Brother Bear

Rating:
Summary: The Best animated movie
Review: I went to see "Brother Bear" when it first came out. At first I thought it was going to be a little weird but it turned out to be a great movie. It was very emotional and funny and exciting. I highly suggest you go and see it. It will be worth your money.

Rating:
Summary: A very good and enjoyable Movie
Review: I have to admit that I wasn't expecting anything special from Brother Bear, and then I saw it and discovered that the movie is really good. The story and the characters are very well developed, the music is very good and the hand drawn animation couldn't be better. Let's face it, it's not Finding Nemo, but it is the best traditional animation movie (not counting Lilo & Stitch) since Tarzan. Besides, Disney is doing the right thing realeasing this title on a 2-CD set so we fans can enjoy hours of aditional material.

Rating:
Summary: Second best of all time!
Review: I loved this film.Not including any Pixar offerings,this has to be my second favourite Disney movie,because,let's face it,nothing can compare to the absolute brilliance of the phenomenal Lilo and Stitch.But this is still great stuff with unexpected results and a good twist at the end of it(I won't brag).With the storyline being that a hunter gets himself turned into a bear,I was expecting something of an Emperor's New Groove rip-off.But it wasn't,it was far better.And with it's great animation and having the film set around the end of the Ice Age,it looked more like an Ice Age/Shrek rip-off(with the frequent showings of Kenai and Koda bickering).
But nothing here is ripped off.It may seem like it,but it's not.Brother Bear is a brilliant film that deserves to be an immediate classic and I can't wait for it to be released.

Rating:
Summary: The Moose Hole - More Then 'Bear'able
Review: Traditional animation is on the ropes, let's just face facts here people. Computer graphics have become the new medium in the animation genre as we move forward through the 21st Century of filmmaking. Does this mean it is permanent? Not by a long shot! This is not the first time traditional hand-drawn animation has been on the brink of extinction. Back in 1986, before Wells and Eisner took charge of the Disney ship, the genre had been affected greatly by failure after failure including Disney's own Black Cauldron, which, as mature as it tried to be, was far ahead of its time. Then suddenly in 1989, The Little Mermaid was released to great acclaim and box office coin. Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King soon followed and each new release built on the success of the previous entry leading to a boom in the genre. But most recently a chink has been growing on the suited armor of the traditional animation empire in part to flops such as Disney's Treasure Planet and Dreamworks' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Further successes by CGI animated features like Ice Age and Finding Nemo haven't helped matters. Brother Bear and Home on the Range (April 2004) are part of a last ditch effort for Disney to revitalize this staple of animation before it is too late.

The story centers on a young man who goes through a magical transformation and learns the meaning of brotherhood. Set in the Pacific Northwest during the time when mammoths still roamed the earth, an ancient tribe of Native Americans celebrate the coming of age ceremony for Keinai, a young man who still has yet to grow up. But the celebration is disrupted when one of Keinai's brothers is killed by a bear who tried to attack Keinai. The brash young boy is so full of rage that he goes after the bear himself to avenge his brother's death. But when the great spirits transform him into a bear, he gets a brand new perspective on life through another creature's eyes. Along the way to becoming a man once again, Keinai meets up a young bear cub name Koda ("Say it with me ... KO-DA.") and two goofy moose named Rutt and Tuke. With their help, Keinai gains a better perspective on life and all earth's creatures. The story for Brother Bear may not be the most original idea out there but the filmmakers do a wonderful job at making the film unique despite this handicap. Rutt and Tuke may be the main draw but they only the comic relief and are added at all the appropriate moments to keep the story flowing.

Despite being different genres of animation, Brother Bear does share one similarity with Pixar's Finding Nemo in the fact that both films have practically no big name stars voicing the characters. Finding Nemo found big success at the box office despite this. Can Brother Bear do the same? If the voice work gives any hint then absolutely. Joaquin Phoenix, who is becoming a rising star with roles in Gladiator and Signs, does a wonderful job as the voice of Keinai in both human and bear form. The interaction between his character and Koda is absolutely priceless and works on a lot of emotional levels from heartwarming to hilarious. Jeremy Suarez, who voices the young bear cub Koda, works well with Phoenix and gives a delightful performance despite no face time. The outlandish moose group, voiced by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, are one of the biggest highlights of this film and join the ranks of characters like Timon and Pumbaa as one of the best comic relief duos in film. The only disappointment was the lack of Native American voices contributed to the film. This was surprising since Disney had this same problem with Pocahontas in 1995.

Overall, Brother Bear successfully revitalizes the traditional animation genre and brings it back to its roots with memorable songs and delightful talking animals. There will be plenty of comments coming upon the release of the film that it seems too renascent of The Lion King but those should be greatly ignored. Brother Bear makes the story its own by combining breathtaking landscapes, memorable characters and delightful voice talent to make one of the best family films of the year. Phil Collins, who worked on Tarzan in 1999, returns to Disney with a slew of brand new songs and even works a bit on the musical score for the feature. Each song works exceedingly well except for the opening one. The only squabble that can be made about it is that Tina Turner is singing it. Had Collins been singing it then there would be no problem but it just doesn't seem to work with Turner. While we are on the subject of faults, one of the few problems with Brother Bear is that it is too slow at the beginning. It takes the film quite awhile to really get going based on action. Though this isn't a huge deal for children, it is a problem none the less. Bottom line is that Disney once again provides a wonderful film that appeals not only to young children but every member of the family. Parents need not fear of being bored thanks in part to Collins songs and the two delightful moose, who provide many hilarious lines that won't get annoying upon repetition. Take the whole clan out for one the first of hopefully many wonderful holiday fares at the box office this year.

Rating:
Summary: Review for Brother Bear
Review: It feels like a project that got quietly pushed through the pipeline while the studio gears up for bigger and better things. The journey is diverting on a Saturday-morning kind of way, but it doesn't compare to say, Finding Nemo. It turns out to be a paradigmaticventure, illustrating both the virtues of hand-drawn films and why they have become an endangered species. Disney hides the morality tale behind a rip-roaring soundtrack, goofy moose sidekicks and enough bear slapstick to delight any child. This opulent movie, with gorgeous rainbow animation, is heavy on message but light on humor, though, I recommend seeing Brother Bear.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best of the season
Review: We didn't expect much... but boy what a surprise! This is a deeply moving movie that the kids and adults will both love. Lots of fun, a lesson to be learned, and far removed from the typical romantic theme. Bring tissues - this will touch your heart!

Rating:
Summary: More for adults than children.
Review: Brother Bear is a wonderfully done movie! It has beautiful animation and the story is just as beautiful.

However, Disney didn't make this quite as good of a "kid" movie as usual. Normally Disney is able to produce a story that adults and children alike enjoy and understand- but I just think this went too far above children's heads for them to comprehend the story that was really being told here.

Other than that, the movie is entertaining and well done. The story is of 3 indian brothers, the youngest of whom, Kenai, is trying to make his mark and be recognized as a man. When a bear eats their food, Kenai goes after it. He is unsuccessful in killing the bear and his oldest brother, Sitka, is killed in the process of trying to rescue Kenai. Kenai again goes after the bear to avenge his brother's death-this is where the true story begins. The spirit of Sitka turns Kenai into a bear himself, so that he can see thru new eyes. I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'll stop there.

It is worth seeing and a wonderful movie...just don't expect it to be one of your kids' favorites until they can understand it a little better.

Rating:
Summary: Would have been much better without all the moralizing.
Review: Brother Bear (Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker, 2003)

Blaise and Walker, two of the guys who worked on Mulan, get into the director's chair for the first time for Brother Bear (a movie that I somehow missed was animated before I actually got to it). The last time Disney (well, a subsidiary) tried this trick, we got Monsters, Inc., perhaps the best Disney release of the past fifty years. This one doesn't fare so well.

Three Native American brothers, Kenai (voiced Joaquin Phoenix of Gladiator fame), Denahi (singer Jason Raize), and Sitka (D. B. Sweeney of Strange Luck, Harsh Realm, and a number of other short-lived but excellent Fox TV series), live in an Indian village. On the day of Kenai's initiation into manhood, a bear gets into the feast. Kenai, looking for revenge, goes after it, and (really, through no fault of his own) kills it, although he loses Sitka in the process. In order to atone for his sin, Kenai is changed into a bear himself and sent on a quest, though he has no idea what the quest is.

To save you some time, let me tell you the triune moral of the story First, you should never hurt an animal, not even if it's about to tear your head off and eat your brain for breakfast. Second, if you do harm an animal, even through no fault of your own, something bad will happen to you. Third, do whatever you must to atone for hurting an animal. (It should come as no surprise that the subtext to all this is that animals are better than people.) This could have all been handled with at least a little aplomb, despite the obvious stupidity of the message itself, had the points not been hammered home with (no pun intended) a week-old dead herring about halfway through the movie; Kenai, in bear form, encounters a large band of other bears at a salmon run. The other bears are doing what bears normally do at a salmon run (i.e., eating). Throughout the whole scene (accompanied by a suitably sugary and brainless Phil Collins jingle sure to be nominated for the best song Academy Award), Kenai, unlike every other bear in the scene, does not eat a single fish. After all, he's not really a bear, he's a human, and has to learn the lesson that humans can't harm animals.

Disgusted yet? You should be. The worst part is that without all the messagemongering, this was a half-decent movie. It otherwise tells its tale with gentle humor, and if the two main plot twists are both relatively predictable, well, you're not here to find yourself wowed by originality. (Hey, Toy Story was predictable, too, but that makes it no less great). But since the movie feels the need to hammer its point home in such an amateurish way, and with so little regard for the intelligence of its audience that it feels everything must be spelled out, it ends up being insulting rather than warmhearted. **

Rating:
Summary: Familiar Formula, But It Works
Review: This is a familiar Disney formula, but it works. It is not one of the best Disney productions, but it is very good. According to formula, someone close to the primary character dies very early in the movie. Later, they have some kind of mental / mystical connection to bring things back full circle. Still, this is very good and there are no noticeable drawbacks -- has humor, sadness, family and life values, good animation. All around good deal.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant, but hardly one of Disney's best.
Review: BROTHER BEAR may not achieve the "classic status" most of Disney's other films have received, but it's a definite improvement over last year's TREASURE PLANET. Produced by Disney's Orlando Animation unit, who made the wonderful MULAN in addition to LILO AND STITCH, one cannot help but expect good material. Those expectations are almost completely fulfilled. BROTHER BEAR is actually the weakest of the three Orlando productions; while it is indeed a beautiful, fun movie, it falls short of a classic. It ranks on the levels of a preivous Disney production, THE FOX AND THE HOUND -- well animated and enjoyable, but hardly worthy of "masterpiece" status.

The tale, set by a snowy mountain "where the lights touch", involves three Alaskan brothers -- Sitka, the eldest (voiced by D.B. Sweeney); Denahi, the tease (Jason Raize); and ultimately, impulsive and hot-tempered Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix). About ten minutes into the picture, Sitka dies in an avalanche in trying to protect his brothers from a bear, and Kenai, burning with immature rage, swears vengeance... and succeeds in killing the bear. In an amazingly animated sequence, Kenai is transformed into a bear himself, and pursued by the now battle-hardened Denahi (who believes he is dead). Kenai finds an unlikely ally in an orphaned bear cub, Koda (Jeremy Suarez), as he sets off for the glowing lights in order to regain his right to be human again. His relationship with Koda eventually melts the frost in his heart, and he learns that compassion is a very valuable force. (He also discovers, painfully, that the bear he killed was actually Koda's mother.)

Sure, the synopsis above doesn't sound inspiring, but it's told, for the most part, very well through gorgeous animation. When Kenai becomes a bear, the screen becomes wider as if to illustrate a bear's point of view -- a technically unique touch. Koda, in addition, is arguably the highlight of the show. Eager-to-please and earnest, this little chatterbox of a cub has the sort of fire to warm Kenai's frosty heart, and delivers some of the best lines in the film. Phil Collins once again lends his golden voice to the movie by contributing six songs, which are bouncy and pleasant to say the least if not memorable. Unfortunately, there are gripes I have about two numbers. The first, sung by Tina Turner, is a little weak; the second one which plays during a very crucial moment in the movie (the scene where Kenai informs Koda how his mother died) dampens what should have been a heartwrenching sequence. Employing chilling background music would probably have been a better choice. In fact, recent animated productions have proven how they can tell an effective story *without* relying on songs.

They've also proven that comic sidekicks are not always required. In this case, the two moose who make most of the comedy, Rutt and Tuke (Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis), feel both contrived in both the flow of the story and plot; their humor is, for the most part, good, but there's nothing we haven't already seen from these kind of comedians, and they could have been featured in a different story. Actually, after the first 20 minutes before Kenai becomes a bear, the movie has a lot of comic moments... and ends abruptly and unsatisfyingly, too. Although there are funny outtakes in the closing credits, I was left feeling cold, as if the movie had some brilliant ideas but couldn't come to grips with its resolution.

All in all, BROTHER BEAR *is* a decent, well-animated piece of family entertainment. It has a lot of high merits and interesting concepts. I liked the film, but I don't consider it one of Disney's best.

The DVD, by the way, features yet another good, solid transfer from the Mouse House and an interesting (although somewhat extraneous) amount of extras: the best of which is an alternate version of Kenai's confession to Koda (without the loudly-mixed, out-of-place Phil Collins song). This version, IMO, *should* have remained in the picture, as it packs more of an emotional punch than the final version ever did.