- “Like a lullaby for desert critters, our cowboy Tex Ranger, conveys his lonely version of "Home On The Range".”
- ―America Sings soundtrack book, page 5
Tex Ranger[1] is a character at the Disney Parks.
History[]
Background[]
Tex Ranger is an anthropomorphic cowboy dog. In the "Heading West" sequence of the attraction, he would sing the song "Home on the Range". He wears a red scarf, a white cowboy hat, and is shown to be using a guitar, just like cowboys in media. According to the America Sings soundtrack book, it is implied that he is playing a lullaby for the desert animals while singing the aforementioned song.
Development[]
The Tex Ranger character was created for the America Sings attraction at Disneyland in the Tomorrowland section where he was placed in the "Heading West" sequence where he sings the song, "Home on the Range", which opened on June 29, 1974. However, America Sings closed on April 10, 1988 in order to retheme the attraction to Innoventions, with Tex Ranger and most of the animatronics moved to Splash Mountain at the Critter Country section, which opened on July 17, 1989.
As of 2020 due to Splash Mountain being completely reimagined into a theme inspired by The Princess and the Frog in order to remove references to Song of the South, it is currently unknown of what will replace Tex's animatronic in the rethemed version of the attraction. The California version of Splash Mountain permanently closed on May 31, 2023.
Appearances[]
America Sings[]
Tex Ranger was featured during the former attraction's second act, "Heading West" where he is seen holding a guitar and singing the musical number, "Home on the Range" in front of a group of desert animals. Amongst the animals listening to his song are an owl, a rattlesnake, a roadrunner, a tortoise, and two rodents (presumably prairie dogs) that are quietly observing Tex's singing. As he sings throughout the sequence, coyotes are heard howling in the background just before the song loops into the attraction's third act, "Gay Nineties".
Splash Mountain[]
In the California version of Splash Mountain, Tex can be seen at the end of the attraction, singing the musical number "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" along with a whole chorus of animals welcoming Br'er Rabbit in his home at the Briar Patch after escaping from Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear.
Gallery[]
.png "America Sings - Tex Ranger and the Desert Critters (Concept Art).png (665 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Tex Ranger is most likely named after the late real-life cowboy and singer, Tex Ritter. Notably enough, Ritter died on January 2, 1974, five months before America Sings opened at Disneyland.
- Tex Ranger was Lloyd Perryman's first and only Disney role before his death on May 31, 1977.
- Lloyd Perryman, who voiced Tex, was also a cowboy and late member of the Sons of the Pioneers. Coincidentally, Tex is also a cowboy just like his voice actor.
- The America Sings press kit book erroneously identifies Tex as a prairie dog. Despite their name, prairie dogs in real life are not actually dogs but rather rodents, although they are named for their sound similar to an actual dog's bark.
- There is a replica model of Tex Ranger but named as Br'er Dog in Tokyo Disneyland's version of the Splash Mountain attraction.
References[]
- ↑ Page 5 of America Sings soundtrack book
