*** Offical "THE COUNTRY BEARS" Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Jason Whyte]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "Austin Powers in Goldmember". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.
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"The Country Bears" Discussion Thread!
Jason

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

I'll transfer my review here where it belongs.
The Country Bears becomes Disney’s second offering this summer that manages to disappoint – the first one being Lilo & Stitch. Disney would be wise to market this one as a musical because as a comedy it miserably fails. The jokes are far and few in between and did not generate the big laughs I was expecting. (One has to keep in mind that the film is rated G.) Furthermore, its story is very unoriginal.
As a musical, it has its moments but in that regard, the film is also uneven. There are two elaborately choreographed musical numbers that plays out more like music videos complete with strobe lights and costume changes that both seem totally out place. I expect these two musical numbers to be played out on the Disney Channel to promote the film over and over again.
Christopher Walken gets top billing in this film. But don’t be fooled by that. It looks like Disney is just abiding by some rules provided by the Screen Actors Guild when it comes to listing live actors along with the voice talents. His total screen time amounts to no more than 10 minutes tops.
Shrek, a film that I totally enjoyed last year was criticized for its fart jokes. Wait ‘til you see this film and find out from which body part the sounds are coming from this time.
As I’ve already said, The Country Bears becomes the second Disney offering this summer behind Lilo & Stitch that also manages to disappoint. While this one is not totally unbearable (sorry, but I just couldn’t resist), it makes we wonder though: Are there any real creative talent left over at Disney’s film division? Or have they all jumped ship and went to DreamWorks and Fox?
Disney pulls another fast one by releasing another half-hearted effort theatrically – a film, which would easily qualify as a product typically seen on their Sunday TV show, The Wonderful World of Disney (TWWOD), on ABC, another one of their networks. In fact, I have seen better direct-to-television productions on TWWOD than this one.
It’s too bad the Disneyland attraction, Country Bear Jamboree, to which this film was based on is no longer around. That 20-minute show had a lot more energy and excitement than this protracted 90-minute film.
The Country Bears rates (out of four).
~Edwin