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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2006 |
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Eighteen Audio-Animatronic bears, led by your host Henry, are ready to entertain you in a country music show celebrating violence and lust, with fat shaming, alcohol, and advice to shoot a child. There’s even a bear whose name can be considered offensive. |
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It seems that most female bears only experience heartache. If only they could attract and keep male bears! Unless, of course, the female bear projects the seductive persona of Mae West. It’s all in good fun—at least by the standards of 1971. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Time to next show |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Lobby art, featuring performers you’re about to see |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Entering the theater |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Gomer, the piano player for the show |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Five Bear Rugs |
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Country Bear Jamboree was developed in the 1960s and premiered in 1971. The music and humor reflect that era. Although it may seem like an ursine version of the television series Hee Haw (1969–1997), its development pre-dates that series. The show are fast-paced, with just enough banter between songs to make it seem like a live show with real performers—although real bears are not known for singing. Although the bears perform for a family audience, there are nuances younger kids won’t understand. Let’s take a look at parts of the show. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2019 Liver Lips McGrowl |
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Liver Lips McGrowl sings “My woman ain’t pretty, but she don’t swear none. She’s kinda heavy, don’t weigh a ton.” He derives his nickname from his puckered thick lips. He might want to consider changing his nickname. With his puckered lips, perhaps taking the name of a young lover from Shakespeare would work. The term “liver lips” can be offensive slang for swollen lips caused by a medical condition or alcohol abuse, and can even be a racial slur in the minds of some. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Wendell |
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Henry and Wendell sing “Mama, Don’t Whup Little Buford,” advising her, “I think you should shoot him instead.” Perhaps that’s not the best parenting advice, but maybe the kids in the audience will behave better once they hear that’s a parental option. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Trixie |
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Sloshing a glass of wine with one paw and waving a handkerchief with the other, tutu-clad Trixie sings “Tears Will Be the Chaser for Your Wine.” As Homer Simpson famously toasted, “To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.” But that’s different IP. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Melvin the moose, Buff the buffalo, and Max the buck deer listening to Trixie |
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After Trixie finishes her song, Henry remarks, “Beautiful, Beautiful. That was a mighty big song Trixie!” Trixie replies: “Oh thank you Henry!” The taxidermied heads on the wall join the conversation. Buff observes, “That sure ain’t all that’s big.” Buck observes, “Well, you’re no lightweight yourself Buff!” Henry admonishes, “Boys, boys, watch your manners…” Melvin responds: “Yeah, if you can’t say something nice…” |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2019 The Sun Bonnets |
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The Sun Bonnets are no more successful with males of their species than Trixie. The guy-bears who arouse these gal-bears want nothing to do with them. The Sun Bonnets sing, “All the guys that turn me on turn me down. Nothing works for me that I’ve found. It’s the same way everywhere, I see. Nothing ever seems to work for me.” Maybe the next female bear will know how to attract males. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Teddi Barra |
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Henry introduces the “last of the big time swingers, swingin’ Teddi Barra!” She descends from the ceiling on a swing. After she finishes singing “Heart, We Did All That We Could,” Teddi Barra suggests, “Y’all come up and see me some time, ya hear?!” Henry replies, “Yeah! Soon as I find a ladder, I’ll be right up! Mm-hmm!” |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Big Al |
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Big Al seems to know just one song, “Blood on the Saddle.” Mournfully describing the aftermath of violence that befell a dying cowboy, Big Al sings, “There was blood on the saddle, and blood all around, and a great big puddle of blood on the ground.” |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 The finale |
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In the finale, Big Al again tries to sing “Blood on the Saddle.” Almost all the other bears do their best to drown him out with “Ole Slewfoot.” The lyrics include “Better get our rifles” because “He’s big around the middle and he’s broad across the rump, running ninety miles an hour, making 30 feet a jump.” Is this song about the right to arm bears? |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Grizzly Hall exit doors—with final words from Melvin, Buff, and Max |
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With the bears singing, “We hope that you’ll be comin’ back again,” the audience files to the exit. Buck remarks, “Don’t forget to gather your belongings…” Melvin adds, “And your husbands too.” Perhaps the concern is that husbands will try to climb up to Teddi Barra, instead of exiting with their wives and children. |
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Country Bear Jamboree opened on October 1, 1971 at Magic Kingdom Park—the opening day of Walt Disney World. Country Bear Jamboree has the distinction of being the first Disney park attraction to debut at Walt Disney World and then to be copied elsewhere—Disneyland Park in 1972 and Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. That doesn’t mean the show was originally designed for Florida. The animatronic bears were supposed to perform their show in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, where actual bears roam. In the 1960s, Walt Disney was planning an all-year resort at Mineral King. The skiers, hikers, and mountain sunshine enthusiasts would need things to do (and ways to spend money) after dark. Walt asked Imagineer Marc Davis to come up with a show featuring bears. The resort project died, but the bear show didn’t. The brilliant designs of Marc Davis would come to life at the other big Disney project being planned in the 1960s—Walt Disney World. With the change of geography, the cast was given some connections to Florida. Henry would introduce Trixie as “a special treat out of Tampa.” He would introduce Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah as “those little Sun Bonnets from the Sunshine State.” For the first ten years, Florida’s Country Bear Jamboree was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, two business units of PepsiCo, Inc. (formed in 1965 when Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay merged). Their logos were prominenty featured on the marquee. At the beginning of the show, Henry would announce, “Just refrain from hibernatin’… and we’ll all enjoy the show, cause we got a lot to give!”—a reference to Pepsi Cola’s 1969-1973 slogan, “You’ve got a lot to live, Pepsi’s got a lot to give!” The PepsiCo sponsorship ended in 1981. No other company stepped in to take its place. The marquee was updated to reflect this. |
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Photo by Chris Bales Sign during the 2012 update: “Howdy, Folks! The Country Bears will be back on stage soon.” |
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After a major 2012 refurbishment, Florida’s Country Bear Jamboree returned in October 2012 with five and one half minutes cut from the show. Most of the banter was gone. Some songs were trimmed or removed. The single theater could now handle more guests over the course of a day. Guests would be less likely to get bored and want to leave. And some possibly objectionable content had been eliminated. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2015 Country Bear Jamboree main sign, enhanced as part of the 2012 update |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2015 Country Bear Jamboree, 2012 edition, sign in front of Grizzly Hall |
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This abbreviated Country Bear Jamboree would run another eleven years. At Destination D23, held at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in September 2023, it was announced that a brand new Country Bear Musical Jamboree was on its way to Grizzly Hall. The final day for the 2012 version of the 1971 show was January 26, 2024. The 2024 version of the show should begin welcoming guests in summer 2024. |
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promotional poster art © Disney Replacing the original Country Bear Jamboree |
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According to Disney, “When the show debuts, the bears will be reinterpreting favorite Disney songs in different genres of country music. Imagineers are envisioning the new experience as an homage to the classic musical revues in Nashville and they’re working with Nashville musicians to get the authentic country sound. The Country Bear Jamboree will still have the fun and friendly tone fans enjoy with the same famous characters like the loveable Trixie, Big Al and others.” On January 9, 2024, the Disney Parks Blog published a short video of musicians recording “The Bare Necessities” from Disney’s 1967 animated feature, The Jungle Book for the show—just one example of “reinterpreting favorite Disney songs.” Poster art promoting the updated show revealed that Liver Lips McGrowl would become Romeo McGrowl. |
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Photo Werner Weiss, 2024 Grizzly Hall during the months of closure |
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Photo Werner Weiss, 2024 “BEAR WITH US / WE’RE REHEARSING A BRAND NEW SHOW!” |
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After the show closed, Magic Kingdom guests could still interact with one of the ursine performers in front of the locked theater. But weren’t all the performers supposed to be inside rehearsing? |
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© 2024 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated August 2, 2024 |
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