I always thought the Impressions de France script was the best of the original Epcot World Showcase films. Mostly because it contains our most favorite, most famous Disney sheep.

Impressions de France focuses on the natural and historical majesty of the country. It uses a classical music soundtrack. It avoids too many scenes of people in disco-era clothing driving disco-era automobiles.

And it also has one of the rarest scenes ever caught on camera: An extended French Riviera sequence in which all the women miraculously have their tops on.

The original Canada movie got replaced with Martin Short. Wonders of China had that corny fake poet narrator.

But Impressions de France is classy all the way.  Recently digitally remastered, it’s now better than ever.

Yes, we love the France pavilion at Epcot. Today I’d like to highlight my absolute favorite moment from the Impressions de France script. It features a true Disney star, one only a Parkeologist would recognize or care about.

I’m speaking, of course, of the most famous Disney sheep of all time.

The Famous Disney Sheep Scene

Our famous Disney sheep appears midway through the film, taking a leisurely walk along a mountain road with the rest of the herd.  Out of nowhere, a group of teenage thugs descend on the herd like a gang of Hell’s Angels, driving most of the herd into a concrete wall.

Our sheep, the hero of the story, is separated from the rest and nearly decapitated by these speed demons on their Slaughtercycles.  With a bit of deft maneuvering, she just manages to avoid getting run down, and rejoins the herd.

Meanwhile, the camera captures these demented teenagers as they race each other down the mountain, laughing at the destruction left in their wake.

My heart goes out to this sheep every time I see her.  She seems so lost and terrified.  Never once do these ruffians stop and make sure she is okay.  They just keep laughing in their silly striped shirts and tight bell bottoms.

How I despise them.  Not to put too much significance on it, but I consider this candid scene from the Impressions de France script just as historically significant as the Zapruder film.  Brutality caught on camera, now available for your enjoyment at Epcot.

Parkeology recently tracked down this poor sheep, who was credited in the film as Darla DeEwe.  Despite her fame, she was not easy to find.  She had changed her name to Brenda Shears, and was living a quiet life in Boise, ID, where everyone just mistook her French bleating for Canadian.

I had a chance to sit down with her and ask her about her brush with death, now 30 years removed from the incident.  

The Exclusive Interview

Parkeology:  What do you remember about the casting of the movie?

Brenda:  I got a call from my agent about a project being done for Epcot.  The director was doing some scouting in my province and they were looking for animal with screen experience.  I had done a few commercials, mostly for fabric softener.  The casting session was what’s known in the business as a “cattle call,” which we sheep found a little offensive. The whole scene in the Impressions de France script was originally written for cows.  But the sheep turned out to be better actors. And that’s how I got cast.

Parkeology:  Did you get much rehearsal time?

Brenda:  There was maybe a day or two of rehearsal.  Learning how to move as a unit, trying not to trip over each other’s hooves, that sort of thing.  The first sessions were all about learning the choreography. After, they sent us to wardrobe and we tried it in costume.  I remember there was this one girl, Leila, who showed up with patterns shaved into her wool.  They wanted a more natural look.  She tried to cover it with cotton balls, but by the end of the shoot, the glue no longer had its stickiness.  You can just see her in the middle of the pack in the final film, with half her coat hanging off.

Filming the Famous Disney Sheep Scene

Parkeology:  Tell us about the bicyclers.  Was that part of the original Impressions de France script?

Brenda:  The original script called for one bicyclist, a mime in a beret.  Remember, they were trying to show the true French experience.  Which in the early 1980s was a never-ending parade of bad stereotypes. The mime would come down the side of the mountain, see us sheep walking in the roadway, and then dismount and pretend he had encountered an invisible wall. At the end of the scene, he would hold up a white flag and surrender.  We rehearsed with the mime the whole time.  He was a kindly gentleman.  A little on the quiet side.

Parkeology:  And in the actual shoot…?

Brenda: They decided to go with the gang of teenagers.  I’m not sure who made that call.  It wasn’t a sheep, that’s for sure.

Parkeology:  The director has claimed that the whole set was very safe.  The kids on the bike were trained stunt professionals.

Brenda: Bah.

Parkeology:  I’m sorry, are you saying he’s lying, or were you just bleating?

Brenda:  I’m saying he’s covering his you-know-what.  I’ve heard all the claims.  That we were wearing extra padding, that the bikes were made of foam material, that they had doctors standing just off camera in case something were to go wrong.  It’s all a crock.  There’s a sheer dropoff on the other side of the cliff.  I could have been killed running the wrong direction.  There’s no PA crouched down there with a mattress.

Is She Still the Most Famous Disney Sheep?

Parkeology:  After things went wrong on that shoot, were you ever offered any restitution?

Brenda:  I filed a complaint with the union.  They sent some lamb to represent me.  But the movie company had these lawyers that said I had signed a consent form.  Hey, we all signed them in those days.  “Yes, I give such-and-such permission to shave my wool, etc.”  But nowhere in the contract did it say I could be rundown on set by bloodthirsty teenagers.

Parkeology:  So nothing was settled?

Brenda:  The lawyers killed us with paperwork.  Before the incident, I was really gathering traction as one of the more famous Disney sheep. And after I filed, I couldn’t get work.  They had labeled me a black sheep.  I bounced around for a bit, took some roles I’m not proud of.

Parkeology:  You don’t mean…

Brenda:  Yeah, films for Universal Studios, that sort of thing.  I don’t like talking about it.  Eventually I got out of the business all together.  Tried my hand at the petting zoo thing.  Worked the Affection Section at Animal Kingdom. Finally met a nice ram, settled down, and got out of the public eye.

Parkeology:  Looking back on your experience, are there any positive memories?

Brenda:  I guess just all the fan support. I don’t know how I would have survived without it.  There’s been talk of adding me to the convention circuit.  They invited me to that big D23 event in a couple weeks. Supposedly other famous Disney sheep will be there. I don’t know if I’m ready.  I have to check my schedule.

Parkeology:  Well Brenda, we appreciate you taking the time to chat with us.  Hopefully we’ll see you around real soon.

Brenda:  Take care, hon.

[For privacy reasons, Brenda Shears doesn’t release her home address. But if you would like to get in touch with her, you can contact her agency (William & Morris). Or drop us a line here at parkeology.com and we will be happy to pass it along]