MOVIE REVIEW

Brother Bear  (2003)

Voices: Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Clarke Duncan
Directors: Aaron Blaise, Bob Walker

Rating: G

Studio: Walt Disney

Release Date: 10.24.03

Review Posted: 10.24.03

Spoilers: Minor

By Sara M. Fetters

Disney’s "Brother Bear" Travels Familiar Road

Years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue and Lewis and Clark were even an afterthought in their ancestor’s minds, the forests of the Pacific Northwest were maintained by a harmonious balance between man and nature. The native peoples of the area believed that they must live in unison with all the creatures around them, a delicate equilibrium allowing for everyone’s mutual survival.

That stability is threatened when young Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix, “Buffalo Soldiers”) brutally kills a bear in vengeful retribution, believing it responsible for the death of his elder brother Sitka (D. B. Sweeney, “Hardball”). But, the bear was not at fault, and now the young native warrior has upset the balance between man and nature with this wrongful murder. To teach him a lesson, Sitka – now part of the mystical energies watching over the earth and its inhabitants – turns Kenai into an adult bear so he might learn the value of compassion, courage and – most of all – love.

At first, the young man cannot believe what has happened to him. In fact, he’s as close to freaking out as is humanly possible. Only the tribe’s mystic woman Tanana (Joan Copeland, “The Object of My Affection”) can see through Kenai’s furry façade, instructing him that he must climb to where the mountain touches the lights in the sky to find out exactly what it is Sitka has in store for him. Meanwhile, middle brother Denahi (Jason Raize of Disney’s Broadway version of “The Lion King”) believes he’s seen both his brothers killed by bears, and he will not ret until he sees Kenai – now the bear he believes responsible for both deaths – impaled upon his spear.

With Denahi chasing him and unsure of the proper path, Kenai gets some unlikely help from talkative bear cub Koda Jeremy Suarez (Fox’s “The Bernie Mac Show”). He’s lost contact with his mother, the two supposed to meet up at a hallowed salmon run which just so happens to rest right next to the very mountain the elder bear seeks. At first, Kenai wants no part of the young cub, but soon his vengeful prejudices melt away as they get closer and closer to the salmon run, a hot-blooded Denahi constantly on their tale every step of the way. But when the truth of whom exactly Kenai really is and of the evil things he has done are ultimately revealed, can the bonds of brotherhood gently brewing between man and bear cub survive?

Disney’s latest hand drawn animated tale “Brother Bear” is light years better than their last holiday misfire, 2002’s disastrous “Treasure Planet.” Filled with some of the best and most beautiful animation you’re likely to see, this is definitely a film that carries on the studio’s tradition of hand drawn excellence in almost every way. But that almost is a big one, for while “Brother Bear” is perfectly okay on many levels it’s also an almost stupefyingly innocuous bore, meandering towards its warm-hearted conclusion with all the flare of a celery stick covered in processed cheese.

Disney animators Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker make their animated directing debut with this feature, and truth be told they do a more than adequate job. The movie moves briskly, its 85 minutes flying by. They stage the film’s action majestically, keeping things tense and invigorating for the older set but never taking any of it so far afield to risk upsetting the smallest child. They also don’t shy away from the film’s more mature subject matter, treating their audience with intelligence and respect most adult motion pictures don’t even risk.

So why does it all seem so flat and familiar? Maybe because “Brother Bear” went through so many re-writes that the credited six (!) screen and storywriters involved with the film kept watering things down so much the only human emotions left were unfortunately of the milquetoast variety. There is a lot going on, real human feelings and issues are up there on the screen for all to see, yet there is such a warmed-over familiarity to it all that the movie is almost yawn inducing.

Still, there is much to like. The animation, as mentioned before, is quite stunning. The team at Disney does this sort of thing better than anyone, and “Brother Bear” is no exception. The movie’s flaura and fauna are extraordinary, an early scene of rampaging elk enough to take the breath away. Also, the vocal work is quite good all around. Most notably, Rick Moranis (“Ghostbusters”) and Dave Thomas (“Rat Race”) reprise their “Strange Brew” characters Bob and Doug McKenzie as embodied in a pair of bumbling Moose. Just hearing their voices is giggle-inducing enough on its own, but crossed with the surprisingly witty quality of the jokes (which, granted, are on a Saturday morning cartoon level) they’re downright uproarious. I was also quite surprised by how much I liked Phil Collins song selection, particularly the movie’s signature song “Great Spirits” sung by Tina Turner.

If anything, I feel rather like Scrooge McDuck saying I was disappointed by “Brother Bear.” There is much to like, after all, and kids are almost guaranteed to be entertained. Yet, the movie kept hinting it was going to be so much more; maybe even venture into greatness like recent Disney classics “The Lion King” or “Beauty & the Beast.” Instead, hinting is only the best it could do, leaving me with a strong case of been there/done that-itis that just didn’t want to go away. While I know, especially considering the quality of recent hand drawn animated films, things could have been a heck of a lot worse. But “Brother Bear” kept aspiring to be so much more. In the end I wanted the more, and Disney just couldn’t give it to me.

Rating: êê1/2  (out of 4)

TOP