Starring the voices of
Joaquin Phoenix.... Kenai
Jeremy Suarez.... Koda
Jason Raize.... Denahi
Rick Moranis.... Rutt
Dave Thomas.... Tuke
D.B. Sweeney.... Sitka
Joan Copeland.... Tanana
Michael Clarke Duncan.... Tug
Harold Gould.... Old Denahi
Directed by Aaron Blaise and Bob Walker. Written by Steve Bencich, Lorne Cameron, Ron J. Friedman, David Hoselton, and Tab Murphy. Produced by Chuck Williams. Released by Walt Disney.
Brother Bear begins with an old wise man telling a story to the youth of his tribe, a story about his two brothers and him when they were all much younger. He goes on to tell a story that is as uninspired as most Disney films but this one is still enjoyable. The result is an mediocre Disney film but not as good as last years Lilo & Stitch or The Lion King, which the commercials try to compare to in greatness. Nothing is astounding or breathtaking in the animation department but the voice acting again gives most of the delight. What almost makes the movie atrocious is the music by Phil Collins who won an Oscar for his work on Tarzan but is really a talentless hack. His Oscar belongs to the guys from South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, because it was original and offensive.
When the old wise mans story begins, he and his two brothers are taking pleasure in the life of Native Americans thousands of years ago. The protagonist of the film is Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix), who is just happy doing whatever he considers to be fun. His eldest brother, Sitka (D.B. Sweeney), is a wise leader who understands both the aspects of both of his brothers personalities. His other older brother is Denahi (Jason Raize) who likes to irritate his younger brother.
One day after fishing in a pretty awful video montage to Phil Collins music, the brothers return to their village. The older brothers instruct Kenai to tie up the fish before the ceremony, which will give him his power animal. The decision comes from an old wise woman who goes into the mountain where the sky touches the earth. The spirits come in the form of the northern lights or aurora borealis. His power animal turns out to be the bear of love his comrades do not let him forget. Sitka talks to him and tells him that his power animal, the eagle of guidance, has taught him to help others. He calms his brother but anger takes over when they go to the tree where the fish were. Kenai did not tie up the fish well enough, so a bear got into it. Kenai goes after the bear and encounters the monster and wants revenge for eating the fish and basket the fish were in. Kenai didnt gage the situation well enough the bear overpowers him. His brothers come to his rescue but they cant do enough so Sitka gives his life to save his brothers.
Kenai feels terrible and vies for revenge against the bear and asks Denahi for help but Denahi feels it wasnt the bears fault. Kenai doesnt listen and tracks down the bear, and they fight for a while and end up on a peak of some kind and Kenai kills the bear. The spirits from aurora borealis take Kenai up into the sky and turn him into a bear just as Denahi comes to his aid.
He awakes with the wise woman telling him that his brother did this and he must go to the mountain and talk to his brother. He starts on his journey and walks into a hunters trap and a little cub named Koda (Jeremy Suarez) comes to his assistance. Kenai agrees that if Koda would help him get out of the trap then he will take Koda to his the Salmon Run. As they get down, Denahi starts to chase them because he believes that Kenai the bear killed his brother. The rest of the movie is just a road journey with Koda encountering different types of animals.
The most notable animals they encounter are Rutt (Rick Moranis) and Tuke (Dave Thomas), who are moose that talk with Canadian accents. Moranis and Thomas almost reprise their roles of Bob and Doug McKenzie from Second City TV. It is a nice, little inside joke and they also do bring in most of the laughs.
What keeps Brother Bear from being a great Disney movie is mainly the music by Phil Collins. He should stop inflicting his music on the people of the world. Even Tina Turner, who performs one of the many Collins written songs on the soundtrack, cant bring his music up to a mediocre level,. Other problems are the character designs for the humans; they always look goofy and are not handled as well as they might. The beginning is also flawed; it has poor voice acting by the human characters and really shouldve been handled by other animators.
Brother Bear teaches love, and the ending is a surprise, so it isnt all unimaginative. The love that Kenaihas for Koda reinforces his power animal and will make anyone who sees it will leave the theater smiling.
Grade: B-
