Bother Bear - A mearly OK movie.

[WDWHound]

We saw Brother Bear in the theater yesterday. Unfortunately, it was not one of Disney's best efforts. It wasn't awful mind you, it just wasn't up to the caliber of Tarzan or Lilo and Stich (the last traditional animation offerings from Disney that impressed me). The film had plusses and minuses

Plus - The backgrounds were gorgeous. The use of color in this movie was truly impressive. There were times when I just stared at the screen and said WOW!.

Plus - The film builds up quite a bit of suspense in some of the fight scenes. Given that you always knew how the fights had to come out, building suspense was not an easy thing to do.

Minus - The plot is contrived and predictable. There was no point in this film that I did not know exactly what was going to happen next, but then, I usually didn’t care enough about the characters that it bothered me.

Minus - The Soundtrack. While there are one or two very good numbers (No Way Out is one of Mr Collins’ best), most of the music from this does not seem to work very well. This soundtrack is not even close to the work Phil Collins did for Tarzan. And whose bright idea was it to have Tina Turner sing the opening number? I can't think of someone who's style less matched this movie. Truly dreadful.

Minus - The over simplistic and completely pc presentation of Native American faiths. I haven’t felt this talked down to since Pocahontas. There is much that is deep and meaningful to be found in these faiths, but Disney just doesn’t seem to be able to tap into it.

Many people are comparing this movie to the Lion King. Yes, there are some similarities, but not as many as I was expecting. Its original, for the mort part, but its bland originality. I give Brother Bear a C+. Not good enough to buy the DVD, but an OK way to spend the afternoon in a theater if nothing better is showing.

By the way, stay for ALL of the credits, there is a wonderful little animated disclaimer regarding fish at the very end that may be the best part of the whole movie.

 

[TheWho]

Hound,
Although I think I liked the movie more than you, I agree w/ you on a couple of points. I have nothing against Tina, but I think Phil should have sung all the songs. His Tarzan soundtrack is impressive.

The scenery or background is beautiful. Have to see it on the big screen to appreciate it.

Finally, in context of all the BB and LK comparisons, I think some points should be given to the fact that it's a story about 3 brothers.
I have two little girls and needless to say, I have watched Ariel, Belle, Mulan, Lilo, Jasmine and many other female charcters travel through Disney films. I would think some boys out there (or their parents) could identify with the premise of these 3 brothers.

have a good day!!

 

[Peter Pirate]

The decision to have Tina Turner sing was made specifically by Disney to avoid having all songs sung by Phil. Phil wasn't initially hapy about it but said he actually liked the final result...

 

[meeko_33785]

I agree. It's about a B-/C+ in my book too. The whole plot seemed very predictable and many of the plot points and moments just seemed like rehash from previous films (even more so than usual). As for the music, it wasn't bad, but I think it will be hard to market most of those to children who are, let's face it, the prime audience for Disney soundtracks. The only exception would be "On My Way" and maybe "Welcome". And, I'm sorry, Tina Turner's song was terrible. Just don't like her voice.