The Country Bears (2002)

Touches You

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Fantastic!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Regardless of its faults, I found this to be a fun movie. The music was not necessarily my taste, but it was all well-done.There was a silly plot, and human characters that, with a few exceptions were too moronic to care about. The idiot cops, though, were a lot of fun and I particularly liked Chill Mitchell in what had to be one of his last roles without a wheelchair. Queen Latifah gave a brief but enjoyable performance as a bartender who may have also run the place; too bad she didn't sing too.The actors giving voice to the bears were better than most of the people playing people. True, most of the writing was still silly. Haley Joel Osment did a good job considering the material.I don't really care for Bonnie Raitt or Don Henley as singers, but I realized immediately what was going on when a male bear and female bear sang together and then they showed those two famous people together. The joke about The Eagles was great; I do like some of their music.I didn't recognize Elton John, but someone commented that he looked like Elton John. It turned out to be true, and one of his songs was used too.Jennifer Paige did a good job as a singing waitress and a silly scene reminiscent of "Glee". Not my taste musically, but it was well done. Brian Setzer cam closer to what I like in a duel with Zeb. Ordinarily I don't like rock and roll but I'll make an exception for Brian Setzer.And of course the bears themselves are quite talented. Not quite country, but a lot of what's on so-called country radio isn't. Some of the music was "real country", though.And I really did care about whether the Country Bear Hall would be saved. It's a nice building, in the sense of being historic.I don't recall any offensive content, if you don't mind one use of the F-word or the sound. I do mean the F-word that kids use, not the other one.It's a silly but fun movie.

the whole it's-right-in-front-of-your-nose-but-you-are-too-stupid-to-see-it gag never gets old for me. the beginning of the movie is chock full of that kind of humor. the cops are as astute as homer simpson. beary's brother is the only one who has a clue, but nobody listens to him. that's just funny.and who doesn't miss the old country bear jamboree attraction at Disney? man, i grew up with that. it was a sad sad day when they replaced that attraction.yeah it's predictable. yeah it's a recycled plot 11,000 times over. but it's a great movie for younger kids. they aren't going to care if it is a recycled plot. they just like to watch the talking bears and see adults acting silly. it's a tested formula that Disney has used forever. and since the main character is a kid with dreams that he works hard for and sees come true... well, that's just great.who's never had a dream? (mine is to be a kid again =)

The Country Bears is a truly unique movie, and it can be a very pleasant experience watching it, for those with an open mind. The entire movie is based on the premise that bears co-exist with humans - they are simply like another race of people. From numerous other reviews I have read of this movie, it seems many people are offended by this simple premise. Perhaps it is insulting to them, or maybe they just can't deal with things out of the ordinary such as this. It's definitely a shame, as this movie is actually a rare gem, complete with lovable characters, fun music, and an engaging and heartwarming plot.The movie begins showing us the farewell performance of a group called "The Country Bears". They were once apparently very famous, but have now all but disappeared. Beary Barrington, a huge fan, feeling displaced from his family because he feels 'different', leaves home and travels to Country Bear Hall, hoping to find a place where he fits in. He soon finds Country Bear Hall is soon to be demolished, due to six years of missed payments by it's caretaker, Henry. Beary's solution is to get the band back together to save Country Bear Hall.What follows is an enjoyable romp as we meet each of the 4 unique band members and their interesting circumstances. Fred is big softy who works as a security guard, and takes part in a performance of a very modern song titled "The Kid in You", which perhaps may not appeal to everyone. Zeb is ultimately an alcoholic, although his liquor of choice is honey. To escape from his debt with the bar, he performs in a musical duel, which is a lot of fun. Next we meet Tennessee, who is heartbroken over losing his one love Trixie. He just makes you want to give him a huge hug every time he's on screen. Finally we meet Ted, who's massive ego nearly stops the bears from coming together again. Two bumbling cops provide lots of humour, as does the hilarious bear character Big Al.Characters are definitely the highlight of this film. Each of the bears are different, and watching their behaviour is so refreshing. They make you want to be right there on the tour bus with them. The ending of the movie is perfect, but it is a strangely sad feeling to have to leave the characters and come back to reality.My thoughts of this movie are the complete opposite to the majority of other reviews out there. Ebert's review suggests to me that he barely even paid any attention to the movie - he doesn't seem to understand why Reed Thimple would want to destroy Country Bear Hall, even though it was clearly explained in the movie. He also says that certain artists such as Bonnie Raitt talk about how The Country Bears influenced them, and while this is true for some artists, Bonnie Raitt does no such thing, nor does Elton John. Why critics couldn't appreciate this film is beyond me. It has strong messages of what family is, and that it's OK to be different. It's just fantastic, and deserves much more recognition than it has. We need more movies like this, but unfortunately the poor reception of this movie will mean Disney avoids making movies like this in the future.Do yourself a favour; rent this movie, or even buy it. Don't question why it's about singing bears, otherwise you're missing the point of the movie. Just enjoy the originality, enjoy the great music, laugh at the comedy, and leave the movie with a shining feeling that not many movies these days can give you.

This is the movie of the century. I don't know what to say except that this movie was pure genius, and in my opinion it was even better than Meet Wally Sparks and Baby Geniuses. I love when the bear does his somersaults on stage! It's so rad! The first night i rented this movie, me and my friends watched it twice in a row because it was so mind-blowing! I also love the scene where the bear is in the boat and the boat runs into the prison bars and knocks them over. The only question I have is, where did Christopher Walken go? He's so sneaky! I hope Disney keeps making movies about their theme rides, because if they are anything like Country Bears and Haunted Mansion, I would be in heaven. I hope they make the Aerosmith movie next!!!How exciting!! I also love the random music videos that happen throughout the movie. My most favorite part, however, is the scene where Beary is running home and that wonderful music is playing in the background. I do have one question about this movie though... Why was it so hard for everyone to believe that the Country Bears were gonna get back together? They fail to explain this, as well as where these bears came from, and why the bears broke up in the first place. But i don't care, i just love when those bears have their jamborees!!!