Post by George Darling on Dec 12, 2008 3:36:26 GMT -8
• Warning: This review contains spoilers •
In 2003 when this film was released I was still more or less in my ‘anti-Disney’ phase after a swarm of horrible direct-to-video sequels and some rather unattractive theatrical titles, so I had no interest in seeing this film when it was released. In recent years, however, a combination of speaking with my friend Joe and the Kingdom Hearts installments reminded me to hate the crime – not the criminal. Even if Disney had become a greedy corporation pumping out low budget, low-grade ‘entertainment’, that shouldn’t stop me from enjoying the classics which they actually did a stupendous job on which I grew up loving.
So since then I’ve decided to give some of the Disney flicks released after my estranged relationship from the Magical Kingdom a chance. Lilo & Stitch and The Emperor’s New Groove were two I treaded water for – and they were both, in my opinion, terrible films, afterward I felt as though I wasted an hour+ of my life on watching them.
So did Brother Bear break this trend as a new-age Disney movie? Could this movie have actually been good, or even decent?
Story:
“Gather round, for though my story may have pacing issues and loose ends, it may or may not be worth hearing.”
The story begins with Kenai, a selfish, immature and arrogant young son-of-a-gun, getting into mischief and shunning responsibility, all while awaiting a ceremony in which he will receive a totem which will guide his destiny and make him a ‘man’. He receives the Bear of Love totem and is more or less disgusted by this, having wanted something on par with his manliness.
Don't look too disappointed, Kenai. It could have been worse; she could have handed you a copy of Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
Well, our brash young ‘hero’ doesn’t properly tie up a basket of fish prior to the ceremony which he and his two elder brothers had caught earlier (mostly just his brothers, actually), and the basket is commandeered by a bear who steals it, along with all of the fish.
So Kenai has the brilliant idea to track down the bear to get the basket back, since the middle eldest brother, Denahi, worked so hard on it. He tracks down the basket, which is destroyed (a huge, wild animal didn’t treat it with tender love and care? What a surprise!). He then encounters the bear, and gets into a scuffle. Luckily his brothers show up to save his butt from impending doom, but in the ensuing struggle Kenai’s eldest brother, Sitka, sacrifices his own life to save his two brothers.
“The wrong kid died!”
Enraged at the death of his brother, Kenai blames the bear for everything, and vows to murdalize it. He sets out, finds it, and manages to own the living crap out of it (amazingly). However, his Sitka’s spirit is disappointed in Kenai’s stupidity and hatred (as am I, at this point) and curses him to the form of a bear to atone for his sins. Not too long after, the village elder instructs Kenai that he needs to journey to the mystical mountain of super spiritual bliss in order to request his brother to transform him back. Along the way he winds up getting teamed up with a lost little bear cub named Koda. And, oh my lord, here’s where things get really fun. Between Kenai being an absolute ass and Koda being potentially one of the most annoying characters in the history of Disney animation, the rest of the film is near un-bear-able (HAHA! Sorry…) to watch.
The remainder of the movie follows on a pretty straightforward formula of Kenai slowly warming up to Koda and realizing ‘Hey, maybe not all bears are evil, fire-spewing behemoths of Hell!’ – Well, maybe not… but ironically, Kenai is probably the closest thing to an evil bear we see in this film.
Denahi, meanwhile, is confident that the bear had killed Kenai. Now under the impression that the bear had murdered both of his brothers, he pretty much flips-out and hunts Kenai down with a passion which borders on creepy. Couldn’t the village elder have informed Denahi of the situation? Did she forget? What a forgetful old hag.
So Kenai, Koda and a pair of decidedly awesome moose who sometimes tag along journey across the land, evading Denahi when and where he shows up, until Koda reaches the river where bears gather to fish, which is at the base of the mountain Kenai must scale. It’s hear that Koda is finally allowed to tell his tale of how he was separated from his mother, and it’s then that Kenai realizes he murdered Koda’s mom. He explains to Koda that he’s a selfish, arrogant man full of hatred who murdered Koda’s mother. Koda is, for some odd reason, upset by this and runs off.
Kenai tries to find Koda, but he can’t… so he just gives up and ditches him, heading toward the mountain. The movie is almost over and he’s still an ass. Jeez!
Here, Kenai confronts Denahi again, and Denahi has the upper hand until Koda intervenes. After a while the spirit of Sitka appears as a mediator. He transforms Kenai back into a man (boy) and Denahi realizes that all the while he was hunting his own brother. He’s going to need therapy after these events.
Kenai informs them that Koda needs him and requests to be transformed back into a bear. Sitka grants this request and they all live happily ever after.
“Hi, can I join?”
Okay, first off, this movie is way too preachy. It’s like, alright… I get the point. Don’t judge others based on race and/or species. Wasn’t this point illustrated in another Disney film? A good one, no less? Hmm…
“I have to kill it now, while I have the chance!”
“No, John Smith. That won't prevent Brother Bear from happening.”
Pacing is a big issue with this film, and I don’t think it excels at it. There are some loose ends which are never tied up, and an entire scene with two mountain goats seems like a complete and utter plot hole, and just a waste of time (we’ll discuss this more in a bit). We never get any sort of closure on the bears introduced in the river, and generally I found the movie to fluctuate between boring and sincerely annoying during key interactions between Kenai and Koda.
So did this movie break the trend of poor Disney animated releases? No. No, not really.
Characters:
In my opinion, if the main character(s) of any given story are unlikable, that pretty much kills the story. The characters are supposed to compel you to keep watching/reading/playing; you’re supposed to experience their experiences vicariously through them; you’re supposed to care what happens to them. But in Brother Bear, this was not the case for me.
Kenai is probably the second most unlikable Disney protagonist I’ve ever seen – second to a certain grooving emperor, but I think even more genuinely unlikable than a certain hyperactive, blue-furred space critter. He’s selfish, self-centered, rude, arrogant, vain, reckless, lazy, impatient, and grumpy and seems to have to be forced to learn from his mistakes, which takes him quite a while to do. And I’m supposed to be rooting for this guy? Shoot, I wish he had been the brother who was killed. I’d have much rather had Sitka or Denahi as the protagonist. I really don’t care what happens to Kenai throughout the film, and that’s pretty bad.
Koda is like the yin to Kenai’s yang – he’s a very unlikable character, for much different reasons. He’s friendly and outgoing, and is rather cute, but neither of these can make up for his obnoxious and extremely irritating personality. He’s constantly chattering and babbling, he never shuts up. He also has other obnoxious tendencies and is always all over the place. He’s the epitome of an example of a minor who NEEDS Ritalin.
I don't blame you there, Kenai. Seriously, Koda; shut the hell up.
The two moose, Rutt and Tuke, are a bit obnoxious, but not overtly so. They, at the very least, provide a change of pace from the main characters, and their interactions with each other and the other characters are usually good for a chuckle. However, to coin a quote “Not even the moose could have saved this movie.”
“Way to go with the racial stereotyping there, eh.”
At one point we meet a pair of mountain goats butting heads. Kenai asks them for directions, and they begin arguing with their own echoes. And that is the extent of their role in the film.
Seriously, what the hell is the point in this?! This entire scene is just unnecessary filler. The goats have no impact, on anything, whatsoever and they just distract screen time from where it ought to be focused. This is probably one of the worst cases of bad writing I’ve ever seen in a Disney film. Shame on you guys. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Why don't you all shut up? You're already two of the most useless characters in Disney history, why embarrass yourselves further?
Animation:
The animation is very nice. A good deal nicer than Lilo & Stitch, and worlds better than The Emperor’s New Groove. The characters are colorful and well animated, in particular I was impressed with the mouth and lip movements of the bear characters. You could tell that a lot of effort went in to creating faithful representations of live animals, much as they did with The Lion King. The backgrounds are all beautiful, as well. My major complaint is misuse of CGI, which can royally kill most any movie. This was a big problem with a beginning scene, in which the CGI elk clashed against the 2-D characters and environment and didn’t look like a good mesh at all.
“Run, guys! It's a digital stampede!”
Voice Acting:
I have no complaints here, either. The voice actors and actresses all did their jobs, and did them well. The voices match the characters, and any project gets a bonus golden star sticker for employing the talents of Rick Moranis.
Music:
The score music is beautiful, but I the big problem here is this: PHIL COLLINS. Now, don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against Phil Collins. However, need I remind everyone that he supplied a good chunk of the soundtrack for Tarzan? That was fine; it was a good theme for the film. But why would you have more of his music in another Disney movie? That is total redundancy, and cheapens the union.
In Closing:
This was a film I could have saved a lot of time by not watching. In the time it took for me to watch this movie I could have watched a good Disney film. Pacing issues, plot holes, annoying characters, redundant use of Phil Collins, redundant plot reminiscent of a mix between Pocahontas and The Lion King… really the only redeeming quality of this movie is the animation. But if the plot and characters are the meat of a pie enveloped in visual presentation and sound, then this is definitely a pie worthy of coming from Mrs. Lovett’s meat pie shop. Looks harmless enough on the outside, but bite-in and you’re in for a nasty surprise.
Story - 4
Characters - 2
Animation - 9
Voice Acting - 9
Music - 5
Total Rating: 29/50
