Running time: 85 minutes
Starring: The Voices of: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, D.B. Sweeney, Joan Copeland
Rating 6 out of 10
In the wake of Pixar's success with computer generated animation, the flat 2D style of Disney's Brother Bear seems dated, but the less sophisticated technique is more in keeping with the film's mythical story. However, Disney's decision to abandon 2D animation for future films may suggest they recognize its dwindling appeal. Primarily aimed at a very young audience, Brother Bear contains little of the irreverent humour grown-ups have come to expect from kids' movies. It lacks the verve and wit of a Lilo And Stitch or an Ice Age, instead it strikes a more spiritual tone. Not without its charm, Brother Bear's sweetness belies the fact that it's loosely based on Shakespeare's King Lear.
Set in the Pacific Northwest, it deals with three young Native American brothers who are making their transition to manhood. The elder Sitka (voice of D.B. Sweeney) is in charge of his squabbling siblings, the bold Denahi (Jason Raize) and the cocky Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix). When Kenai, the youngest of the brothers, is presented with a totem of a bear symbolising the animal spirit he embodies, he's unhappy. Not only does he dislike bears, but in their culture the bear represents love and not a more dynamic quality he was hoping for.
His frustration ends in tragedy when his angry encounter with a bear results in the death of Sitka and the bear. Brother Bear then takes its mythical turn as Kenai becomes the reincarnated bear. To accentuate the change, the film actually shifts ratio from the standard 1:85 to 1 to the wider 2:35 to 1. With it, the tone also changes. Its look becomes more vivid while comedy arrives courtesy of two yoga practicing moose that try to discourage Bear Kenai from eating them by explaining, "You wouldn't like us, we're really gamey."
When Bear Kenai is told by the tribe's wise woman Tanana (Joan Copeland) that he must go to where the light touches the earth and meet the eagle spirit of his dead brother Sitka, Kenai undertakes a journey on which he teams up with a young bear cub Koda (Jeremy Suarez). Along the way he is pursued by Denhai, who is not aware it's Kenai and is intent on avenging what he thinks to be the murder of his young brother.
The film's spiritual undercurrent, along with its depiction of ancient cave paintings and the hallucinatory northern lights, give it an enchanted air, but its gentle pace and sentimental moments are liable to challenge all but the most patient of kids.
