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

Excellent but underrated film

Megamind

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

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Kaelan Mccaffrey

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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Marva

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

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Taylor Kingston

I don't know why this movie got bad reviews. I think it is an adorable children's movie with funny moments and real-life moral dilemmas and situations. It is relatable, whilst at the same time, goes off in a way that is more make-believe.This movie is about Kenai, a man who resents all bears, after his brothers get into a fight with one, and is sadly killed. I don't like Kenai's attitude towards bears at the beginning of the movie. After all, the bear was just protecting itself, just like any human would. Kenai is then turned into a bear to see what it's like to be in a bears "shoes". He sees life from a new and different perspective and realizes that not it really wasn't the bears fault. On his journey, he meets an adorable bear cub, Koda, who is trying to find his way home. Meanwhile, Kenai's other brother worries that he has been killed by the bears, until he comes face-to-face with bear Kenai. Overall, I give this movie an 8 out of 10.

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Michael_Elliott

Brother Bear (2003) *** (out of 4) Underrated Disney film about a Inuit hunter (voice of Joaquin Phoenix) who kills a bear without cause and ends up being transformed into a bear where he must help a young cub who has lost its mother. In order to take human form again, the bear must grow a heart and learn the true meaning of love. BROTHER BEAR seems to get a lot of mixed reviews among Disney fans but I really don't understand why because I thought it was a pretty good film with several memorable characters, some good laughs, the needed pulling of the heart-strings and of course some great animation. I really thought the animation here was quite wonderful from the opening scenes that were full of darkness to the middle of the picture when things are a lot more colorful. The attention to detail was just marvelous and especially the scenes early on with the ice, the flowing water and several scenes inside a cave. There lights in the sky were another impressive bit of animation from the studio who were obviously legends by now. Another major plus were the vocal performances with Phoenix doing an extremely good job in the role of the bigger brother who takes on this young cub. You can just really feel a love and naturing feeling to the vocal work. Jeremy Suarex, Rick Moranis and D.B. Sweeney are also very good in their supporting roles. As you'd expect, there's certain messages that the filmmakers try to get across and I think they did a fine job without having to beat the viewer over the head. The ending, which I won't spoil, was quite touching as only Disney can do. Again, I'm really not sure why this film got so many negative reviews but it's certainly a winning addition to the studio's great work.

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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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