Trivia for
Brother Bear (2003) More at IMDbPro »

• Disney/Pixar prepared a special trailer for Brother Bear to show before Finding Nemo (2003) during its initial theatrical release. The moose characters, Tuke and Rutt, suggest that, "If you see only one movie this year, see this one." Tuke then reminds Rutt that "for those who see only one movie this year, it's a little late now". Both the moose then encourage everyone who are "only going to see one movie this year" to leave the theater. As the scene fades to black, Rutt says, "I see some of them leaving." Tuke then replies that maybe they're going to "go find that Nemo guy".
  
  
• In the various vignettes during the end credits, Kenai is shown drawing a crude stick figure on a rock while little Koda has painted "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" (1884-1886) of Georges Seurat.
  
  
• The first feature since The Horse Whisperer (1998), and the first animated film ever, to change aspect ratio during the course of the film. Using a trick similar to that in The Horse Whisperer, this film shifts from a 1.75:1 aspect ratio to the CinemaScope ratio of 2.35:1 after Kenai is transformed into a bear. The original theatrical release was printed on anamorphic film, which has the first twenty-four minutes of the film pillar boxed at 1.75:1 within the 2.35:1 frame).
  
  
• The third and final film to be fully produced at Disney's Orlando, Florida animation facility at the Walt Disney World Disney-MGM Theme Park (after Mulan (1998) and Lilo & Stitch (2002)). This studio was shut down in March 2004 in favor of computer animated features.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• The lines, "I don't care that you and Binky found the world's biggest pine cone ever" and "First of all, it's not Binky, it's Bucky, and it wasn't a pine cone it was a pine nut" said by Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) and Koda (Jeremy Suarez) was an accidental improvisation because Phoenix messed up his line and Suarez corrected it.
  
  
• The painterly background styling is inspired by the landscapes of Albert Bierstadt. Then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner, a collector of Bierstadt's work, lent the animators some of his own paintings to study.
  
  
• In the German version Tuke and Rutt are called Benny and Björn after the two male members of the Swedish pop group Abba. In the weeks before the theatrical release in Germany they appeared in short funny clips telling the audience to switch off cell phones during the movie.
  
  
• An idea to do an animated television series spin-off for the Rutt and Tuke characters was eventually scrapped by Disney.
  
  
• Phil Collins performed "On my way", "No way out", and "Welcome" in Italian, French, Spanish and German, "Look through my eyes" in French, and "No way out" in Japanese.
  
  
• The only one of the major animated Disney movies (which do not include Dinosaur (2000)) to include the black and orange Disney Pictures logo in its initial release. The black and orange logo was first used in 2000 and only lasted until 2006 when an elaborate CGI logo was unveiled during the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006).
  
  

• SPOILER: The cliff where Kenai kills Koda's mother then changes into a bear is shaped like a bear's head.
  
  
• SPOILER: Sitka's spirit can be seen throughout the movie after Kenai was changed into a bear. 1: After Kenai wakes up after being changed into a bear, an eagle sitting on a tree branch watches him then flies off. 2: When Kenai and Koda were about to go through the "lava path" an eagle is seen sitting on a tree branch on the left side of the screen, watching the two bears walk off. 3: an eagle meets up with Denahi on the mountains. 4: During Kenai's ceremony at the end of the film, just before the screen goes black an eagle is sitting on a tree branch watching the ceremony then flies off.
  
  

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