Brother Bear

Voices of: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Jason Raize, Dave Thomas, D.B. Sweeney, Joan Copeland, Michael Clarke Duncan, Estelle Harris, Greg Proops
Directed by: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An Inuit hunter (Joaquin Phoenix) is transformed into a bear, where he soon discovers the animal world is more than he ever expected.

Review:

Tim: It's always fascinating to thing about the Disney animated movies collectively. The animation studio has delivered so many of the all-time classics. But, not every film will reach that level. Brother Bear is certainly far away from that. It's a middling, perfectly ordinary animated film. It's fine, never bad, but lacking the inspiration that launches some films into the stratosphere. This is the kind of movie I didn't much mind watching, but I feel almost no desire to see again.

One thing the movie has going for it is that the story depicts the Inuit tribe from Alaska. In terms of representation, it's definitely positive to see a story about non-Caucasian characters that tries to incorporate their culture. As this movie was released in 2003, there wasn't much care about casting Inuit people in the voice roles, so it's a bit discouraging to see all the Hollywood whitewashing. This absolutely blunts the impact of the film some. Still, I give Disney some credit for highlighting a people and a culture that's been vastly overlooked in American cinemaplexes. If kids watch this and consider for a moment a culture other than their own, that's a big plus.

The story itself is fine. It has a few more intense moments than your typical animated movie, giving the film a bit of a more grown-up appeal. But, there's cute talking animals, so even younger viewers will appreciate it. My eight year-old son mostly enjoyed it and my four year-old daughter liked parts, but definitely felt a bit intimidated at times. The main thrust of the story involves a young warrior being reluctantly transformed into a bear. This might not be the most brilliant story driver, but it does set up an interesting "fish out of water" component to the film. It allows Kenai the chance to step out of his own world and inhabit a very different one. The main theme of the movie follows the idea that we can demonize those we don't understand and that we should all work to understand others better. That's a very positive message. It might be handled a bit clumsily at times, but generally is a good message for younger viewers to hear.

The voice cast was good, but I do wish they were more culturally sensitive in many of the choices. I like Joaquin Phoenix a lot and he's generally good in the lead role. His voice is a bit distinct, but he definitely melds into this character. He did nice work in the lead role. Jeremy Suarez was quite memorable as Koda, the heart of the movie and brings a lot of levity to it. I loved the casting of Rick Moranis and his Canadian accent added a lot to the film. Brilliant casting, there. D.B. Sweeney added a nice supporting role and I always love hearing Michael Clarke Duncan, although I wish he had a bit more to do.

The animation itself is solid, although I doubt anyone would hold this movie up as prime Disney. That's probably the central theme running through this entire film. The story is maybe slightly above average. The characters work, but they're a bit too one-dimensional. The message is good, but the delivery of that message could have been a lot more powerful. There's emotional scenes in the film, but without better character development, they don't quite make the impact they should. I was never outright bored with the film, but it doesn't have the staying power of the better animated movies.

Brother Bear is a decent Disney film, I'll give it that. The 00's decade felt like Disney might have been past its glory days- some good films were delivered, but it was a far cry from the incredible run in the late 80s through the 90s. For example, the movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Film, but I don't think it had a prayer against Pixar's Finding Nemo. This is definitely one of the more forgettable films in the Disney catalogue. It's decent, but its impact is severely limited.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Home on the Range, Chicken Little