Brother Bear
Brother Bear
G | 23 October 2003 (USA)
Brother Bear Trailers

When an impulsive boy named Kenai is magically transformed into a bear, he must literally walk in another's footsteps until he learns some valuable life lessons. His courageous and often zany journey introduces him to a forest full of wildlife, including the lovable bear cub Koda, hilarious moose Rutt and Tuke, woolly mammoths and rambunctious rams.

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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Dynamixor

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

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Kien Navarro

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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Freeman

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

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abegley-19194

Brother Bear is one of the few overlooked Disney films that doesn't get enough credit. It's definitely not perfect, however it has it's fair moments. A positive I can say about this movie is the animation and music. This is a Disney movie, so they will always be there. But, here it's unique and luminous. It felt colorful and shiny how much the music stands out from the other Disney movies I've seen. Now let's talk about the rest of the movie.The film opens with the one thing I hate mostly in films, narration of the Plot and setting. The narrarion itself was mostly just setting the tone for the movie and it did that well, I guess. However, it included some of the laziest writing Disney has to offer. Than it cuts to the main characters who are so flat and cardboard, I barely remember the one that dies 30 minutes later. Oh yeah, by the way, this movie is roughly two hours long and doesn't introduce the plot until 45 minutes in. We are introduced to the most annoying character in cinema since Jar Jar Bunks, Coda. He does have some sweet and heartfelt moments, but they aren't earned when he has been harassing Kenai most of the time they are together. The flashback scene at the camp where Kenai realizes that he killed Coda's mother was handled very well, I thought. It's just the sound and editing that was pretty sloppy, but the emotion as handled well.The separation of Kenai and Coda along with Phil Collins' music was pure Disney magic. These small moments are what make the movie truly stand out to me. And a lot of it is thanks to Phil Collins talent. The ending of the movie, however, wasn't handled well. The battle between Kenai and his brother had awkward editing and strange music choices make it hard to understand what emotion it was trying for. The very last part of the movie is more Disney magic with a great moral and clever music choices. However, it does set up a sequel which is twice as bad as this one. This movie has great music, animation and wonderful set designs. It suffers from unlikable and annoying characters and bad editing and slow pacing, and I'm gonna give Brother Bear a 5/10.

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Robert Reynolds

This film was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Feature, losing to Finding Nemo. There will be spoilers ahead: As is almost a given with any Disney animation, the animation and the overall look of the film is nothing short of breathtaking. That's a good thing for any Disney project (The Mouse is very good at this after doing it for this long) but it's particularly helpful here, because the plot's just a touch thin. My view of the film is colored by the fact that I can't stand the lead character, Kenai. The plot is largely driven by Kenai's being an immature idiot for most of the film.The film is framed by a segment which is a retelling of the story after the fact. There are three brothers-Sitka, Denahi and Kenai. Kenai is about to find out what his totem animal will be. Sitka's is the eagle and Denahi's is the owl. Kenai, being an impetuous overgrown kid at heart, is certain his totem will be something fierce and grand. In the beginning of the film (shot in a different aspect ration than the last hour or so, to set the two sections apart visually) Kenai does foolish things rashly and without considering the consequences.When the time comes to find out what his totem animal is, Kenai is disappointed that it's the bear of love. He dislikes bears even before this and likes them even less now. When a bear gets into a store of fish, largely because Kenai is careless and impetuous, he sets out after the basket the fish were in. His brothers go after him to keep him out of trouble and Sitka is killed in the process. Denahi clearly blames Kenai for this.Kenai hunts the bear and kills it. The Spirits, his brother Sitka now among them, choose to transform Kenai into a bear, so that he can atone for this and learn what he must learn in order to grow up. Denahi, not knowing that the bear is Kenai, thinks Kenai has been killed and proceeds to hunt him in his guise as a bear.In flight from his brother, Kenai encounters Koda, a bear cub. Koda helps Kenai out of a trap and they start journeying to the salmon hunt, which is near where the Spirit lights are. Kenai also runs into the film's comedy relief-two moose, brothers voiced by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, who reprise their old Doug and Bob McKenzie routine. I thought it was funny, but I'm old enough to remember when it was new.As Kenai spends more time with Koda on the way to the hunt and then later with the bears in a community, he begins to understand things he didn't before. The sections with the bears are particularly nice visually.The last twenty minutes of the film is very information-dense and feels a bit rushed. I don't want to spoil the last part of the film, so I won't discuss what happens. One word of advice-watch all the way through to the end, after the closing credits. There's a really good closing bit with Koda.This film is available on DVD and Blu-Ray and is worth getting. Recommended.

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Benjamin Weaver

I'd like to start off by saying my favorite Disney movie is The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Not saying it was the best, but it's a movie that appealed to my interests in a lot of ways. Also, it's one of Disney's more different films and took a lot of risks to adapt the original story in a respectful and unique way. The Disney Renaissance and even the 2D films from the early 2000s will always remain a significant aspect of my childhood.That said, Brother Bear is one of the few Disney films that I actually didn't see as a kid. I remember seeing the advertisements for it and thinking it look all right. I didn't think it looked bad, I just never got around to seeing the whole movie.(Just to note, I was born in 1993. So you can imagine my disappointment when I found out there was no 2D Disney film from 1993. So Brother Bear was released in 2003, and I'm glad there was at least one Disney film released in a '3 year in recent years.) So I decided, since it's now 2013, I would finally watch Brother Bear for it's 10 year anniversary, and for the first 24 minutes or so, it was like something I had never seen from Disney before! It centered around this Inuit tribe who's culture was so fascinating and these three brothers who were very likable and relatable characters. The movie wasn't bogged down by having to appeal to kids with awkward comic relief. It was a genuinely good story that was equally as much a kids film as it was an adult film. The tundra imagery and landscapes were gorgeous, the animation was top notch, the lighting was magnificent, absolutely everything was just perfect! Honestly, if after the point when Kenai becomes a bear, the movie were consistent with the first third, this would have easily been my favorite Disney movie of all time! Now, I saw the Nostalgia Critic's Disneycember review, so I knew the rest of the movie wouldn't be as good. It wasn't, but I think it's not as bad as he makes it. I think some parts are really good, but what really brings it down is the fact that the movie thinks it needs to appeal to the kids in a modern way. So all of the animals talk like modern people, and it just comes off as lame and jarring where the people in the early scenes talked in a more timeless way. Not to mention it does end up having awkward comic relief.I was wondering what I would do to make the second and third acts consistent and just as good, and I thought of something.First, since the Inuit culture was one of the best things about the first act and we won't see the tribe until the very end, I would make the animals' culture just as interesting. The Inuits have their culture, and the animals have their own which actually is similar in a lot of ways as Kenai would discover.Second, both Kenai and Denahi would BOTH be the main characters. This would just as much be just as much Denahi's journey as it is Kenai's. Basically both characters would share about the same amount of screen-time and we would see more of Denahi's survival tactics as opposed to just seeing him when he is attacking Kenai as a bear (which, by the way, are actually some of my favorite scenes, the set up is brilliant). We could even see him doing some other things like meeting the sister tribe to restock on supplies and health so we don't abandon the Inuits altogether.Third, get rid of all that modern crap. The story is supposed to be in the style of an old folktale with a hint of Shakespearean style drama. A story that can appeal to anyone on an emotional level. Since this was Disney's last real effort in hand-drawn animation, I think they should have really gone all out and made something unique since it was an almost certain guarantee that the movie wasn't going to do that well at the box office.All in all, I think this movie is just good, and could have been amazing. But for what it is, I would definitely watch it again. The ending was was at least really good. Personally, I would have had Kenai stay a human and have a bittersweet ending for him and Koda, but I still like this ending okay.At least Disney ended their animation with something even slightly spectacular. Until then, I'm just waiting until the do bring back their animation and do something incredible with it.

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almanjit25

I have learned that sometimes critics have their heads up their a**es and their prejudice, arrogance and jaded perspectives make them disregard anything with pure heart and emotion and love, praise and adore mindless fart humor and depravity. If you are one of those people who loves what critics say and can't form your own opinion, you'll probably have a preconceived opinion of this movie so disregard my review. Also if you hate stories that teach and educate and make you inspire to be a better person, disregard the rest of this review. This film is a breathtaking, emotional roller coaster of intellect,wit, pure heart and moral. It takes you on an astonishing journey filled with soul. It is visual eye-candy, epic and breathtaking. The vividness of the colors and brush strokes actually takes you on a magical enchanting journey and leaves you awestruck with its beauty. So yeah the animation is AMAZING!The voicing by the actors is so fitting and they do a marvelous job. Effortlessly so if i may add.The music is pretty amazing and in fact adds to the amazement of the story. It carries the emotion of the story. Most people listen to the instrumentals instead of the words. Try listening to the words and they will carry you on an immensely emotional and feeling ride. The words add to the story and the characters thoughts. Wonderful. Not particularly the best ever in terms of instrumentals, but the words and their meaning make up for this ten-fold. The transformation song and "On My Way" were a particular delight.Now to the story which i feel is the most important thing: It is firstly educational and takes a more cultural turn by taking you through the mythology of the Inuits and way of life. It is a different time and culture and it is both awe-inducing and educating. Not for people who prefer films like Shrek or Simpsons. Now the emotional depth of this film can make you weep throughout as it showcases love, arrogance, prejudice, intolerance, tolerance, pain, death, family, darkness and finally light. It transcends above nearly all films in terms of emotions and heart. It is heart-breaking and tear inducing as it showcases human cruelty and arrogance. A subject people will really dislike or feel in denial about. It showcases pain and heartache like no animation does these days since people prefer the superficial. It shows the themes that are present today such as intolerance, arrogance and sheer heartlessness. And finally it shows a journey of education not only in terms of cultural differences but learning that intolerance and preconceived notions are imbecilic, it is about responsibility, it teaches the importance of stepping into another's shoes and feeling what they feel as well as learning the power of love. It is very intelligent so very few will get or be able to understand and appreciate its messages. And plus if you hate emotion, education and being taught valuable life lessons or feel you are too superior for them, you will not like this movie. Otherwise if you are intelligent and have a heart, you will adore it as i have.Definitely one of my favorite animated films and i've seen over 200. Actually it is one of my favorite films period, not just from the animated ones. A masterpiece and i know i will get hate for saying this but it is the truth, this movie is way better than several Pixar films which are good visuals but superficial story lines that don't capture heart, horrors of the world and emotion as Disney films of the past do. I said several Pixar films and not all. Up, Wall-E and Monsters Inc are masterpieces and Brother Bear is in their league of excellence. Though it is way way way more magical and beautiful than the Toy Story Trilogy, Brave, The Incredibles, Cars and Finding Nemo. I have watched this film every year since i was a kid when it released and it has still not lost its magic and that is the true mark of a pure classic, one that will never lose its charm.

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