eary Barrington (voiced by Haley Joel Osment) has always felt a little bit different from the rest of his family. For one thing, he's a bear—although the only person who acknowledges that fact is his human brother, Dexter (Eli Marienthal). For another, he's obsessed with a defunct musical group called the Country Bears, who broke up after their farewell "Hiber Nation" tour in 1991. When Dexter finally gets Beary to recognize that he's been adopted, the frustrated cub runs away to the only place he feels like he truly belongs—the home of the country bears, known as Country Bear Hall.
When he arrives, he finds out that Country Bear Hall is about to be torn down by a zealous banker (Walken) unless Henry, the proprietor, can come up with $20,000 to stop the demolition. Beary suggests getting the band back together for a benefit concert, and before long they're dusting off the old tour bus and heading down the highway to round up the four members of the Country Bears—Fred and Ted Bederhead, Zeb Zoober and Tennessee O'Neal.
One by one, the bears leave behind their various occupations and join the group, all the while pursued by a pair of bungling cops (Bader and Mitchell) who think the bears have kidnapped young Beary. But the greatest obstacle preventing the reunion is the upwardly mobile Ted, who has put his ursine roots behind him and now wants nothing to do with his fellow band mates. Will they be able to work it all out in time to save Country Bear Hall?
A family comedy that's bearly enjoyable
Possibly the first feature film ever based on an attraction instead of the other way around, The Country Bears will be a disappointment for anyone expecting it to have anything remotely to do with the original Country Bear Jamboree at Disneyland and Disney World. With its road-trip theme, musical vignettes and celebrity cameos, it has more in common with The Muppet Movie, only without the originality, inspiration and wry humor of Jim Henson's creations.
The film works best during the musical vignettes, featuring toe-tapping original songs (and cameos) from John Hiatt, Bonnie Raitt and Brian Setzer, but it's not enough to make up for the tired premise that's been done, and done better, countless times before. Parents may appreciate the rockabilly pedigree and the allusions to the great groups of the past like The Eagles, The Band and the Grateful Dead, but they'll be rolling their eyes at the unnecessarily silly antics of Bader and Mitchell as inept cops.
In terms of the performances, Christopher Walken leaves no scenery unchewed, but in effect steals the show as the creepy banker with a long-standing grudge against the bears. Haley Joel Osment infuses the voice of Beary with the same charm and earnestness he's brought to his previous roles. The bears themselves are well designed and full of personality, though it's a strain on the powers of willing disbelief to accept them as part of the real world.
While it's nice to see that Disney is still keeping the musical format viable, it's a shame that the material couldn't be more worthy of the music, or the nostalgia many associate with the film's humble origins.
