Not only is it a beautifully crafted movie, but tells a surprisingly multilayered coming of age story with themes and morals that we could do to learn from in this day and age. The film represents the Alaskan Inuit culture in a favourable light, taking a traditional legend of old and succeeds in remaining respectful to it, unlike the well-intentioned Pocahontas, which altered history in favour of Disney's classic formula. Granted, Brother Bear does utilise the magical native trope, but Oscar Kawagley, a Yup’ik anthropologist and teacher helped in correctly respecting and translating his people’s language and customs, as well as providing the film’s narration.
The story focuses around the loving concept of brotherhood, seeing the world through another person’s eyes, and understanding the values of forgiveness, compassion, and love. Our hero is Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix), a young Inuit who lives with his brothers Denahi (Jason Raize) and Sitka (D.B. Sweeney). He is a hot-tempered, impatient kid hoping to earn his passage from boy to man by receiving animal totems from the village’s shaman Tanana (Joan Copeland).To Kenai’s dismay, he receives the bear totem of love – a direct contrast to his brothers’ totems of guidance (an eagle) and wisdom (a wolf).
When his impatience causes a fish basket to be stolen by a wild bear, Kenai decides to hunt it with his brothers. Unfortunately, during the confrontation, Sitka is killed. Kenai decides to avenge his brother, chasing the bear to the local mountaintop and slays it. However, this action attracts the attention of his ancestral spirits, who appear from the Northern Lights. Sitka, reincarnated as an eagle, magically transforms Kenai into a bear so he can view the world through the eyes of the thing he hates. Denahi then mistakes Kenai for the same bear, believing it has killed both of his brothers, and take on the role of the avenger.
Kenai in encouraged by Tanana to return to the mountain and find Sitka so he can transform him back, and make up for what he has done. Kenai ends up meeting a chatty, exciteable bear cub named Koda (Jeremy Suarez), agreeing to take him to a salmon run if Koda shows him the way to the mountains. They are joined on-and-off by a pair of dopey but goofy moose brothers named Rutt and Tuke (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas), whilst hunted by a desperate Denahi.
During their journey, Kenai learns what it means to be both a bear and a big brother figure to Koda, who is also looking for his misplaced mother. Chances are that most viewers will put two-and-two together regarding the third act surprise, but I feel the emotional weight and shock of Kenai’s actions are bold and traumatic at the same time. And unlike the beloved Bambi, which skirts over themes of trauma and grief (until the direct-to-video midquel), Brother Bear makes it a primary theme in the plot.
Kenai’s relationship with Koda, but also his love for his human brothers, is the heart of the whole movie. Kenai is a bit of a jerk at first, but the change in his perspective helps him become a better person and a better character. Koda can easily be written off as an irritating kid character, but there is an optimistic warmth to him, and he is always open and kind to whoever he meets aside from the vengeful Denahi for obvious reasons.
The theme of brotherhood ties the film together, with the opening themes of how animals and man are not so different serving as the key focus and guiding force of Kenai’s journey as a bear. He continues to reject his “bearhood” throughout the story, but comes to embrace the idea that bears are not malevolent in nature upon reaching the salmon run. There is a pivotal scene midway through where Kenai stumbles across a cave covered in paintings, including a rather vicious take on a bear fighting man. Koda joins him, stunning Kenai with the comment “those monsters are really scary…especially with those sticks”, symbolising that their views on man and bears not so different.
Rutt and Took display an affectionate bond for each other, culminating in a touching icebreaker scene between the two, following the heartbreaking fallout of the third act twist. They also are a breath of fresh air in the Disney comical sidekick department, after numerous films featuring snarky, mean-spirited characters like Timon and Mushu. Even Denahi makes a compelling character, driven by grief and guilt, his own disrespect for Kenai pretty much causing all of the film’s major events, and he is unsure what to do beyond following Kenai’s “last” actions. This was an early example of Disney humanising their often iconic villains.
The animated landscape is absolutely beautiful, with slight use of CGI to replicate realistic looking snow. From the glaciers, forests, mountains, sunrise and sunset, and the spectacular sequence where Kenai is transformed into a bear is a feast for the eyes. Remind me again why audiences rejected hand-drawn animation?
There is an interesting use of the screen ratio during the movie, starting off with a smaller, boxed-in size and expanding to widescreen when Kenai becomes a bear. It is an unusual step, designed to "widen" Kenai's perspective on things. But you don't really notice the change since the visuals are so good.
A lot of reviews of the film have criticized the music and songs provided by Phil Collins, who previously contributed to Tarzan released in 1999. That film is equally good, if not better in some respects, and both share a similar core of understanding and brotherhood. Brother Bear’s soundtrack has a collection of memorable, moving songs, and have a major connection to the themes of the movie. The big number, performed by Tina Turner, promotes the message that all of mankind are the same, and in a way, as are all creatures in the world. It could be written off as a preachy or a little on the nose, but Brother Bear manages to nail it just right. Other such songs like the catchy “On My Way”, the tearjerking “No Way Out”, and the equally thematic “Look Through My Eyes” all serve the story well. The film also features a choir who sing in an Inuit language during the more captivating sequences.
Brother Bear is one Disney’s forgotten treasures, a victim of the times and failed mostly because it wasn’t a Pixar movie, succeeded by the horrendously babyish Home On the Range, which served to legitimise the stoning of Disney’s animation department. But there is so much heart and charm to Brother Bear, telling a wonderful story, backed up by its remarkable animation and loving music.
Plus, those goats getting into a shouting match with their echoes is just hilarious!
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