Country Bears VS Brother Bear

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I've read about it several times before. Many on here would love to see Country Bears make a comeback and take up new residence in Redwood Creek. The popularity of the music and the love of the AA's are at the root of the adoration for this beloved attraction. The likely choice would be to replace the theater currently occupied by Brother Bear which is an equally popular show. In a sad twist of irony, Brother Bear uses the same simple AA movements that many felt was the reason for Country Bear's demise.

Thinking about the reasons for the removal of Country Bear I stumbled upon one very interesting fact. A primary reason for the removal was the lack of individuals attending the show. This same phenomenon is seen in Tough to be a Bug, HISTA, Muppets... pretty much everything but Aladdin. But if a theater is smaller like Playhouse Disney, Turtle Talk, Brother Bear, or Tiki then you have a full show even if those in attendance are a fraction of what would fill up a substantially larger theater.

So this brings about several questions the first of which is would an AA style show work in todays modern environment? Would the Country Bears find the same niche in the public of today that they found in the public of the past? Will their music take hold, or be forgotten?

This also brings about another startling revelation. With all the changes that are being done to DCA, nothing appears to be happening to either GRR or Redwood Creek. At a minimum I would think they would remove the modern references and make GRR more of an "abandoned mine" type theme. That could easily be the subject of another thread entirely.

[Disneyland Daddy]

I think the Country Bears would be good over where you state........seems like a good idea..........especially since I wasn't terribly fond of the movie, Brother Bear........and always had a fondness for The Country Bear Jamboree.....

[Luke Manning]

How many time have I heard this idea! LOL

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How many time have I heard this idea! LOL

Which is the whole reason I started the thread. Many have proposed moving CBJ into Redwood. I'm not claiming the concept. I'm asking everyone if they think it would actually work. Personally I think any show stands a much better chance in a smaller theater. A smaller theater can skew the numbers and present a "full house" when in reality it is the same amount that was deemed too low and closed larger theaters. The other question is would they find that same niche that they dominated back when original attractions were appreciated for being Disney instead of every attraction being the latest movie!

[Broadway Guru]

A smaller theater can skew the numbers and present a "full house" when in reality it is the same amount that was deemed too low and closed larger theaters.

I don't know if you know, but that was the problem w/ CBJ from the beginning: it was overbuilt. There were two theaters, so even w/ one theater completely full, the numbers would show it as running at half capacity. Being in a dead corner of the park didn't help either, nor did having the main building hidden by a hill. They should have had a big, elaborate theater building that made you want to go inside it.

Come to think of it, there were so many problems, I'm surprised the show lasted as long as it did.

[Disneyland Daddy]

How many time have I heard this idea! LOL

I don't know..................how many?

[socal05]

Bringing the CBJ over to DCA makes way to much sense for it to happen.

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I don't know if you know, but that was the problem w/ CBJ from the beginning: it was overbuilt. There were two theaters, so even w/ one theater completely full, the numbers would show it as running at half capacity. Being in a dead corner of the park didn't help either, nor did having the main building hidden by a hill. They should have had a big, elaborate theater building that made you want to go inside it.

Come to think of it, there were so many problems, I'm surprised the show lasted as long as it did.

When it was built it was the only thing there so in that respect it was not overbuilt. I came along a bit later and while I do not remember full shows I do remember sizable crowds and decent sized theaters. I know Splash's opening initially helped because it drew large crowds there, but as the years progressed the popularity of the show waned. Some would argue the holiday show was to combat the numbers.

It doesn't really shock me that it lasted as long as it did because those who attended honestly enjoyed it... and it wasn't considered valuable real estate at the time. I laugh now because the music is a staple of the Redwwod Creek area, and the crude animation of the Brother Bear show reminds me of Country Bear.

[dland_lover]

No contest- rip out the Brother Bear show, and put in the Country Bears!

[alphabassetgrrl]

I've never been tempted to watch the Brother Bear show but I'd absolutely go to the Country Bears. Cute singing bears - what's not to like?

[merlinjones]

Is there a Brother Bear show at DCA (seriously)? I walked out of the movie in time to get a refund.

I'd dearly love to see Marc Davis' brilliant Country Bears characters return to Disneyland. And that location would work for me.

[JiminyCricketFan]

Country Bears would be a perfect attraction for a California theme. After all, wasn't it developed originally for that ski resort in California that never happened.

I would make one caveat... The original show that featured COUNTY music was much better than the vacation show that did rock and roll and swing music.

I would also like to see a show where the computer put some random performers in the show. Make it a different show every time, perhaps with different songs and / or performers.

[NewguY]

I would also like to see a show where the computer put some random performers in the show. Make it a different show every time, perhaps with different songs and / or performers.

That is the best Idea I have heard for Country bear.... we all love it but none of us went!! This would be great because each time it would be ooh I hope this bear or that bear is in this one!!

[JChapinCP]

I remember watching CBJ as a kid and would walk around the park and my hometown for the next 5 days signing "there was blood on the saddle, there was blood on the ground...."

I love the idea of the randomness that JiminyCricketFan suggested. It provides a reason to come back unlike HISTA or star tours for that matter. Without an update or a random differences between shows the attraction looses its appeal. I often dont skip many of the shows when I am at the park because of the lack of variety or they dont interest me. I would love to see CBJ come back to either park though. I would certainly go.

The question remains though would the younger generations coming up behind us appreciate this classic from yesterland. In a world full of video games, television, movies, instant gratification, and need for visual stimulation and the like I am not sure they would. Unfortunately many of the elementary school children now are engaging in activiites that are much further along than we did as kids. I know several kindergarten and first grade teachers who have kids refusing to watch childrens televion or movies on the basis that "those are for babies" Instead they watch the R rated stuff. Granted this is not a discussion on parenting but the fact remains that kids today are more exposed to a wider and more sometimes more mature realm than we did. Plus the youngsters dont know who this characters are like they do the modern Disney cast so there isnt a built in likability. Its also not a thrilling attraction so they appreciation of it is somewhat dimenished compared to the mountains. Is that to say the CBJ revivial wont work? No, but it is a statement as to why it may have a difficult road back.

Another thing to consider is the stereotype of country music. Really it does have, or at least the style of country music as demonstrated by CBJ does, a sense of not being "cool" by todays standards. I am not suggesting they adopt todays country/pop understanding of country music but pointing out another potential hinderance to a return of these beloved bears. If people think they dislike country music why would they attend such a show.

As I said above I hope CBJ is brought back for those of us who appreciate it for what it is and have fond memories of its presense in the park.

[Extravabonanza]

Random question: what year did the CBJ end? I'm not sure if I actually watched it or if I've just seen so many pictures/videos that I think I've watched it.

Well, I didn't even know there was a Brother Bear show, so perhaps that's an indication that something new (or from the past) needs to come to that area.