News Country Bear Jamboree is getting new songs and acts

mf1972

Well-Known Member
we’re not country music fans so we don’t watch the show on every trip, but it was always a good show. although i’ll admit the animatronics here are good & the smoking fiddle & big al are funny & well done, i’m kind of meh on this update. i’ll still watch it in person for a different perspective, but hearing country versions of disney songs isn’t doing it for me so far. just my opinion.
 

Disgruntled Walt

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I'm glad the Bears are looking their best. I'm glad they kept some of the humor.

This show is WORSE than the original. But it's better than it not existing. My niece and nephews will enjoy this, for much of the same reason I enjoyed the original.

I do think, however, this change was completely unnecessary.

At least the fiddle smokes.

Try Everything is a waste of those four bear characters. The Trio deserve to be their own thing, not back-up singers. Trixie used to be a humorous character with her wine glass.

Pete Renaday should be in this. It's borderline disrespectful that he's not.

Bear Band Serenade should have been in there. I feel no connection with those bears without their humorous introductions. When I was little, I felt like they were real characters. I sympathized with Fred, who played mouth harp kind of sad. It made me ask questions...why is he sad? Would he be happy by the end of the show? etc. Now he's just standing there, and he's definitely not sad.

To those hinting about something coming to DLR, if it's not a show...are we thinking Turtle Talk with Big Al?

@wdwmagic How long ago did you see the Zip storyboard? Is this a recent cut or was it early in the process?

OVERALL GRADE: B-
 
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Inspired Figment

Well-Known Member
Is anyone on this board going to do the D23 showings, or know someone? Maybe someone could ask the Imagineers who will be at those why Peter wasn't brought back.
Can’t attend D23, but I’d be more than happy to ask Peter personally why or if he wasn’t brought back in during development. Or heck, if he even was told or knew about the new show at all. Truly the most confusing/baffling decision here. It’s clearly an impersonation of Renaday’s performance there and yet it’s just.. ‘not’ him.. ‘why’?? I have no doubt in my mind he ‘totally’ would’ve been on board to return, just as he was the last 2 shows (Christmas & Vacation). I’m seriously just dumbfounded by this decision to not get him back..
 
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J.E.Smith

Well-Known Member
Try Everything is a waste of those four bear characters. The Trio deserve to be their own thing, not back-up singers. Trixie used to be a humorous character with her wine glass.
I'm not too fond of Bunny Bubbles and Beulah being just Trixie's back-up singers either, but I'm guessing with the show's short run time merging Trixie with the Trio was the only way every bear could show up without giving them even shorter numbers.
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
The original Country Bears relied on many songs you could have heard on an old radio station. But here’s the thing - they BECAME “Disney” songs because their role in CB gave them longevity far beyond their normal lifespan. This new show is a symptom of just how shallow and limited Disney’s understanding of IP is.

Stuffing Disney film tunes into CB, where most of them absolutely don’t fit, feels massively more cynical then Management. It’s a more elaborate and drawn-out version of Star Lord mentioning that he loved classic EPCOT.

Are Disney fans so thin-skinned that the mild barbs from a VILLAIN hurt their feelings? That seems very strange to me.

I just watched a video of Under New Management to remind me and it was terrible. Not only with the insulting of the previous show but it wasn't even a Tiki show. It seemed like whoever designed it didn't understand that the Caribbean and Polynesia are completely different places. It didn't respect or pay homage to the original show but basically throws shade on it.

I don't love this version of the Country Bears (though I didn't love the original either) but it clearly shows that the designers have reverence for the attraction and were determined to maintain its spirit.
 

Surferboy567

Well-Known Member
Yes. They kept the original beats. That’s more or less the only humor in the show. Despite this, the old jokes - Big Al, the slide show, etc - are now presented in a way that doesn’t work. It’s cynical pandering rather then an actual attempt at a refresh - it’s Figment in the modern Journey.

The old songs used to be funny in themselves. The new batch, with the very notable exceptions of Kiss and Super, just sit there. Those are the only two numbers that try to be funny and the only two that bring anything new to the show.
We disagree on this.
 

donsullivan

Premium Member
I think the show is okay overall. LOVE the improvements done to the AAs movement & fur wise. But I gotta say, I’m absolutely ‘baffled’ Peter Renaday wasn’t brought back to voice Henry. Just.. why?? I’m hoping it was just a case of not knowing he was right there.. He’s absolutely still around and can do the voice perfectly still. He’s even been brought onto D23 presentations that showcase the fact he ‘is’ (well.. was, now with this new show) Henry. Honestly saddens me they would even think to recast him to begin with. The one key role he’s had at Disney besides Mickey Mouse in the 70s-80s in Records & Toys, working at the company when Walt was still alive. Truly dumbfounded by the decision to recast Henry, really.
But overall, I’m just glad the bears weren’t axed and have a show to perform.
You do understand that Peter is 89 years old at this time and likely quite retired and maybe just not able to do it, or maybe just didn’t want to?
 

WeNamedTheDogIndiana

Active Member
You do understand that Peter is 89 years old at this time and likely quite retired and maybe just not able to do it, or maybe just didn’t want to or couldn’t?
Seriously! Let the man relax. Mark Hamill is more than 15 years his junior and has had to step away from his most famous (although to be fair, also significantly more demanding) voice role due to the strain. Voice acting can be a lot more work than people realize.
 

Stripes

Premium Member
That is the excuse used now for the bare minimum and delivering less. "The typical park guest will like it." No more aiming to go above and beyond.
It’s not an excuse, it‘s the driving force for the change. My opinion is that the typical park guest, including myself, will find the new show more engaging, more memorable, and more entertaining than the show it replaced while maintaining the same charm as the original.

None of that suggests they didn’t go above and beyond. This update is one of the best executed updates WDI has pulled off in their history. The old show was boring, didn’t engage audiences, and it was stale. Hence, guests didn’t show much interest in going to see it.
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
None of that suggests they didn’t go above and beyond. This update is one of the best executed updates WDI has pulled off in their history. The old show was boring, didn’t engage audiences, and it was stale.

I actually think its very evident that the designers put a ton of effort into making this show the best version of itself, updating whenever possible while keeping inspiration from the original show. What they pulled off is actually fairly impressive given what they were tasked with.

The IP mandate was going to be an anchor and that is unfortunate. But I think they did a good job of making lemonade from a bunch of lemons.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
The original Country Bears relied on many songs you could have heard on an old radio station. But here’s the thing - they BECAME “Disney” songs because their role in CB gave them longevity far beyond their normal lifespan. This new show is a symptom of just how shallow and limited Disney’s understanding of IP is.

Stuffing Disney film tunes into CB, where most of them absolutely don’t fit, feels massively more cynical then Management. It’s a more elaborate and drawn-out version of Star Lord mentioning that he loved classic EPCOT.

Are Disney fans so thin-skinned that the mild barbs from a VILLAIN hurt their feelings? That seems very strange to me.
I think the Tiki Room Under New Management just felt obnoxious and a bit of an eye-rolling attempt by Disney to seem hip and ironic. This charming old show starts, and then is quickly cut off by Gilbert Gottfried (who I generally like) screaming at you for a good portion of the show followed by kind of lame attempts to shoehorn more 'current' songs into the show.

I get not liking this show and the idea of shoehorning in Disney songs, but I struggle to see much good in Tiki Room Under New Management. The tone of this refurbishment is at least still largely similar in that it is supposed to be an old-school humorous musical review rather than an ironic commentary on an old-school humorous musical review.
 

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