On July 25, 2002, “The Country Bears” — a family film shot at Golden Oak Ranch in Placerita Canyon — premiered in Hollywood.

The film stars the voice of Haley Joel Osment as Beary Barrington, a young bear on a mission to reunite the members of a legendary rock band. Christopher Walken plays the film’s villain, a role that earned him a nomination for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor.

“The Country Bears” film was loosely inspired by the Country Bear Jamboree, one of the last attractions personally developed by Walt Disney. The animatronic musical show debuted with the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971 and was added to Disneyland in Anaheim the following year.

The Walt Disney Co.’s Golden Oak Ranch is a  890-acre private, working movie ranch located just east of State Route 14 off Placerita Canyon Road.

The Ranch’s history as a filming location is a long one, starting long before Disney purchased the ranch in 1959.

In 1922, early filmmaker Trem Carr operated what was then called Placeritos Ranch. He enlisted set designer Ernest R. “Ernie” Hickson to reconstruct historic buildings from Nevada, creating a Western town set used in early Hollywood productions. When Carr ran out of funding, Hickson moved a few miles west and founded Monogram Ranch, now known as Melody Ranch.

Placeritos Ranch changed hands and operated as a horse and cattle ranch, but continued to be used occasionally for filming, including by Walt Disney himself.

In the mid-1950s, Disney leased the land to film segments of The Mickey Mouse Club featuring “Spin and Marty.” Impressed by the varied terrain, he purchased 315 acres for $300,000 in 1959, eventually expanding his holdings to over 700 acres.

Even after Disney began using it for film production, Golden Oak Ranch continued to function as a working cattle ranch. At one point, three cowboys managed a herd of about 50 cattle.

In 1960, Disney added a small herd of American bison, which were featured in his TV special “Sancho the Homesick Steer.” Rather than sell them for slaughter after they outlived their usefulness, Disney donated the bison to Los Angeles County. Their descendants still live at William S. Hart Park in Newhall.

Disney’s first feature film at the ranch, “Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus,” was followed by numerous family films made both by The Walt Disney Co. and by other production companies through the decades.

Disney’s first feature filmed at the ranch was “Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus.” Over the decades, Golden Oak Ranch has hosted numerous iconic productions, including “Roots: The Next Generations,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” and “Back to the Future.”

More recent credits include Dwight Schrute’s farm in “The Office,” the small-town exteriors in “WandaVision,” and music videos like “Amaranth” by Nightwish, “Battlefield” by Jordin Sparks, and “Overpass Graffiti” by Ed Sheeran.

May 23, 2012: Set for “The Country Bears,” the 2002 flim based on the Country Bear Jamboree ride at Disneyland. Tellingly, Christopher Walken won a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. (SCV History)

The set built for The Country Bears still stands on the Golden Oak Ranch today, including the renamed Golden Oak Hall, a hidden piece of Hollywood history nestled in Santa Clarita’s hills.

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