Bear Country (film)

Bear Country
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Algar
Written byJames Algar
Produced byBen Sharpsteen
Walt Disney
Narrated byWinston Hibler
Edited byLloyd L. Richardson
Music byPaul J. Smith
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • February 5, 1953 (1953-02-05)
Running time
33 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Bear Country is a 1953 American short documentary film directed by James Algar. It won an Oscar at the 26th Academy Awards in 1954 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).[1][2] The film was produced by Walt Disney as part of the True-Life Adventures series of nature documentaries,[3] and played with Peter Pan[4] during its original theatrical run.

Cast

Reception

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that the film "follows in the excellent series of nature films that have been produced by the Disney studio, such as Seal Island and Water Birds".[5]

Variety called it "one of the more delightful True-Life Adventure documentaries in the Walt Disney series ... calculated to enchant viewers of all ages".[6]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "As usual in this series, the material itself is pleasantly photographed and has considerable interest. This is vitiated, however, by the irritatingly facetious tone of the commentary and by the apparent determination to make the bears appear as 'human' as possible—the set-piece, in this case, is a scene of the bears laboriously scratching themselves, to a characteristic musical accompaniment".[7]

References

  1. ^ "New York Times: Bear Country". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  2. ^ "The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Cynthia Chris (2006). Watching Wildlife. University of Minnesota Press. p. 29. ISBN 0-8166-4547-7.
  4. ^ "CHICAGO OUTBID THE WORLD-AND SHOWS IT FIRST!". Chicago Tribune. February 5, 1953. p. 40. Retrieved August 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Crowther, Bosley (February 12, 1953). "The Screen: Disney's 'Peter Pan' Bows". The New York Times. p. 23.
  6. ^ "Film Reviews: Bear Country". Variety. January 28, 1953. 6.
  7. ^ "Bear Country". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 21 (240): 13. January 1954.