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And Now, Movies With People in Bear Suits

Posted by Gwynne Watkins

 

This week, Ames, Iowa resident Daniel Stender posed the following question to Roger Ebert's "Answer Man" column:

I am a fine arts student at Iowa State University. Currently I'm painting a series depicting movie scenes with people in bear suits. So far I have painted a scene from The Shining and a scene from the The Science of Sleep. I am really proud of what I have created so far, but I've hit a creative road block; I can't think of any more movies with people dressed as bears.

Not to worry, Danny ā€” The Screengrab has got your back!

Here are some off-the-cuff suggestions from our bloggers:

Paul: The Avengers. That scene, bad as it is, is sort of unforgettable.

John: Jackass and Encino Man, both of which involve panda bears. Given Jackassā€™ status as a serious documentary, Iā€™m not sure it counts. However, Pauly Shore and Caveman-Brendan Frasier slapping around a guy in a panda costume in a theme park most certainly counts. 

Matthew: The more recent version of The Wicker Man, as in:

For the record, Answer Man suggested Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game. I'm personally gonna go with Grizzly Man. Damn those bear suits looked real.


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Comments

levide said:

Nastassja Kinski, "The Hotel New Hampshire"

January 24, 2008 12:43 PM

Jack Olson said:

An exra in a bear suit appears in "The Three Musketeers", the Michael York-Oliver Reed-Geraldine Chaplin version.  Warren Beatty appears in a bear suit in "Reds."  

January 25, 2008 3:11 PM

Phil Nugent said:

I just remembered that in the 1981 "Zorro, the Gay Blade", George Hamilton's servant plans to go to the big masquerade ball dressed in a bear costume that everybody thinks looks more like a dog. Unless I'm misremebering and it was a dog costume that everybody thinks looks more like a bear; it's been a few years.

Also, seeing that still from "The Shining", I'm struck by how much more bear-like the costume looked in profile, from a distance. Seen clearly and face-on, I think it looks more like one of the Blue Meanies from "Yellow Submarine", except it's, you know, brown. I remain puzzled as to why the man in tails, who is clearly George H. W. Bush, taking some much needed downtime in the middle of the 1980 presidential race, finds that the costume helps get him in the mood for whatever randy activity the two of them are up to in that scene. Unless it's Barbara in the costume, in which case, hey, whatever gets you through the night...

January 26, 2008 1:53 PM

Tom said:

Super Troopers?

February 2, 2008 4:46 AM