On July 26, 2002, Disney’s “The Country Bears” was released in theaters, which was filmed in the Santa Clarita Valley at Golden Oak Ranch.

This film is the only movie based on the Disney attraction Walt Disney’s Country Bear Jamboree. The attraction first debuted at Florida’s Disney World in 1971 and was finally added a year later to Disneyland in Anaheim.

“The Country Bears” was directed by Peter Hasting, well known for his producing of animated movies, and was produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The premise of the movie follows Beary Barrington (voiced by Haley Joel Osment), who feels like the black sheep of his human family. Once he finds out the truth about his true origins, Beary is tasked with the mission to reunite the members of the legendary country rock band “The Country Bears”.

The cast housed some famous acting legends such as Christopher Walken posing as the villain of the film. Many cameos were also sprinkled throughout the film, such as Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Sir Elton John, Queen Latifah, and Willie Nelson.

This $35 million movie only made $18 million in box office revenue in total, only making $5.3 million in the first week of its release. That same week had massive film releases such as “Austin Powers in Goldmember”, “Stuart Little 2”, and “Men in Black II”.

Filming for “The Country Bears” took place at Golden Oak Ranch, an 890-acre private, working movie ranch located just east of State Route 14 off Placerita Canyon Road. The first feature film that used the ranch for shooting was the film “Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus” (1960).

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.

Before Disney purchased the ranch in 1959, the ranch had already gained a reputation as the perfect filming location. Filmmaker Trem Carr enlisted set designer Ernest R. Hickson to create a western town to use for early Hollywood productions. Once Carr was starting to run out of money, Hickson moved west and founded his own ranch called Monogram Ranch, known as Melody Ranch today.

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.

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.

Despite “The Country Bears” film not being a success, it’s cemented as one of the most iconic films shot at the Golden Oak Ranch, and the set used for the movie still stands today.

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