Brother Bear Reviews

Me arrepiento de no haber defendido esta película cuando pude, es una agradable sorpresa. Trata tanto el tema de convivir en armonía con lo salvaje así como de la maduración y el crecimiento. Ambos protagonistas aprenden algo valioso y a ver la perspectiva del otro volviéndose verdaderos hermanos y el echo de que Kenai se quedara como oso NO es un error, es parte de lo que aprende al madurar, ya que, ahora Koda es su directa responsabilidad.

Que bonita película.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy Brother Bear as much as I did. It is by far one of the better post-Tarzan Disney movies, along with Emperor's New Groove and Lilo and Stitch. I do think it is very underrated, apart from a couple of minor flaws there is hardly anything wrong with it. So what makes Brother Bear a delight? Well for one thing, the animation is simply gorgeous. Beautiful colours, stunning backgrounds and next to flawless character movement. Out of the post-Tarzan Disney movies, Brother Bear gets my vote as the most beautiful visually.

Another pro was the awesome soundtrack. The orchestral music is lovely, and Phil Colins's songs are every bit as catchy, fun and memorable as the ones he did for Tarzan. The film also has a heartwarming story, concentrating on the friendship between Kenai and Koda and there is a nice moral. There is also a lot of symbolism, that was incorporated into the narrative very well. The characterisations are strong, with Joaquin Pheonix superb as the voice of Kenai, and Koda(voiced by Jeremy Suarez) is a simply adorable character. Plus the MacKenzie Moose, voiced by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis were hilarious. There are some funny parts in the script, but quintessentially it is a heartwarming one, maybe even some tearjerkers.

I have very little to complain about this movie. Though had this movie been a tad longer, we could have had some more development in the secondary characters. My only other qualm was although the songs in general were awesome, the song sung by Tina Turner at the beginning wasn't quite in the same league. Other than that, this is a great underrated movie, not Disney's best, but you know what, it is well worth the look. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

This movie was one of the last flops delivered by Disney before they would drop their trademark hand-drawn animation style. In fact, I even saw this feature in the movie theater with my wife and the kids (in fact, I think it was the very first movie we saw in the movie theater all together). Anyway, it had been ages since I saw the damned thing so I was quite eager to check it out again. Well,  eventually, even though it didn’t get much love when it was released and even though it was indeed rather flawed, there was some elements that I really enjoyed about this flick. Obviously, the animation was quite gorgeous but, a part from that, it was in fact an interesting tale and it was in fact much darker and much more dramatic than we have been used to get from those guys. Basically, the main character was a rather selfish and ignorant young boy who, after losing his older brother, blames a bear, kills the poor beast and ends up taking care of this bear's little cub. I mean, that was some rather heavy material and there was some great potential but, unfortunately, they didn’t really know how to handle such a dark tale, I'm afraid. In fact, I don't even think that to change the main character into a bear was the problem. No, the problem was that, from the moment he turned into a bear, from that point, everything became suddenly so childish. Basically, they did their best to tone down all the fascinating dark elements of this tale resulting in another generic road trip with some talking animals and some typically uplifting songs by Phil Collins. In my opinion, they had a pretty good story but they completely drowned  it into the usual boring Disney formula which was too bad. Still, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I cannot muster up much in any direction regarding Brother Bear. The story is assembled from various disparate parts of prior Disney films, and it continues the Post-Renaissance tradition of indifference. Many of these films feel like they’re the product of too much group-think and studio interference, beating out much of the scope, originality, and ambition along the way.

 

We’re a long way from the messy, artistic heights of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, or the masterpieces like Beauty & the Beast or The Lion King, which it openly rips from. Not even ten years after those neo-classics, we’ve descended this far down. I just don’t know what happened to the Disney studio. During this era the rise in direct-to-video sequels probably had something to do with it. Why bother to make something great, when you came make something designed to sell then spin it off into a massive amount of merchandise and inferior sequels?

 

The only artistic choice that announces itself as something different is the switch in aspect ratios. Having never watched Brother Bear before, I simply thought there was something wrong with either my TV or the file went weird on Netflix. I’m still not sure why it changes from a more limited view when the main character is a human to the expansive scope when he changes into a bear, but at least it’s something distinguishing. It is perhaps needlessly artsy, but it gives the film some personality, if only briefly.

 

The rest of it plays out in broad strokes that Disney has done many times before. Cute talking animals, easily digestible cultural flourishes, tonally contrasting sidekicks, dead relatives, and ancestral spirits reaching down from heaven to awaken the lead’s journey – everything is present and accounted for. None of it is given a fresh spin, unless the goofy comic sidekicks being Canadian counts. I’m not entirely sure it does.

 

Is there an original image, idea, or character in this movie? I don’t think so. A general sense of indifference permeates the film, a feeling of “good enough” to not diminish the brand too much. The animation is only so-so, a step down from the previous Treasure Planet’s lush space opera or Atlantis: The Lost Empire’s comic book angularity or The Emperor’s New Groove’s slapstick old school style. It’s the generic prestige house style, but corners have obviously been cut. It feels closer to something from the Bronze Era.

 

Shortly after this film’s release, Disney announced that they were transitioning from 2D hand-drawn animation to 3D computer-generated animation. I get the sense that Disney was just burning off the last few films they had in production, eager to dive into the new format, and only continue with hand-drawn as a means to create more sequels to their famous titles. Brother Bear is not a good film, it’s not the worst thing they’ve produced either, but it is the sight of brand dilution.

For decades, the Walt Disney Company made a whole bunch of animated movies for their Animated Canon. Some of them, like Beauty and the Beast, are timeless classics. Others, like The Black Cauldron, are pitiful additions to the Canon. And then there's those that fly under the radar; that last category not only applies to Oliver & Company, but also to Brother Bear.

At first, I, like the rest of the world, passed up any chances of seeing it, but then we found out who voiced the characters. Our main character Kenai is voiced by Joaquin Phoenix, Koda is voiced by Jeremy Suarez from The Bernie Mac Show (and he'll be in the new AVGN movie), and the moose Rutt and Tuke are basically animal versions of the McKenzie Bros. from SCTV; no really; it's them! Now where was I? Oh, I thought this would be some lame rehash of The Emperor's New Groove, but actually, it really isn't. The difference between these two movies is that while Kuzco was very egotistical, the reason for Kenai's transformation was because he killed a bear in cold blood after his eldest brother Sitka dies protecting him and other brother Denahi from it.

From what I can tell, in addition to the movie's messages about loving your family and that revenge has consequences, there is a third message that is about fate. Sitka was destined to sacrifice himself to save his brothers. Kenai was destined to turn into a bear. Koda was destined to be Kenai's surrogate brother even after Kenai killed his mother. And Rutt and Tuke were destined to live in harmony with the bears, animals that are normally predators to moose. Yes, even though this movie didn't do so hot initially, it's actually pretty deep, and the ending always has me shedding at least a single tear. The movie is a case of "Don't judge a book by its cover", meta or not.

My rating: 8/10

When I saw the production of this film stated, I pretty much threw up in my mouth. Unclear why but I just hated the thought of it.

I did go through a phase where after Lion King was released that I hate all of Disney films. Pocahontas, Tarzan, Hercules, Mulan, This! I never gave a chance. I did though.

The film was delightfully sentimental. The young tribesman and his brothers discover their destinies from the local witch doctor and this literally throw their lives in turmoil.

The youngest kills a bear and coincidently is turned into a bear himself. Enter Bear on Bear duo! The ending alone choked me up, but I never cried. Sacrifice always makes a great ending to a film.

Phil Collins once again jumps in to do a Disney Soundtrack and makes it worthwhile.

Try it but don't buy it!