Rating: 
Summary: Disney pushes the envelope yet again...
Review: If you are a Christian - please do not waste your time on this movie. As a Christian mother I was warned that this movie was full of spirit worship and bought it for my 3 1/2 year old son anyway. Well, the spirt worship is one thing but the movie is just plain BORING on top of that. The moose use the word "stupid" to the point is not humorous and it teaches our children to use inappropriate language as well. I am sorry but Disney should be a name you can trust and when a movie is written for children such language and inuendo should not be present. Disney just pushes the envelope too far with some of their stuff and they seriously need their wrists slapped for some of it. Again, take out the religion and word "stupid". The movie is just dull and boring.
Rating: 
Summary: SO CUTE
Review: this movie was SO cute. it even made my 21 year old boyfriend cry! Such a heart warming story line and incredible ending. see this movie
Rating:
Summary: Scared my daughter!
Review: Finally, after some time a Disney movie that was actually rated "G". Atlantis and Lilo and Stich were PG and for the most part for good reason. Looking at the cover of Brother Bear it looks like a fun and colorful movie. "Look Honey, I got you Brother Bear", I said to my daughter. We pop in the movie and watch the first few minutes. Great songs, colorful images and family playing around with each other. I ease up a bit feeling that this will be an entertaining cartoon for my 3 year old and the rest of the family after getting burned by Atlantis. Then BAM, roaring bears and brothers falling to their deaths. My daughters eyes were like saucers and then ran out of the room saying "No more bears". I guess my review of this movie is really only for the first 15 minutes. I kind of would like to see the rest of the movie, but I have to see it without my daughter. It would be nice for Disney to make movies to actually cater to kids and not worry so much if the parents will be entertained.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately, the magic has left the building.
Review: Here's what I can say is good about the movie...the colors and the animation are pretty. Otherwise, it's simply boring. The music is uninspired. The dialogue is preachy. The changing of the aspect ratios 24 minutes into the film is gimmicky and lame, downright annoying in fact. Buy practically anything else made or distributed by Disney and you will be better off.
Rating:
Summary: Exremely underrated
Review: I am absolutely appaled at all the negative reviews of this film, both from critics and consumers. This is one of the best Disney films since "The Lion King," and certainly the most dramatic and heartbreaking. The story centers around the physical and spiritual transformation of a yound Inuit man named Kenai, who, after killing a bear without any remorse, is transformed into a bear by the Great Spirits. Now instead of being the hunter, he is now being hunted--by his own brother. This is a very exciting and very entertaining film. The only negative I really have is that the lyrics for the "Welcome" song are a bit on the simplistic side. All the other songs (and their corresponding sequences in the film) are great, even the "Great Spirits" song, which, I must admit, took some time to grow on me. The film itself is very drmaatic and rather emotionally intense, all of which pays itself off not only during the process of experiencing it, but it also makes the film's happy ending that much hapier. However, parents would be advised to screen this film for very young kids first; this is no "Land Before Time." This film is the second-to-last Disney film to be done using hand-drawn animation , due to the erronious beliefs that CGI animation is cheaper, faster, or better. "Brother Bear" revels in the fact that much of it was painted by hand (although there is plenty of CGI work in the film as well), featuring spectacular production design and backgrounds, and appealing character animation that does a great job of brining the characters to life and moving them around in three dimensions (I never understand why hand-drawn animation is sometimes called "2D" and CGI "3D"...neither is more dimensional or flatter than the other. The difference simply is that in CGI, the computer does the work of translating a three-dimensional character to a two-dimensional film frame, while in hand-drawn animation, this responsibility lies in the talent, imagination, and ability of the animator and his pencils. And even if Disney phases out hand-drawn animation, it is not outdated, for as long as people continue to draw it will never be obsolete, and it will never die.) The production design, special effects, and backgrounds are absolutely stunning in this film, and the characer animation does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. The voices are also very well done, the best being Jeremy Suarez (from "The Bernie Mac Show"), as Koda, a little bear cub that becomes Kenai's surrogate brother as the film progresses. This film is also interesting in its inventive use of cinematography. The first 24 minutes of the film feature muted colors, a strong focus on realism, and an aspect ratio of 1.75:1. After Kenai is transformed into a bear, the film widens to the CinemaScope aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (becasue Kenai's going to get a "whole new perspective" on life), the colors become bright and strongly saturated, and the tone of the film segues into the realm of fantasy (what with Canadian moose, New York rams, and such). This film was stunning to watch in the theatres, and the 2-disc DVD is very well put together as well, featuring both the original theatrical version and a 1.66:1 pan & scan version (better than a 4:3, but still not as good as the original theatrical..and besides, watching this film in pan & scan robs it of its symbolic aspect ratio change). There are plenty of bonus features, including a review of the production art (similar to what Pixar did for the "Finding Nemo" DVD), deleted scnes, making-of documentaries, and a hilarious commentary by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, in character as the Canadian moose Rutt and Tuke from the film. In closing, I'm interested in the fact that many people call this film "The Lion King-lite" or a "Lion King" rip-off. This is the film "The Lion King" wanted to be. "The Lion King" (in my humble opinion, the weakest of Disney's "second reinassance" films) tried so hard to be oh-so serious and dramatic, while "Brother Bear" does so without even trying. This film is certainly much better than another film it is often compared to, 20th Century Fox's pleasent-enough but unexciting "Ice Age." This is a film that every member of every family (and of any age) should see and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Expected
Review: I am in college and I really enjoyed Brother Bear. It was cute, fun, sad, colorful, and actually quite moving. When this feature came out at the theaters I was not expecting much and didn't bother to see it. I rented the movie and just got so into it. The story between the friendship of Kenai and Koda is cute. Their evolution from acquaintances, to friends, to family is a good message for us all. The animation of the wilderness is beautiful (makes me appreciate 2D animation again). And, well, the movie was moving and a bit reminiscent to the Lion King and Bambi. I have to lastly saw that I loved the two mooses in the movie. They just cracked me up so much. Brother Bear is not the best Disney movie that I have ever seen. It is not in the ranks of Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, but it is nowhere near Disney movies like Atlantis. It is a cute movie and I think adults will like it if they see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Ok if you can get past the greenie tree hugging
Review: Another kid's movie hiding a pagan world view with tons of greenie lectures.
Ok, animals are cool and we should all live in harmony.
Anyway, this is one I won't be in a hurry to watch again and can't recommend owning.
Rating:
Summary: "Not this Daddy! Not this!", A disappointed Dad
Review: "Not this Daddy! Not this!" That's the review my 3-year old son gave Brother Bear after about 15 minutes, not counting several minutes of previews we sat through before I gave up and fast forwarded through them. To be honest, I was a bit relieved. The animation was lush but unengaging, the narration was overly preachy, and the Phil Collins music was, well... Phil Collins music. It wasn't a total loss -- we spent the rest of the evening putting puzzles together and coloring.
Rating:
Summary: Bearly Good: Enjoyable, But Lacks Power and Originality
Review: First, please, please, do not say "Brother Bear," good as it is, is a 5-star feat. If so, how many stars do we need to describe the delightful experience of watching "Little Mermaid"? Ten stars? Or twenty? There is nothing wrong with "Brother Bear," and that is the problem with it. I'm talking about the originality. OK, the story itself is interesting. Young native American Kenei is turned into a bear by the mystrious power after inconsiderately killing another bear. Kenai, to return human, has to go to the mountain with a kiddie bear Koda. There you see the story of friendship between animals and humans, against the background of Mother Nature. Probably "Brother Bear" would appeal to the fans who prefer traditional Disney animations. And that is a good thing even though American market recently saw the change in animation films. Pixar and Dreamworks are now the force to be reckoned with, and their creative minds are not to be ignored. Clearly, compared with "Finding Nemo" or "Shrek," "Brother Bear" looks old-fashioned. And again I say, that is not a bad thing. "Brother Bear" uses traditional 2-D animation, which is soft in color and natural in movement. And the story, which revers the culture of native Americans, is not without merit, being always engaging and smooth, and there is even a slightly surprise ending. The message is a worhty one, and vocal actors (starring Joaquin Phoneix as Kenei) are doing a good job. And the two silly mooses are joy to see, thanks to Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. However ... sorry, but these flaws. Phil Collins songs are just forgettable (where is Elton John?), and at many scenes I thought to myself: "I have seen it before" when I saw the bears dancing to the tune; when I saw the picture on the rock (is it in "Ice Age"?); or when I saw the glacier and manmoths (again, "Ice Age"... perhaps). Call me whatever you want, but I see the lack of imagination here and there. Rememebr, it's Disney where they produced "Fantasia", and we always want a great thing from that company. Not just a good film.
Rating:
Summary: Not for my kid.
Review: I don't quite understand other reviewers' comments that this is a "family-friendly" movie. First, one brother got killed then later the cub found out that his mom is dead; not to mention that throughout the other part of the movie, the other brother is ruthlessly hunting a bear (who's actually is the other brother). Why is it that most animated movies always killed off a family member? Bambi lost his mother, Simba in the Lion King lost his dad, Nemo's mom got killed, Long Neck in Land Before Time lost his mother. If animated movies are to be for kids then they should make it fun, entertaining, and perhaps even be silly for innocent minds, not filling them with fears of losing a family member. While watching this movie, my 3-year-old kept on asking where is the mommy bear, why is the hunter after the bear. She started to cry when the hunter was fighting with the bear. If the point of the movie is to teach compassion, I wish they would have done it differently.
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