Brother Bear

Release Date: November 1, 2003

Watch Date: April 16, 2024

“After an impulsive Inuit boy named Kenai kills a bear in revenge for his brother’s death, the Spirits transform him into a bear as punishment. Now, Kenai must literally walk in another’s footsteps until he learns some valuable life lessons, including the meaning of brotherhood. 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, wooly mammoths, rambunctious rams and more…all on his quest to become human again. This epic adventure, full of comedy and heart, features five great songs from Phil Collins.”

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   I have always had a soft spot for this movie. Always, I think it’s overlooked and not given as much credit as it should be. I think I have very similar feelings about it, as a whole, as Bob does for ‘Home on the Range’.

   And no, I don’t have deep childhood memories of this film – because we didn’t own it, and no, I don’t have this connection with a family member that makes it an incredibly important memory. I just think it’s a very good film that most people don’t give credit.

   Now, do I think it’s a fantastic Disney film? No. Disney’s catalogue of animated films…well they blow this out of the water for the most part. But in a period where Disney was trying to find it’s groove again, this is definitely a stand out. I mean, it got a Straight-to-DVD sequel, so it can’t have been completely overlooked, but when you find people listing their favorite Disney films, Brother Bear is never even a thought. The characters aren’t even featured in the parks, and there is literally an entire ride themed around bears in California Adventure.

   I think the songs are kind of cheesy. Everything except the travel song feels overblown and overdone, and not really the right fit for the mood. I would have preferred less songs in it, and yes, that’s a big thing for me to say, all things considered, because if I can find a Disney tune to belt, I will.

   What I think this film does well is its villain, in that there isn’t one. Brother Bear makes villains out of itself, out of brothers, morphing them into things they don’t recognize. One brother, meant to be wise, abandons his village on a quest for revenge that you can watch literally change him as the film goes on. The other brother becomes a monster quite quickly, and spends the entire movie punished for it, forced to face his own assumptions about those who are different than them. Kenai’s story is literally if “what if colors of the wind were a movie, and not just a song?”

   I feel like you can look deeper into this film and find greater meaning every single time you watch it. At first view you might just see the story about the cute bear cub, then you might see a deeper meaning about brotherly love, then about not judging others based on false assumptions, and then the story of two brothers going counter to their natures and having to struggle their way through the consequences. I choose to believe Disney meant to write it that way, and it’s not just my overly analytical mind messing with me and creating patterns where there was never meant to be.

   Either way, I think it’s a good movie. I think it’s a good movie if you have brothers. I think it’s a good movie if you like Disney. Is it their strongest? No. But that doesn’t mean it deserves to be forgotten either, and I think we’re dangerously close to that.