Brother Bear (2003)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

You can't blame Disney. After Pixar and DreamWorks had moved animation on, they needed a gimmick to keep people watching their traditional hand drawn style films. So of course they turned to music legend Phil Collins, who had done so well providing the music for 'Tarzan' in to try to repeat the trick.Sadly for them lightning rarely strikes twice. The main problem actually isn't the music, it's fine, it's the fact that the story is a little too dull to keep parents interested, and the characters aren't engaging enough to keep the kids onside.It's a decent Disney effort, don't get me wrong, but it's never going to have the same appeal as some of its earlier films.

Brother Bear had the potential to be a great film. I kind of think this as Disney's attempt to redo Pocahontas. Stylistically they're very similar. You have natives, ancient American wilderness, themes of nature and coexistence, the whole nine yards. But like Pocahontas, Brother Bear is a very flawed film. Excellent initial idea and setting are watered down by lackluster storytelling decisions and bland characters.Kenai is a young man on the cusp of adulthood, ready to receive his spirit animal, his totem. Unfortunately for him, instead of heroism, or bravery, or courage, his totem is that of a bear, representing love. And naturally, being a typical boy, this doesn't sit well with him. But, through various events, he is transformed into a bear to learn a lesson about himself and the wider world around him. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? It's basic and a bit heavy-handed, but you can see the possibilities.Unfortunately, after a really strong first act, the film falls apart. Kenai and Koda, the bear cup he meets soon after transforming, are horribly written characters. They have no chemistry, no characteristics beyond stereotypes and their bond is not enough to carry a film. The story itself is fine, but if you don't care about the characters, you won't care about the story. Plus, the music by Phil Collins is an ill fit for the mood they're trying to accomplish. In Tarzan Collins' songs worked because of how well-written they were, but here they're more than a little intrusive. Especially when they start playing over scenes that should deepen the bond and relationship between our two main characters. More than once music starts playing when we should hear the conversations between these two.That being said, the movie definitely has its upsides as well. The animation and the visuals in general are both gorgeous. The colours are lush and vivid, the character designs are enjoyable and the whole world of ancient Inuits comes to life beautifully. And as much as I harped on the music, I do think that the first two songs, Great Spirits and Transformation, are both fantastic. And while the story could have been a lot better with very little effort, it's by no means awful. I simply don't like seeing potential wasted like this.All in all, Brother Bear is on the lower end of Disney films, but it still means that it's worth a watch if you have a couple of hours to kill and have already seen all the better ones. It's not great, but it has enough good in it to entertain.

Brother Bear is a real superb fable with many a social theme coursing through it. Relations between different social groups and the value people and animals hold dear to one another are transcendent. This film knows this, and shows us so.I have to be honest, I didn't think much of "Brother Bear" when I first saw the ads for it on TV all those years ago. I dismissed it as another Disney film which probably catered to kids, probably had high production values, and probably had some kind of story about a Native American turning into a bear via Disney magic.It's all those things, but it is so much more. Often our social cliques dictate to use what we assume other people must be like, and when we see someone who looks different from ourselves, we wonder if they actually are different. Otherwise a lot of us assume that other people simply operate they way we do, and get along as we do. It creates rifts in society that can spill over into violent social outrage. "Brother Bear" takes a page from the spiritual, and uses that plot device to propel the story forward to give one of the humans a taste of what it's like to walk int he footsteps of "the opposition".This Disney production, like a few other Disney productions, does not spare the talent. From the screenplay, which is coursing with great dialogue, story moments, focusing around a great premise that has ramifications world wide, to the voice talent, to the superb traditional animation style that only Disney can deliver to audiences. The result really is a superb film.A magnificent parable that not only has exceptional high production values we come to expect from Disney animation, not only has good leads for the voice talent, but also has Bob and Doug McKenzie reincarnated as a couple of moose from "the great white north" (take off, eh!). For them alone I had to see this film. Their commentary and actual roles in the film are G-Rated Disney fare (no beer jokes here, eh), Further, the themes in this Disney film really do touch the hearts of all creatures and people. Even if you're a die hard scientist and atheist like myself, you'll come to understand that even though you know that the concept of ghost or spirits is a nonstarter to begin with, it is the process of looking to the beyond ("super-natural") that ultimately leads us to look to our own more rational judgment, and how said good sound judgment on matters of the heart stemming from our feelings, is a strength. The film really does go after divisions between the races, sexes and nationalities, though uses our own primal paleolithic history to bring forth such a tale. If I had any real criticisms of this film, and I can't say that I truly and honestly do, it's that we didn't see more creatures of the era. We aren't sure if we're seeing vaunted cavebears (larger than the largest grizzly and polar bears), we saw woolly mammoths and woolly bison, but we didn't see dire wolves, woolly rhinos nor some of the other animals of an era long gone ago. But, as with all negatives about this film, that's nitpicking.All in all a superb Disney film. Watch by yourself, with friends, or with the family.Enjoy as much of it as you can.

This is probably my favorite Disney movie. I love all Disney movies but this is definitely my favorite. I think the soundtrack is amazing one of my favorite songs is, "On My Way." The reason I gave the movie a 9 instead of a 10 is because the movie is very sad at some parts. I think this movie sends an amazing message. I also think this movie underrated. This movie really sends you a message about how you should handle difficult situations. Koda is adorable and Rut and Tuk are really really funny. This movie did make me cry because it was so touching. I feel like watching it right now but I can't because my disk is scratched which makes me sad but i'll probably download it on Itunes or something.