases the lesser known songs. Would it put butts in seats? Doubtful but it'd satisfy the mandate.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Age of Non Believing

Age of Not Believing and Feed the Birds are sacred and should not be used in any comical fashion.

 

[Virtual Toad]

I agree up to this point. The Country Bears were not updated in a timely manner, plain and simple. As a result, the references no longer came across as originally intended, and the entire affair relied on nostalgia for the attraction itself, not external cultural familiarity with the music. Now, I can agree with the last point that Disney film music may not be the most desirable path forward and contributes to homogenization of the parks, but keeping something way past its sell-by date such that it no longer lives up to its original promise does not magically transfigure it into a timelessly “Disney” experience.

But what makes one experience timeless (Small World? Pirates?) and another stale? Simply by the fact that the music for those attractions was written by Disney composers/artists and did not come from somewhere else?

Sure, "Blood on the Saddle" is no more original than Snow White or Sleeping Beauty or Little Mermaid or any one of a dozen fairy tales or other things appropriated by Disney over the years. But I can't think of many things more quintessentially "Disney" than Big Al singing "Blood on the Saddle." It's a classic WDW moment in a classic WDW show. A guaranteed crowd pleaser and timeless as it worked so well with the rest of the show.

I guess my point was that yes, the songs are old, but WED gave them new life in an attraction filled with brilliant writing, character and show design. So much so that the songs are considered less as outdated songs from somewhere else, and more "Disney" in that they've become part of a timeless, classic Disney attraction and aren't really recognized today as original songs outside the attraction at all.

 

[WorldExplorer]

What if they went down the unknown rabbit hole of Disney songs?

Age of Non Believing
Razzle Dazzle Day
Candle in the water
Lavender Blue
Any song from the Happiest Millionaire..

"We have removed Mama Don't Whoop Little Buford and Blood on the Saddle. In their place will be the classic Disney IP songs, Happiest Homes in These Hills and Every Little Piece."

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I was thinking about this on the thread talking about Cirque du Soleil - up until Iger, Disney Parks didn’t shove Disney IP down your throat. Downtown Disney didn’t used to have very much Disney at all…. It was House of Blues, Cirque du Soliel, Planet Hollywood, all of the Pleasure Island Clubs etc. with some Disney Shops and Disney Quest.

Same thing with the attractions - in all of Frontierland there were Disney references but the only thing themed 100% to a Disney IP was splash.

Since Iger is the first CEO to feel this way, hopefully he will be the last and we can reverse course.

 

[Consumer]

Most were fairly recent songs when the Country Bears originally opened. Also, I doubt they would've bothered getting Tex Ritter to do Blood on the Saddle in the show itself if you weren't supposed to recognize it as a Tex Ritter song.

I can say very confidently the songs used in Country Bear Jamboree, with the exception of the last three, were never popular songs ("Davy Crockett" and "Ole Slew Foot" were definitely bigger songs and Tex Ritter was a known name, although "Blood on the Saddle" wasn't particularly huge). A few may have been somewhat familiar, but by no means were they charting Billboard Top 100. If they were going for recognizable songs from the 1950's and 60's, they would have been pulling from the likes of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Patsy Cline (Trixie singing "Hungry for Love" would have been rather humorous).

 

[Drew the Disney Dude]

Tommrow. Here it comes. Will we get our first bootleg video?

Tomorrow morning!

 

[James Alucobond]

But what makes one experience timeless (Small World? Pirates?) and another stale? Simply by the fact that the music for those attractions was written by Disney composers/artists and did not come from somewhere else?

It depends on whether or not an attraction is still achieving its goal. Pirates of the Caribbean is meant to be an exciting journey through ship battles, port towns, and caverns inhabited by corsairs with some unexpected drops along the way. That's still what you get. Country Bears is meant to be a musical revue of recognizable country songs reimagined in a humorous way. The "recognizable" piece is missing and was part of the original draw to better connect with the older members of the audience.

Sure, "Blood on the Saddle" is no more original than Snow White or Sleeping Beauty or Little Mermaid or any one of a dozen fairy tales or other things appropriated by Disney over the years. But I can't think of many things more quintessentially "Disney" than Big Al singing "Blood on the Saddle." It's a classic WDW moment in a classic WDW show. A guaranteed crowd pleaser and timeless as it worked so well with the rest of the show.

This is nostalgia based on when the Country Bears actually were more relevant. Tex Ritter as Big Al singing "Blood on the Saddle" is only quintessentially Disney to a seasoned parks fan. When I go with people who have never been to WDW before, they don't really know what to make of it, don't particularly enjoy it, and definitely don't equate it with Disney as they understand it. If it included songs they could potentially identify (even just contemporary country), there would be a higher chance of them connecting to it in some way.

 

[Virtual Toad]

It depends on whether or not an attraction is still achieving its goal. Pirates of the Caribbean is meant to be an exciting journey through ship battles, port towns, and caverns inhabited by corsairs with some unexpected drops along the way. That's still what you get. Country Bears is meant to be a musical revue of recognizable country songs reimagined in a humorous way. The "recognizable" piece is missing and was part of the original draw to better connect with the older members of the audience.


This is nostalgia based on when the Country Bears actually were more relevant. Tex Ritter as Big Al singing "Blood on the Saddle" is only quintessentially Disney to a seasoned parks fan. When I go with people who have never been to WDW before, they don't really know what to make of it, don't particularly enjoy it, and definitely don't equate it with Disney as they understand it. If it included songs they could potentially identify (even just contemporary country), there would be a higher chance of them connecting to it in some way.

Subjective and agree to disagree. The fusion of Marc Davis' brilliant character design with the song make it more than the sum of its parts, and as timeless and "Disney" as the pirate skeletons playing chess or the dog with the keys. But tastes vary and at the end of the day it's all a matter of opinion and perhaps perspective as well.

 

[Streetway]

Tomorrow morning!

Pleeeeasssseee be good

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Pleeeeasssseee be good

Me too I don’t want to be negative I hate the negativity I’m so cautiously optimistic on this. Sorry @Drew the Disney Dude Tiana’s is horrible but I appreciate your coverage of it.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

Me too I don’t want to be negative I hate the negativity I’m so cautiously optimistic on this. Sorry @Drew the Disney Dude Tiana’s is horrible but I appreciate your coverage of it.

"I don't want to be negative I hate the negativity" "Tiana's is horrible"

 

[lazyboy97o]

While I agree that there should be original music throughout the parks, I think the situation of the Country Bears is a bit different in that much of the draw was the bears performing familiar, pre-existing songs in a humorous medley. It's not in the same vein as removing A Pirate's Life for Me or Grim Grinning Ghosts; it's actually more akin to swapping Rock 'n' Roller Coaster to something else.

They performed established songs but they were not a random assortment of pop hits rearranged to match genre styling. The songs were already of a particular genre and history that tied to the attraction. You can dress anything to imitate a genre but that just ultimately negates the concept of theme.

 

[Streetway]

"I don't want to be negative I hate the negativity" "Tiana's is horrible"

I tell ya, sometimes I feel like some people here just want to be angry.
That being said, Tiana Is mid imo.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Wait…. Dolly Parton should sponsor the country bears! I’ve solved it! Haha

 

[Streetway]

Wait…. Dolly Parton should sponsor the country bears! I’ve solved it! Haha

I remember seeing a silly rumor somewhere that dolly tried to buy the bears themselves to put at Dollywood, but Disney said no. Incredibly silly and untrue, but funny to think about. I do like the idea.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I remember seeing a silly rumor somewhere that dolly tried to buy the bears themselves to put at Dollywood, but Disney said no. Incredibly silly and untrue, but funny to think about. I do like the idea.

Hey anything is possible - Herschend has quite a bit of the Osbourne Lights!

 

[Streetway]

Hey anything is possible - Herschend has quite a bit of the Osbourne Lights!

Disney:”sure, you can have the Osborne lights, but you can pry big Al from our cold dead hands”