Welcome to a world where animals rule and the only human around isn't human anymore. Welcome to the world of Brother Bear. Marking the 43rd film in Disney's line of animated features, the film, originally entitled Bears, marked a short-lived return to traditionally hand-drawn animation. It was the third feature completed at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, and subsequently the last. The studio shut down the Orlando facility in an effort to produce computer animated features.
Released in 2003, Brother Bear is the story of Kenai, an Inuit boy who tracks down and kills the bear that killed his older brother. The slaughter angers the Great Spirits, who transform him into a bear as punishment. Kenai's living brother, Denahi, thinking he was killed by the newly transformed bear, hunts him down for revenge. As brother mistakenly hunts brother, Kenai's only hope is to befriend his own worst enemy, a grizzly cub named Koda. Only Koda can show him the way to reverse the transformation.
It should be said that the comedy supplied by the moose characters of Tuke and Rutt is compliments of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. The duo essentially reprised their roles of Bob and Doug McKenzie of SCTV fame. The skit, and subsequently the relationship between Tuke and Rutt, involves two simple-minded brothers who can never agree on anything, but manage to reconcile because of their lack of short-term memory. It's their relationship that inspires Koda to reconcile with Kenai after their falling out.
Critical reception was mixed, with some reviewers dismissing the film as a thematic retreading of territories covered by movies like The Fox and the Hound, The Lion King, and even Ice Age. On the other hand, critics like Roger Ebert gave the film a thumbs up, noting its moving story and convincing characterizations. Other critics especially liked the surreptitious change of the film's aspect ratio. The film, while Kenai is a human, is projected in standard 1.75:1 ratio. When Kenai is transformed into a bear, the aspect ratio changes to an anamorphic 2.35:1. Likewise, the art direction changes in color and in tone, from realistic and dark to colorful and otherworldly.
The film was a box office triumph, earning $85,000,000 domestically and $165,000,000 worldwide. The DVD release, distributed in 2004, raked in an additional $167 million. This makes Brother Bear one of Disney's most successful films to date. This success prompted a direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2, that was released in 2006. When all is said and done, the majority opinion is that Brother Bear is a truly moving tale, as the tagline describes, of a boy who became a man by becoming a bear.
About the Author:
Steve Collins is a writer in Encino. A huge Disney fan, he uses the Disney Movie Club to complete his collection. Read his Disney Movie Club reviews here.
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