The Two Little Bears

Grammar school principal and father to three kids--none of whom look or sound alike--has to accept the fact that magic can happen when his two youngest boys change themselves into bears via an incantation borrowed from a trailer-park gypsy. Aside from the typical stereotyping of a nervous, hypocritical psychiatrist, there's nothing offensive about "The Two Little Bears"...indeed, it's as blithely innocuous and harmless as a sitcom from the early 1960s. Littered with famous faces and a familiar suburban scenario, the movie incorporates fanciful comedy and a little song into its mix; still, even trained bear cubs can only do so much, and the picture feels extremely thin at 83 minutes. Eddie Albert and Jane Wyatt are charming as the non-hysterical, low-keyed parents; Brenda Lee is their twangy-voiced teenage daughter (perhaps adopted?); and Donnie Carter and Butch Patrick are the boys (neither of whom are perceptive child-actors, though they are cute as a button). Lee sings (very well) and acts (not so well). Had Walt Disney made this movie, the teasing from critics never would have stopped. Since Twentieth Century-Fox made it--on a TV budget with TV actors--nobody paid any attention. ** from ****

The cast is about the only interesting thing in this unremarkable story of two boys that use magic and wishing to become bear cubs. Eddie (Green Acres) Albert, Jane (Father Knows Best) Wyatt, and Brenda (the singer) Lee perform their acting chores admirably, but the story line and script are just too thin. Scenes of the boys turning to bear cubs feature zee-roe special effects, this one was made in the 60s, but c'mon!! The supporting roles are gleaned from the Who's Who of TV...Jimmy (Mousketeer) Boyd, Nancy (Beverly Hillbillys) Kulp, and Soupy (pie-in-the-face) Sales among others. This might be a good one for the grandkids...just to show them what we had to put up with in the 50s and 60s.

I saw this movie in 1961 or 1962. I was too young to judge its quality. It wouldn't be hard for me to believe that it wasn't that good by adult standards but I liked it a lot as a kid. It was good to see Little Brenda Lee at her peak as a singer. I believe there were plans at that time to move her toward acting. As has been mentioned in other comments on this movie, there are several people in the cast who were quite noted at that time. This movie is a rare opportunity to see them.I would love to see it again but do not know of any sources for obtaining a copy. I'm curious as to how others have seen it.

When Disney goes bad. If Disney didn't produce this, it should have. It was doing all those Shaggy Dog and Herbie movies at that time. This is just before Eddie Albert went over to the dark side and took the money for horrible TV spots like 'Green Acres'. He had done some quite good character acting in the past. Jane Wyatt is fresh from her long running papp with Robert Young 'Father Knows'. Brenda Lee pretends to be the butch Southern daughter. The kids are Disney kid regulars. Watch it if you're sick and want mindless TV on background. It's pretty sugary stuff. If you still believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and leprachauns, enjoy.

The only reason to see this silly film is to see singer Brenda Lee, famous for her hits such as "I'm Sorry," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and many, many others. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much screen time, and she's clearly been stuck into this film as an afterthought.

There is one scene where Brenda sits by herself in her bedroom, thinking about her two missing brothers, and she sings a few sad lines of a song to a stuffed bear. It's almost a shock because, for a moment, you're actually moved. In the middle of this fantasy/comedy about the "hijinks" of two little boys who can turn themselves into bears, you're actually moved. But then, the film continues, and it's back to the nonsense.

She isn't very natural as an actress, but, give Brenda a song and she clearly knows what to do. Too bad she didn't get a better vehicle to show her talents.