Yesterworld: The History of the Country Bear Jamboree - Disney’s Beloved Animatronic Show

Disney’s The Country Bear Jamboree in Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and previously in Disneyland is an audio animatronic theme park attraction and country themed show that has been entertaining audiences since 1971! Today, we’ll explore the full history of the beloved Country Bears - from its origins with Walt Disney at the 1960 Winter Olympics, to the Country Bear’s Christmas Special and Vacation Hoedown all the way through to the present day!

CREDIT CORRECTION: It came to my attention that part of the thumbnail image featuring Henry the Bear was the work of artist Mae Dominguez, you can find her work at the links below!

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VIDEOS USED:

[SuperMovieLvr]

That whole "Walt never said goodbye" part made me tear up. I was not ready for that.

[otaking]

I'm a simple man.
I see both Country Bears and Haunted Mansion Holiday in the thumbnail.
I click.

[cry_stain]

That interview with the lady made me extremely sad

[RaginLarper]

I don't know why, but "Winnie the Pooh evicted the bears" just makes me laugh

[doraeguyakaneddie]

*I like how the most iconic disney song comes from the only really banned Disney film*

[Psychol-Snooper]

"It's like a friggin country bear jambaroo around here."


~Homer

[SamanthaPortUkulele]

Ngl it's kind of a shame they didn't go with the mariachi band concept, because they could have called them the Beariachis

[nickrustyson]

"Eat your heart out Jerry Reed." God that was the second most 1970's line I have ever heard.

[alexhergan]

Walt has always reminded me of my own father. How much he dedicated his life to ensuring other peoples happiness, especially us and other children. The quote where she says "walt never said goodbye" truly resonates deeply with me. I remember the last lunch I had with my dad, and we just said "see you later" and something in me felt off about it. He had been ill, but I didn't realize his passing would be so sudden. And afterwards it felt like such a fitting goodbye. So casual, but in hindsight held so much significance. Like he knew what was happening. I don't know why there felt like there were so many similarities between the two interactions, but something about it reminded me so much of that last time I saw him. So wonderfully thankful for people who dedicate their lives to others

[Doodlebob]

the country bear jamboree is my favorite show in disney world. i hope it never closes. also, big al is my favorite.

[MegaAstroFan]

That story about the last time Marc Davis saw Walt was actually a little heart-wrenching.

[BlazeHeartPanther]

4:00 That's Marc's wife, Alice. She provided the costume designs for the pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean

Marc Davis was one of Disney's 9 Old Men, his most trusted animators. He helped bring such characters to life like Tinkerbell, Princess Aroura, Maleficent, and singlehandedly animated Cruella De Vil before his retirement. He was also a big help in coming up with most of the character designs for some of Disneys theme park rides like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, America Sings, and many others. Though a lot of you watching this channel may have already known that ^^. The man had such a very unique style that could be translated pretty well to animatronics, especially those with an anthropomorphic style to them, like Country Bear and America Sings. But he was also very good at getting some pretty god human characters with exaggerated looking expressions out of them, a bit caricatured, but with a hint of goofiness to them. He is probably one of my favorites for his style that I would have loved to see an entire animated film done in his style, like his artwork for that Chanticleer pitch before Don Bluth did it.

[Larry]

Surprised they never made it to Disneyland Paris, I'd have thought they would have gone down quite well there.

[mirandakitt]

Don't forget the Country Bear Walkarounds that are in WDW frontierland. Terrifying if you ask me but definitely still around

[snarkus]

As I understand it, the main reason Disneyland's version of the Country Bears never achieved the level of success of its Florida cousin had a lot to do with its location. The Florida show is smack-dab in the middle of Frontierland, on one of its main thoroughfares. But the California version was tucked away off the beaten path in the old Bear Country, in a land ironically built for it, and for many years was the only attraction that could be found there. It was hoped that the addition of Splash Mountain to the renamed Critter Country would remedy the situation, but it was not to be.

[CosplayCore]

“It would be unbearable to see them go”

Dude.

It’s “unbearable” to have lost what we already did lose. I’m still upset they shaved time off the show at WDW because they completely did away with the story of the show itself and I miss the Christmas overlay so badly. It was what got me into The Country Bears in the first place as a little girl! We went during December 2001 and I wasn’t impressed with any attraction more than I was with the Bears in all their country Christmas pageantry. It reminded me of home. I’m from the Deep South.

I wish Disney hadn’t done away with all of that.

I also wish the critics had been a little less harsh on the movie. When it came to theaters, I was already a Country Bears girl and I as so excited to go see it. I had really enjoyed it and I was almost a teenager by then. I hear it got negative reviews saying it was too “childish” but I argue that that’s because the adults spend too much time looking for complexity in the story or for adult jokes and not enough time maturely enjoying and admiring the other things that go into a film, like the special effects. I did love it for its childishness but I also loved the soundtrack and the puppetry! I still do and I’m 26 now. A film SHOULD TRY to aim for adults AND kids at once but that doesn’t mean there’s any shame in a movie getting along better with kids. A movie is good and achieves that aim as long as someone enjoys it.

[judevicious]

I remember watching The Country Bears Jamboree as a little one with my Grandmother who has now passed on. It's a special memory that will always be near and dear to me.

[carminecdinoproductions]

Please do an episode about The Enchanted Tiki Room attractions at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland and their histories and overlays!

[ChibiTheFloof]

What makes me upset is that they shortened the show and the audio is a bit janky. I wish they updated it and gave it the refurbishment it deserves. It should last forever!

[gdilla]

To this day I'm still saddened that it's not at Disney Land anymore.I remember watching it in it's last year here and talking to the cast member about it shutting down