MK Country Bear Jamboree is getting new songs and acts

[Ghost93]

Blood on the Saddle was never meant to be in the CBMJ, and no such recording exists. You're basing this off of what others have said on this forum. Also, they've been working on this show pre-covid, and Zip was cut as soon as Disney announced Splashes closure.

Zip A Dee Doo Dah would be a great fit for the Country Bears. But I don't blame Disney for cutting it. After 2020 there was a renewed scrutiny for anything remotely connected to SOTS and if the song was part of the show there would be clickbaity articles and Twitter users complaining about it and condemning the company for profiting off of SOTS.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I know they have updated the bears outfits for M&G's but, couldn't they bring out the rarest of the bears like Henry for example..They had made one for Disney on Parade..Along with the Sun bonnets.

But, if turns out..There was a Teddi Beara character as well...Shame they aren't out..

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

I know they have updated the bears outfits for M&G's but, couldn't they bring out the rarest of the bears like Henry for example..They had made one for Disney on Parade..Along with the Sun bonnets.

But, if turns out..There was a Teddi Beara character as well...Shame they aren't out..
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I'd be shocked if they still have either costume, but I'd LOVE to see Henry and Teddi.

 

[JohnD]

I saw it last week. I liked it for what it was. It's clever and current. I liked that they found a way to bring back the fiddle portion. Of course I'll miss the old show. I wish they could have kept the Bear Band Serenade as a connection to the old show in introducing the Five Bear Rugs.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I saw country bears yesterday - overall I like it. “Try Everything” is too modern sounding and is the worst of the updates - the other songs sound country enough that they work.

Friend Like me is strange too…. Not sure why he’s playing a modern electric guitar… they should have kept the raccoon cap as that was pretty iconic and would have worked well with friend in me as well.

But overall the show feels like the same country bears and I’m very happy they survived!

 

[Mike S]

I saw country bears yesterday - overall I like it. “Try Everything” is too modern sounding and is the worst of the updates - the other songs sound country enough that they work.

Friend Like me is strange too…. Not sure why he’s playing a modern electric guitar… they should have kept the raccoon cap as that was pretty iconic and would have worked well with friend in me as well.

But overall the show feels like the same country bears and I’m very happy they survived!

Do you mean You’ve got a Friend in Me?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Do you mean You’ve got a Friend in Me?

Yes…. Although the 2 have been plopped together so much they are practically the same song now! Haha.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

I saw country bears yesterday - overall I like it. “Try Everything” is too modern sounding and is the worst of the updates - the other songs sound country enough that they work.

Friend Like me is strange too…. Not sure why he’s playing a modern electric guitar… they should have kept the raccoon cap as that was pretty iconic and would have worked well with friend in me as well.

But overall the show feels like the same country bears and I’m very happy they survived!

From what I've heard, they tried to keep Sammy as a hat, but couldn't get it to work with Henry's new cowboy hat. Having him behind the amp was a compromise to keep him in the show instead of cutting him altogether.

 

[Steamboat71]

I saw it last week. I liked it for what it was. It's clever and current. I liked that they found a way to bring back the fiddle portion. Of course I'll miss the old show. I wish they could have kept the Bear Band Serenade as a connection to the old show in introducing the Five Bear Rugs.

The Five Bear Rugs were done dirty in this new show. Bear-ly any showtime.

 

[zipadee999]

The Five Bear Rugs were done dirty in this new show. Bear-ly any showtime.

They could’ve at least played backup for some of the other bears like they did with Ernest in the OG show

 

[EagleScout610]

They could’ve at least played backup for some of the other bears like they did with Ernest in the OG show

Or they could've had the gag of them running around backstage like they did from the skunk in Vacation Hoedown

 

[JD80]

I saw it for the first time two weeks ago. Loved it.

 

[tanc]

Saw it back on Nov 8th, great show! The updates are phenomenal, while the original is preserved in Tokyo, the new look of everything is spectacular in WDW.

 

[Comped]

I saw it about 2 weeks ago and was disappointed. Everything felt pretty rushed, and only one or two songs even got close to working for me personally. The group I was with commented that "the costumes look cheap", although I tried to assure them that almost certainly was not the case. A lot of segments felt like an attempt by Disney to perhaps advertise a new country album, more so than fitting concept of the show and country music into the Disney canon. Which is funny because Disney definitely has a history of taking songs from one medium and putting them into another, most notably jazz during the '90s - but always with a little bit more care than whatever happened with the orchestration of most of these songs. Very disappointing. A huge letdown musically, even more so than when I saw the taped performances when it originally opened.

Used to be a show I would see probably at least once a month, now I probably won't go back until they redo it or close it permanently.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

This is the most relevant thread I could think to post this in, since it's not necessarily Imagineering! I'm working on documenting all the design iterations of the Country Bears over the last 50+ years, in preparation for an art project I want to do where I draw the design evolution of the bears. I'm doing a lot of digging looking for the best quality and most accurate photos I can find, but I can't do it alone! If anyone wants to or can help me out, please do! Feel free to request edit permissions, too!

 

[EagleScout610]

This is the most relevant thread I could think to post this in, since it's not necessarily Imagineering! I'm working on documenting all the design iterations of the Country Bears over the last 50+ years, in preparation for an art project I want to do where I draw the design evolution of the bears. I'm doing a lot of digging looking for the best quality and most accurate photos I can find, but I can't do it alone! If anyone wants to or can help me out, please do! Feel free to request edit permissions, too!
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I'll send this to some of my friends who are CBJ fanatics. They'll definitely be able to help out

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

I'll send this to some of my friends who are CBJ fanatics. They'll definitely be able to help out

Thanks a ton!

 

[aladdin2007]

Thanks a ton!

I don't know if it will help for what your doing but the table book 2 volume set called Marc Davis Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks has quite a bit of Country Bear material. its pricy but libraries may have it, or a used copy could be found for less.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

I don't know if it will help for what your doing but the table book 2 volume set called Marc Davis Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks has quite a bit of Country Bear material. its pricy but libraries may have it, or a used copy could be found for less.

I actually own this set! The Country Bear chapter is pretty much just his character design sketches and some WIPs of the animatronics, like Blaine Gibson's head sculpts and a photo of them applying some fur onto either Big Al or Buff.

 

[Blobbles]

Yknow, with all the closures happening in the Disney park and in general the theme park general this year, I am honestly way happier that the country bears got an update than I was before. With out the update, I don’t know how good I would feel about the CBJ’s Future. While I am sad we lost the original, I am very happy the bears have at least a good amount of time to remain on this earth, if not forever (hopefully).

Big Al had a very close call.