Brother Bear

The 44th Disney animated movie, Brother Bear follows Inuit hunter Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) as he’s magically transformed into a bear by the spirit of his dead brother – with the film subsequently detailing Kenai’s adventures alongside several other woodland creatures (including Rick Moranis’ Rutt and Dave Thomas’ Tuke). There’s little doubt that Brother Bear suffers from as underwhelming a first act as one could envision, as filmmakers Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker place a pervasive emphasis on the less-than-enthralling exploits of Kenai and his human brethren (eg Kenai attends a spiritual ceremony). It’s not until the protagonist becomes a bear that Brother Bear starts to improve, with the colorful assortment of supporting characters playing an instrumental role in perpetuating the movie’s affable atmosphere. The episodic narrative does, however, ensure that the film is often just as dull as it is engaging, as many of the individual segments within the proceedings are simply not as engrossing as Blaise and Walker clearly want them to be – with the uneven vibe compounded by an overuse of songs by co-composer Phil Collins (ie there are only so many musical montages one can comfortably take). The end result is a watchable yet forgettable animated endeavor that’s clearly been geared towards small children, which cements the movie’s place as one of the more disposable entries within Disney’s body of work.

**1/2 out of ****