Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1783 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-05-10
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Animated, PAL
• Original language: English, Serbo-Croatian
• Subtitled in: German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 82 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Disney's Brother Bear boasts a dramatic story--after he kills a bear, a young hunter named Kenai (voiced by Joaquin Phoenix) in prehistoric North America is turned into a bear himself and hunted by his own brother--but the animated movie's tone is more earnest and warm than tragic, focusing on the unfolding relationship between Kenai and an orphaned bear cub named Koda (voiced by Jeremy Suarez). However, it's often the comic supporting characters that prove the most popular, and a pair of moose voiced by Rick Moranis and Doug Thomas will win many fans. The songs by Phil Collins are typically negligible, but the hand-drawn animation is lush (occasional flashes of computer-generated animation clash with the movie's overall look). Kids will also enjoy the mammoths; but no sabre-toothed tigers, unfortunately.--Bret Fetzer

Special Features

• Koda's Outtakes
  
• Rutt and Tuke's Home Theatre
  
• Find Your Totem
  
• Bone Puzzle
  
• Bear Legends
  
• Making Noise
  
• Art Review
  
• Music
  
• Deleted scenes

DVD Technical Information:

• Running Time: 82 minutes
  
• Region Code: 2
  
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Anamorphic
  
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS
  
• Language: English
  
• Subtitles English, English for the hearing impaired

Synopsis
In Walt Disney Pictures' animated feature BROTHER BEAR beautiful animation of the Pacific Northwest depicts wonderfully intimidating snowcapped mountains and glaciers, beautiful springtime forest scenes, rivers full of leaping salmon, and lots of interesting wildlife--from tiny squirrels and chipmunks to giant wooly mammoths. The colours and movement of the film are dazzling and dreamlike, while the upbeat musical score includes songs by Phil Collins and Tina Turner. The story carries messages about the power of friendship and community, the difficulty of losing a loved one, and the highs and lows of growing up. Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) is a boy who longs to become a man but must learn a valuable lesson before he can achieve the maturity it requires. At a tribal ceremony the spirits give him the symbol of the bear, which stands for love. Then, through a series of events, he is transformed into a bear. Kenai must brave the wild, with only a little bear-cub brother, Koda (Jeremy Suarez), to guide him. In their travels, Kenai and Koda meet a couple of hilarious moose (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) who provide comic relief to this otherwise heart-rending family tale.

Customer Reviews

Funny yet touching
Brother Bear is a wonderful animation - it isn't violent and it has the right balance between comedy and drama. The storyline is engaging and the characters and some of the cameos in this film are hysterical. This is a film for all the family and it is a truly wonderful children's animation combined with Phil Collins' musicianship that brings the film to life. Highly enjoyable.

Surprisingly touching...!
For the first time in, oh, I don't know how many years, Disney managed to once again deliver a movie that from start to finish is a delight. Released after "Treasure Planet" (2002), "Brother Bear" is a wonderful film that beautifully blends a great original story, characters and music, carefully crafted together with a working balance between drama and comedy, together with stunning visuals and lively animation. No Disney animated film had managed to do this since "Tarzan" (1999), or perhaps even The "Lion King" (1994). A financial success, "Brother Bear" saw rather mixed reviews from critics; the fact that the film was released during a time in which Disney animation seems to be facing hard years might have had something to do with that. To me, "Brother Bear" brought hope that Disney will one day be able to return to deliver masterpieces like those from the golden ages, "Bambi" (1942), "Lady and the Tramp" (1955) or "The Rescuers" (1977) to name a few.

"Brother Bear" tells the story of Kenai and his two brothers; the story takes place long, long ago in North America. On the day in which he is to become a man, Kenai receives the token that is to guide him through life: the bear of love. Kenai is upset, for he believes that bears have no feelings, that they're savage creatures who'll look for any excuse to harm, hunt and even kill a human. He is jealous of the tokens given to his older brothers, the eagle of guidance for the eldest, Sitka and the wolf of wisdom for the middle brother, Denahi. One day, Kenai neglects his duties, and the hard work of the brothers goes to waste as a bear comes and steals all of their fish. Kenai, after being scolded by Denahi, decides to go after the bear and soon finds himself in great danger. His two brothers run to save him, which eventually costs the life of Sitka as he attempts to save his two brothers. Lead by anger and grief, Kenai feels that the only thing for him to do is to hunt the bear that killed his brother. Kenai doesn't realize the mistake he's made and soon is surrounded by the Great Spirits of the Earth and transformed into a bear. Tanana, the shaman woman, tells him that it is time for him to make up for what he's done wrong and sends him in search of the place where the lights touch the earth. Lost and confused in his journey, Kenai meets a little bear cub named Koda, whom he finds to be a complete pain in the neck. Unable to get rid of him, Kenai promises to help Koda find his mother, while at the same time looking for "where the lights touch the earth", for Koda seems to know the place. Together through forests and over mountains, Kenai and Koda develop a brotherly affection for each other and meet all kinds of interesting characters and creatures, as well as the antagonizing appearance of Denahi, who does not recognize Kenai and believes the bear to have killed his brother. Before the journey is through, Kenai will learn to take responsibility for his actions and to see through the eyes of what had once been his enemy, at the same time learning what really makes a man.

"Brother Bear" is a very touching story. For the first time in a very long time, Disney does not overshadow the dramatic elements of the film with trashy comedy and out-of-place comic characters, instead, like I've already said, the film maintains a very good balance of good comedy and effective drama and emotion. Characters like the moose, Rutt and Tuke are added for effective comic relief, while the rest of the main characters are well developed. "Brother Bear" may be the last great Disney animated feature for a long time still, because it doesn't look like things are getting any better, so I recommend anyone who loves a great Disney tale to give this one a try. The film includes great music from Phil Collins as well as a breathtaking soundtrack. Highly recommended, a winner!

In spite of Disney's best efforts, this would be better forgotten
I wanted to like "Brother Bear". I really did. It is clearly trying so hard to be a Disney classic, and, to be fair, all of the right elements are there. It could potentially have been one of the great non-romantic Disney films, like "Dumbo" or "Pinocchio", or even "The Jungle Book", but, unfortunately, it missed the mark. Perhaps the film's main flaw is the total lack of anything resembling a villain or nemesis for the protagonist to face. Sure, the bear who killed Kenai's brother provides some initial motivation to get the plot rolling, but even she is redeemed by the end, leaving only wishy-washy things like "feelings" to be overcome. Bad show, Disney! Protagonists who show signs of internal conflict are obviously no bad thing, but for them to work in a Disney film there needs to be a more physical danger present. "Mulan", for example, manages to balance internal and external drama beautifully.

This all might be excusable if there were any other notable characters in "Brother Bear". Sadly, it was hard to care about any of them. None of them - with perhaps the exception of the elder brother - were either interesting or amusing enough to hold my attention for very long. I felt that the human and animal characters were quite unattractive-looking and horribly generic (*I* could have designed some of them, for goodness sake), and the scenery was simply boring. Boring! How is it possible to make great landscapes of snow and glaciers and mountains and rivers boring? I'm not quite sure, but Disney managed it.

Oh, and the less said about the Phil Collins songs, the better. I think my eardrums started bleeding in protest half-way through the film.

I wouldn't condemn the film entirely, however. The death of the elder brother was moving (although "The Lion King" did it better), and the ending, in spite of the flaws of the rest of the film, was a real tear-jerker. The on-running theme of brotherhood was nice, and the voice actor for Koda the baby bear did an exceptional job, which really helped to rescue the character from quite sinking to the depths of the others. Moreover, it is a fairly inoffensive film: as an adult I found it hard to like in comparison with other Disney films, but I imagine that children will find something to enjoy here. It's also still of a higher quality than many Disney sequels - I'd watch "Brother Bear" over "The Little Mermaid II" any day.

The DVD extras are fitting to how the film feels: there's a lot in there but not much comes across. The deleted scenes are average, the "out-takes" are only mildly amusing, and I have to admit that I didn't even bother with the "Rutt and Tuke Commentary", so unimpressed was I by their characters in the film. The legends were quite interesting (although their veracity was unclear), as was the artwork featurette, but while I thought it was a nice touch to include something on Foley artistry, it was woefully basic. I'd say that while children might find most of these extras entertaining, there's nothing really on here for the adults - which is a shame, given Disney's previous successes in DVD extras.

Ultimately, "Brother Bear" is worse than terrible - it's simply trite and boring, with messages about the environment which are cliched and somewhat hypocritical (as a previous reviewer said, clearly salmon aren't warm and furry enough to save from being killed). Certainly one of the worst offerings from Disney and, I think, deserves to be relegated alongside "The Black Cauldron". For an animated movie set in prehistoric North America, I'd stick with "Ice Age".