...for all its earnestness, its wholesomeness, and its uplifting moral values, Brother Bear is formula Disney.
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"Brother Bear," Disney's 2003 entry in the animated feature film category, is a perfectly respectable motion picture, with a decent box office response and an Academy Award nomination to its credit. It should easily appeal to children and maybe to adults as well. My problem with it is that while I admired its purposeful efforts to entertain and enlighten, I found it largely boring.
This latest release is not the Disney of "Snow White," "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "Beauty and the Beast," or "The Lion King." It's not even the Disney of "Song of the South" and the tales of Brer Rabbit. Although all the right ingredients seem to be in place, "Brother Bear" lacks the sparkle, the ingenuity, the creativity, and the charm of Disney's best work. That it was nominated for an Oscar probably says more about the lack of competition in the field of animation these days than about the quality of the movie.
The setting for "Brother Bear" may remind viewers of "Ice Age" in that its time is during the epoch of the great mammoths, presumably some 10-15,000 years ago when Man was just emerging from living in caves and still hunting his food. It's a place of magic, where we're told anything can happen and, in this film, does.
The main character is a young Inuit named Kenai (voice by Joaquin Phoenix), a rambunctious fellow who is just coming into his manhood and about to receive his totem, his personal guide and protector through life, from the tribal shaman. As he thinks of himself as the macho type, he hopes for a manly, macho totem, a fierce saber-toothed tiger or something like that. Instead, Kenai is given a love bear, which disappoints him greatly because he thinks of bears as stupid, unfeeling brutes, and he becomes the object of much derision among his older brothers for the "love" business.
This opening episode is lengthy, taking up a good half hour of the eighty-five minute movie, and I rather suspect by the end of it a lot of kids are going to be wondering where all the bears are supposed to be. The episode establishes Kenai's character, but it's not much that couldn't have been done in far less time. It's also a period the scriptwriters use to establish the relationships among Kenai and his brothers, who may have lived thousands of years ago but behave like modern teens, spitting on one another and speaking in today's vernacular: "Bonehead," "Dog breath," "He loves me, he loves me not," "What!" While such updating is clearly an attempt to capture the attention of the movie's youthful audience, it may be disconcerting to anyone over the age of nine.
Also, the Wife-O-Meter, whose heritage includes Native American, was annoyed with Kenai's reaction to the totem he was given. She said it was typically Disney for the kid to show a rebellious twenty-first century reaction when, in fact, an ancient (or even a modern) tribesman would have been raised never to question his sacred totem.
Anyway, things at last get rolling when a bear takes the life of Kenai's oldest brother and Kenai goes off for revenge, killing the bear but being transformed into it. Kenai, through some sort of spiritual conjuration, literally becomes the bear. Then the movie gets more interesting as Kenai, as a bear, goes on a journey of adventure and discovery to reach a mountaintop in order to change himself back into a human being. All of this is intended to be very spiritual, although since it's Disney and must not offend anyone, the story shies away from any hint of gods or religion. Which is fine; the story is a mythic fable, after all, and it allows Kenai to see life through the eyes of his hated enemy, giving him a new and better perspective on life.
It is also in this latter section of the story that Kenai meets the two best, most-spirited characters in the movie, a pair of moose named Rutt and Tuke (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas). They are the comic relief in a movie that takes itself so seriously most of the time that any note of humor is more than welcome. Moranis, especially, is a kick. Unfortunately, they disappear for long stretches and the movie loses some of its momentary steam.
Here the movie becomes even more typically Disney, too, as Kenai meets a cute little homeless bear cub named Koda (Jeremy Suarez), who becomes Kenai's little brother and sidekick. This angle is so old it was parodied in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" over twenty years ago.
"Brother Bear" is the kind of move that portrays wild animals like bears as entirely sweet and lovable, prompting tourists at Yellowstone to want their snapshots taken with them. "Move a little closer to the bear, Mildred. That's it. A little closer. Now, put your hand out and pet it, Mildred. Mildred? Mildred!!"
The fact is, for all its earnestness, its wholesomeness, and its uplifting moral values, "Brother Bear" is formula Disney. Five writers worked on the script, apparently each of them adding a representative Disney touch. The movie goes from grand and eloquent to wise and spiritual, from tragic and daring to humorous and musical and silly, not necessarily in that order. It tries to be all things to all people, and in doing so ends up rather a bland and homogenized concoction.
For all of the movie's skilled and handsome look, it didn't work for me. The songs, by Disney stalwart Phil Collins, are unremarkable and unmemorable, often attempting a nobility in the manner of "The Lion King" but failing to reach that plateau. And the artwork, though beautiful, is just that, beautiful, not notable or eye-catching as the artwork was in "Finding Nemo." You see, the physical appearance of "Finding Nemo" was able to carry the entire picture, while the look and appearance of "Brother Bear," although lovely, cannot sustain the film alone.
In addition, at regular intervals in the story we're asked to get sad and teary-eyed, too, and before long I was feeling manipulated: Laugh now, cry now, be inspired, cry again, be uplifted. I found it all too obvious, myself, yet I'm sure kids will enjoy it, and there's no question they'll be rewarded for their attention. Plus, there's an admittedly strong emotional kick at the film's climax and a lesson about love and brotherhood and such that are hard to resist.
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[release]11549[/release]