Frère des ours

I don't know what the hell people (or critics for that matter) are looking for, but this movie was EXCELLENT. For my 3-year-old to sit through the whole thing is testimony enough to its interest. The Phil Collins soundtrack is the only thing that wasn't exciting - almost as if he was trying too hard - but I wouldn't criticize the whole movie for that. There just weren't any "memorable" songs that ran through my head afterwards. For someone that has to endure "kid" movies more than any other, this was by far one of the most enjoyable.

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.

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

Brother Bear (2003)

*** (out of 4)

Underrated Disney film about a Inuit hunter (voice of Joaquin Phoenix) who kills a bear without cause and ends up being transformed into a bear where he must help a young cub who has lost its mother. In order to take human form again, the bear must grow a heart and learn the true meaning of love. BROTHER BEAR seems to get a lot of mixed reviews among Disney fans but I really don't understand why because I thought it was a pretty good film with several memorable characters, some good laughs, the needed pulling of the heart-strings and of course some great animation. I really thought the animation here was quite wonderful from the opening scenes that were full of darkness to the middle of the picture when things are a lot more colorful. The attention to detail was just marvelous and especially the scenes early on with the ice, the flowing water and several scenes inside a cave. There lights in the sky were another impressive bit of animation from the studio who were obviously legends by now. Another major plus were the vocal performances with Phoenix doing an extremely good job in the role of the bigger brother who takes on this young cub. You can just really feel a love and naturing feeling to the vocal work. Jeremy Suarex, Rick Moranis and D.B. Sweeney are also very good in their supporting roles. As you'd expect, there's certain messages that the filmmakers try to get across and I think they did a fine job without having to beat the viewer over the head. The ending, which I won't spoil, was quite touching as only Disney can do. Again, I'm really not sure why this film got so many negative reviews but it's certainly a winning addition to the studio's great work.

Though I think highly of the new three-dimensional computerized animated films, the traditional hand-drawn stuff just has a different charm. And whatever some people say, traditional animation is not dated. This cartoon's story is interesting, accurately based on real Inuit beliefs. Every component of it is great, and the scene where Koda discovers that Kenai is really a man is beautiful. Not going to give away the happenings behind this powerful, moving scene. The hand-drawn animation is done in the classical style, but the computer graphics are breathtaking. The waterfalls, the mountains, the Aurora Borealis... they're fantastic. The two McKenzie moose are great for comic relief. The characterization is great, and I like the Inuit priest. The brotherhood is something I can identify with perfectly - my three cousins are exactly the same. The music depends on preference. I think the opening Tina Turner song is OK, nothing special, but the Phil Collins songs are better. It's no Jungle Book, Oliver and Company or Lion King when it comes to the music department. I think Jeremy Suarez (seems familiar in the behind-the-scenes trailer) must be a pretty good actor. Koda's my favorite character in the movie. This cartoon is really great, and I'm torn between it and Finding Nemo for cartoon of the year. It's great entertainment, an interesting story told through a truly great, but dying, art form.