They do now, and it’s distinctly Nashville.
The bears did their homework, and Disney outsourced talent to country legends and Nashvilles hottest stars.
Its a slice of Music City in Central Florida, and its an absolute must-do.
Credit:Courtesy Walt Disney World Resort
Heres a first look at the new show plus the country stars who bring these instrumental bears to life.
But theres an intentional Nashville aesthetic everywhere you look, from rhinestones to pompadours to Nudie suits.
“We took inspiration from the tailors like Nudie Cohn and Manuel Cuevas,” said Vitale.
Credit:Courtesy Walt Disney World Resort
“We took a shot while we were heading to Nashville and got in contact with Manuel.
And they said, Come on over.
And we sat with them while he told us amazing stories for about three hours.”
Credit:Courtesy Walt Disney World Resorts
“You might notice our band The Five Bear Rugs, Landesberg said.
They have beautiful embroidery on them.
My costuming team did that embroidery.
Credit:Courtesy Walt Disney World Resorts
We have beautiful embroidery details referencing those Nudie suits and that old kind of country Nashville vibe.”
Im most proud of Henry, she said.
Hes the emcee of the show.
And we worked really hard on that jacket.
Nashville Sound and more.
Courtesy Walt Disney World Resorts
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious fromMary Poppinsgets the Charlie Daniels treatment.
Kiss the Girl fromThe Little Mermaidhas a rockabilly shuffle.
I just put my heart in it.”
And, as soon as I started to open up my mouth, people would say Where you from?
And I realized very soon that I cant hide my country.
She continues, “It just is who I am.
It means a lot.
Country music and the genre and what it stands for means so much to me.
And Im proud and honored to be a part of it.
Theres a menagerie of country instruments heard in the show.
It was important to McAnally to use the real stuff all the way through.”
“My family grew up listening to acoustic music, he said.
People brought instruments to my house three nights a week.
But they brought instruments to my house.
My mom was a really fine gospel piano player.
So, these instruments were in my house all the time.
His career has been a confluence of country styles.
And McAnally said the attraction is a confluence of traditions, too.
“I didnt want the music playing to be comic, he added.
I wanted the comics to be comedy.
A Little Piece of Nashville in Central Florida
For McAnally, the best players come from Nashville.
Ive worked in studios in Nashville since the late 70s, he said.
Its such a wonderful pool of musicians thats only grown since then.
We had Chris Thile playing mandolin for us and hes probably the best in the world, he added.
You cant get more authentic than that.
And you also cant get any more of a Disney fanatic than Chris.
Hes just over the moon to get to be part of this.
He was literally like running in place the whole time he was singing this.
McAnally had a blast working on this project.
But Ive considered everyone that’s ever seen it in trying to bring it forward to the next generation.
McAnally did a little bit of work on the show down at his studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
But when it came time to conceive, record and mix, the team went to Music Row.
We used SonyTree and we used Sound Stage, said McAnally.
And we used Ronnies Place, which is Ronnie Millsaps old studio.
And a little bit of Sound Emporium.
Those are just regular haunts of mine.
A bear hug if you will.
