Brother Bear - (2003 Lang: English)

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.

Brother Bear is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 44th Disney animated feature film. In the film, an Inuit boy named Kenai pursues a bear in revenge for a battle that he provoked in which his oldest brother Sitka is killed. He tracks down the bear and kills it, but the Spirits, angered by this needless death, change Kenai into a bear himself as punishment.[3] In order to be human again, Kenai must travel to a mountain where the Northern lights touch the earth, and learn to see through another's eyes, feel through another's heart, and discover the meaning of brotherhood.

The film was the third and final Disney animated feature produced primarily by the Feature Animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida; the studio was shut down in March 2004, not long after the release of this film in favor of computer animated features. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. A direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2, was released on August 29, 2006.

The film is set in a post-ice age North America, where the local tribesmen believe all creatures are created through the Spirits, who are said to appear in the form of an aurora. Three brothers (Kenai, the youngest brother; Denahi, the middle brother; and Sitka, the eldest brother) return to their tribe in order for Kenai to receive his totem, a necklace in the shape of an animal. The particular animal it represents symbolizes what he must achieve to call himself a man. Unlike Sitka, who gained the eagle of guidance, and Denahi, who gained the wolf of wisdom, Kenai receives the bear of love. He objects to this, stating that bears are thieves, and believes his point is made a fact when a bear takes some salmon. Kenai and his brothers pursue the bear, but a fight follows on a glacier, during which Sitka gives his life to save his brothers, although the bear survives. Angered, Kenai heads out to avenge Sitka. He chases the bear up onto a mountain and kills it. The Spirits, represented by Sitka's spirit in the form of a bald eagle, transform Kenai into a bear after the dead bear's body evaporates. Denahi arrives, mistaking Kenai as dead, and believing his bear form is responsible, vows to avenge Kenai by hunting it down.

Kenai falls down some rapids, survives, and is healed by Tanana, the shaman of Kenai's tribe. She does not speak the bear language, but advises him to return to the mountain to find Sitka and be turned back to normal, but only when he amends his mistake; she disappears without an explanation. Kenai quickly discovers the wildlife can talk, meeting two brother moose, Rutt and Tuke. He gets caught in a trap, but is freed by an outgoing bear cub named Koda. They make a deal: Kenai will go with Koda to a nearby salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the mountain. As the two eventually form a sibling-like attachment, Koda reveals that his mother is missing. The two are hunted by Denahi, who is still determined to avenge Kenai, unaware that the bear he is pursuing is actually Kenai. Eventually, Kenai and Koda reach the salmon run, where a large number of bears live as a family, including the leader Tug, a grizzly bear. Kenai adjusts to his surroundings and is happy living with the other bears. During a discussion among the bears, Koda tells a story about his mother fighting human hunters, making Kenai realize that the bear he killed was Koda's mother.

Shocked and horrified, Kenai runs away, but Koda soon finds him. Kenai reveals the truth to Koda, who runs away, grief-stricken. An apologetic Kenai leaves to reach the mountain. Rutt and Tuke, having had a falling out, reform their brotherhood in front of Koda, prompting him to go after Kenai. Denahi confronts Kenai on the mountain, but their fight is interrupted by Koda, who steals Denahi's hunting pike. Kenai goes to Koda's aid out of love, prompting Sitka to appear and turn him back into a human, much to Denahi and Koda's surprise. Though Koda can't talk to humans, he doesn't want Kenai to leave, because ever since he came into the cub's life, he has been like a brother to him. However, Kenai asks Sitka to transform him back into a bear so he can stay with Koda. Sitka complies, and Koda is reunited briefly with the spirit of his mother, before she and Sitka return to the Spirits. In the end, Kenai lives with the rest of the bears and gains his title as a man, through being a bear.

Though I think highly of the new three-dimensional computerized animated films, the traditional hand-drawn stuff just has a different charm. And whatever some people say, traditional animation is not dated. This cartoon's story is interesting, accurately based on real Inuit beliefs. Every component of it is great, and the scene where Koda discovers that Kenai is really a man is beautiful. Not going to give away the happenings behind this powerful, moving scene. The hand-drawn animation is done in the classical style, but the computer graphics are breathtaking. The waterfalls, the mountains, the Aurora Borealis... they're fantastic. The two McKenzie moose are great for comic relief. The characterization is great, and I like the Inuit priest. The brotherhood is something I can identify with perfectly - my three cousins are exactly the same. The music depends on preference. I think the opening Tina Turner song is OK, nothing special, but the Phil Collins songs are better. It's no Jungle Book, Oliver and Company or Lion King when it comes to the music department. I think Jeremy Suarez (seems familiar in the behind-the-scenes trailer) must be a pretty good actor. Koda's my favorite character in the movie. This cartoon is really great, and I'm torn between it and Finding Nemo for cartoon of the year. It's great entertainment, an interesting story told through a truly great, but dying, art form.

An excellent film utilizing a dying art form - animation by hand is still the best.