Brother Bear (2003)

Directors:

Aaron Blaise
Robert Walker

Writers:

Tab Murphy (screenplay) and
Lorne Cameron (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

The story of a boy who became a man by becoming a bear.

Plot:

A young Inuit hunter seeks vengence against a bear, only to be magically changed into a bear himself, and his only chance to change back is with a talkative bear cub.

Plot Keywords:

Bear | Revenge | Brotherhood | Bear Cub | Survival

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix	...	Kenai (voice)
Jeremy Suarez	...	Koda (voice)
Jason Raize	...	Denahi (voice)
Rick Moranis	...	Rutt (voice)
Dave Thomas	...	Tuke (voice)
D.B. Sweeney	...	Sitka (voice)
Joan Copeland	...	Tanana (voice)
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Tug (voice)
Harold Gould	...	Old Denahi (voice)
Paul Christie	...	Ram #1 (voice)
Danny Mastrogiorgio	...	Ram #2 (voice) (as Daniel Mastrogiorgio)
Estelle Harris	...	Old Lady Bear (voice)
Greg Proops	...	Male Lover Bear (voice)
Pauley Perrette	...	Female Lover Bear (voice)
Darko Cesar	...	Foreign Croatian Bear (voice)

Also Known As:

Bears (USA) (working title)
Tierra de osos (USA: Spanish title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Inuktitut | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Germany:o.Al. | Finland:K-3 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/4 | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Philippines:G | Singapore:G | Spain:T | Switzerland:8 (canton of Zurich) | UK:U | USA:G (certificate #40113)

Filming Locations:

Orlando, Florida, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Trivia:

Originally, Kenai was supposed to have an older bear named Grizz guide him through the woods and become like a brother to him. He didn't work out, and was replaced by Koda.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening scene, Denahi says "This is a story from long ago, when the great mammoths still roamed our lands", whereas the main story takes place during his lifetime and mammoths are clearly too plentiful to have disappeared so quickly.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Denahi as an Old Man: This is a story from long ago, when the great mammoths still roamed our lands. It's the story of my two brothers and me. When the three of us were young, we were taught that the world is full of magic. The source of this magic is the ever-changing lights that dance across the sky...

Movie Connections:

References The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Soundtrack:

Transformation

A perfect storm of artwork, story telling, and music guaranteed to rock your emotional boat.

First, I want to congratulate the creative team that developed and produced Brother Bear, which is truly an audio-visual masterpiece. The use of a classic story formula to tell a deeper more meaningful story within a story is nothing short of amazing. This feature is a perfect storm of artwork, story telling, and music guaranteed to rock your emotional boat.

Second, be patient! This feature requires several viewings to understand and to catch the symmetry and depth of the story within the story. Also you must watch the wide screen version, which is the best way to understand this feature's sub-story. The surface story is for the kids, the real story is for adults of all ages, however, I would preview first before showing to the extremely young or insecure as there are some dark themes presented here. So prepare yourself first, as this feature should spark some good family discussions.

If you take this feature at face value, you get a classic coming of age story touching on just about every major theme in literature. One can also make a case for when the Inuit's first bonded with the animal world as the alternate story, both of which are well told, however some folks might consider it repetitive or boring. Unfortunately, these folks missed the whole point of the feature.

The secret and beauty of this feature is to look beyond the classic Disney story and focus on the sub-text being used and you'll discover a deeper more inspiring story framed within the classic Disney formula. In other words don't take this feature at face value. To understand the sub-story, you need to pay attention to the use of metaphors as well as the clues within the songs. That's right, the songs are strongly tied to the sub-story. To start off with, the title song 'Great Spirits', tells us 'In a world that's not always as it seems'. This is a hint that this story is not what is seems as the Inuit's, Bears, Mammoths, Moose, and Rams are really metaphors for other things. Heck, even Rutt and Tuke's "I Spy" game had nothing to do with what they were describing. Uncover the metaphor of the mammoths and you'll discover the real story of Brother Bear. Once you do, you'll find that there is not one wasted scene in this feature. Even the clips in the trailer are connected.

So what we have is a story of Kenai's journey of discovery, not only of the world around him but of himself and how he fits into it. By the end of his journey, Kenai understands what his destiny is and embraces it. In doing so, he's knows he can make a difference in this world by being able to help Koda as well as being able to help his people avoid a tragic fate. That's right, the real message of this story has direct application to today's world.

Major morals from the story:

1) We are all brothers and sisters in this world.

2) See and understand the other person's point of view (even if you don't agree with it).

3) Tolerance

4) Being responsible for your actions.

5) Forgiveness and Redemption.

6) There is no greater love than the ability to sacrifice oneself for a friend.

7) To those ruled by hate and fear: ....a) No matter who you are or how talented you may be, you will not last long in this world. ....b) It's not wise to pick a fight with bears.

As far as sequels go, it will be hard to improve on a masterpiece. But if Disney pursues one, they have their work cut out for them, as they need to remain true to the real story of Brother Bear. However, I would strongly make a case for a spin-off for Rutt and Tuke as they have serious franchise potential with their moose appeal (whoops meant mass appeal) and drawing power. You either love them or you love to hate them, eh.

That about wraps it up so I think its time for some barley and hops all covered in dew (properly aged of course).

My score: ...Surface Story (10/10) ...Real Story (10/10) Wide screen version. ...Rutt/Tuke Commentary (8/10) Trample off! It couldn't have been way better, eh! ...Soundtrack (10/10)