Osos

I watched Disney's "Bears," during the opening weekend. I support the Earth Day films they make each year. Of the ones I have seen in the past ("Oceans," "African Cats," and "Chimpanzee,"), this one is not the best one they have done, but it is still enjoyable. The film is a tad slow, and at 77 minutes, you get the sense the filmmakers had to stretch the movie out to even reach 77 minutes. The end credits showed a lot of the filming, and I got the sense it could have been longer.

The good things about the film is watching the bear cubs play and frolic and their journey with their mother. The film lacks a lot of breathtaking panoramas and scenes considering it is a nature film, but the scenes showing all of the Alaskan mountains are gorgeous. I like John C. Reilly, but to be honest, his narration did not exactly add to the presentation.

John C. Reilly narrates this Disney nature documentary about Sky, a female brown bear, and her two cubs, Scout and Amber, in Alaska. They climb out of their snowbound den and traverse mountains to greener pastures. It's a year in their lives. They scavenge for food and watch for predators. The big feast comes with the salmon run.

This has all the great Disney nature cinematography. It looks beautiful although the slow motion can linger a little too long. I'm less convinced about the Reilly narrations. His casual speaking voice is too colloquial sometimes. It's mostly fine except for the bears' voices which comes off a little sarcastic. There are stretches missing in the journey which could have added to the drama. There isn't much film about being lost in the woods for two weeks. That could have been great darkness before the dawn. The movie isn't that long and Sky's shocking thin appearance is jarring in its disconnection. That could have added some depth to the desperation. This is fine for the G-rated nature films for the kids.

The photography deserves superlatives that haven't been bastardized, cheapened and ground down into nothing, but I don't know any. So, simply, the imagery is just stunning. John C. Reilly as narrator was a weak choice and his narration is definitely geared to entertain young folk, but it is good-natured enough to be excused, although the movie would have worked just fine without any narration at all. As it is, he provides all of the anthropomorphic fantasy you expect in a Disney flick. "Chimpanzee" still stands out for me as the pinnacle of Disney Nature (anthropomorphic fantasy) films.

Beautiful-looking documentary from Disney. It's harmless fluff. There's no footage of bears killing other animals (besides fish) and the few bear fights they show result in no bloodshed. I'm not sure why it was even made as you can find such nature documentaries on television all the time. Still, it is pleasant to watch. There is a somewhat annoying narration from John C. Reilly. I get that Disney wanted this to appeal to kids so having a comedian with a silly voice is understandable from a marketing standpoint. But the documentary does have serious moments and Reilly pretty much ruins all of those. It's worth watching if you love animals and nature footage. But be prepared for it to be slow-moving and a little too cutesy at times. If you have kids, they will likely enjoy it more than you do.

"Bears" is one of a series of documentaries produced by Disney's "Disney Nature" division, and this one focuses on a mother bear and her two cubs, following them over the course of a few seasons. It begins as they awaken from winter hibernation, and watches as the mother tries to protect her offspring and show them how to obtain food, which sometimes looks to be in short supply. There are also dangers to overcome, such as the threats posed by bigger and meaner bears, a rogue wolf, and nature itself.

Overall, a good if not great film. It's marked by exemplary filmmaking, with top notch photography of many beautiful Alaska locations. It benefits from an engaging cast of animal characters. Although, like so many things aiming for a family audience, it does tend to get awfully precious. This viewer thought that giving the animals character names like "Sky", "Scout", and "Amber" was overly cute, and the film IS manipulative, to be sure, with some overstated music. Actor John C. Reilly recites the narration, and while his recitation is amiable enough, the stuff he has to utter can be incredibly goofy. "Hey, Mom! Wait up!"

This viewer would imagine the other Disney Nature documentaries pretty much follow the same formula, although the intentions are certainly admirable. Any film that aims at young viewers and attempts to teach them respect for Mother Nature and the animal kingdom is alright in his book.

Seven out of 10.