Grizzly

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.

"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.

I was delighted to find "Bears". What was so amazing about this movie were the close-up shots of many personal moments for this bear family. I just wondered throughout the entire movie how the film makers could have this repertoire with these wild creatures. Being a pro photographer myself, I could tell that the lenses they used were not extremely long telephoto lenses. This was better, more personal than a National Geographic documentary. The images were so sharp and colorful, it just lead me to want to visit, or live, in Alaska. The panoramas were huge, majestic, post card perfect. The narrative was helpful; I needed to know what motivated the bears through their journey; the narrative answered that. Violence between bears was muted compared to what I know they can do to one another. So, this movie is safe for little children I feel. Yes, they eat Salmon fish in the river, but I eat Salmon fish too, on a plate. Did you know that bears live at the top of the peaks of mountains? I didn't know that. They carve themselves out of their hiding place from the very top of a high mountain! This movie goes into the details of a bears life from its infancy. So, your heart will be touched and warmed up by their cute behaviors. Your city life woes will all melt away when you follow them through all of the problems that bears encounter during a year's time. Yes, I do feel that "Sky", the mother bear, should be nominated for an Oscar. If Snow White and her 7 Dwarfs were winners for the Oscar, "Sky" & "Scout" & "Amber" should also be considered. This movie has its villains and its funny friends. DisneyNature is a wide eye opening presentation. There was applause from the audience at its conclusion. I felt that this movie "brought me back" to a good feeling after I had been "crashed" by a scifi movie I had seen earlier. "Bears" is good family entertainment, and as I said, it will transport you to lush, clear and clean adventure in Alaska. Now I understand why people live there.

Great little story that shows the hardships of motherhood in nature. The animals have names and there is a slight narrative thread with some of the recurring bears and other predators.

The movie features plenty of beautiful shots of nature be it the breathtaking Alaskan Alps or the beauty and colours of a meadow. You will also see breathtaking sights like the best avalanche ever filmed and some intense bear fights and close calls. There's also an amazing scene with an eagle being a dick to a falcon. The movie also features a slew of different animals like Wolves, Foxes, Ravens, Eagles, Falcons, Rock Eels, etc.

The movie does have 2 major flaws. First is John C. Reilly. He never really seems all that into it and almost every attempt at humor falls flat. Also his monotone voice when explaining things gets pretty dull and boring. Secondly a lot of the film seems to be at 0.5 speed. Not slo-mo but very close and most times it's just unneeded and it detract from what's happening.

This has been a green review.