Brother Bear

Kenai is a cocky teenager who can't wait to become a man among his people. However, when we meet him, he is so wild, irresponsible, and arrogant that, although he's affectionate and likeable, he's far from mature enough to take his place with his two older brothers, Sitka and Denahi, as men of his village. (And Denahi is not much better!)

Kenai's inability to take responsibility for his own actions leads to life-changing tragedy when he blames a bear for destroying a basket that he was supposed to have tied up out of reach. He goes after the bear to kill it, and as a result, his eldest brother Sitka ends up dead. This doesn't cure Kenai, however - now he's more determined than ever to kill the "monster", as he sees the bear. When he succeeds in his quest, the spirits, led by Sitka's eagle spirit, take Kenai up and change him into a bear, to let him see through another's eyes.

Kenai's adventures take place as he goes to the spirit mountain, wanting nothing more than to be a human again. He meets a cub, Koda, and is forced to travel with this bratty, chatty little bear, to his annoyance. However, Koda is the key to Kenai's changes, and ultimately forces Kenai to mature enough to accept what he's done and make amends.

This is a splendid movie. The art and animation are excellent. The landscapes of the primitive, beautiful, dangerous world of the brothers are gorgeous, and the transformation scene is jaw-dropping. The music is a mix of Inuit and Phil Collins, the first haunting, the second catchy, and the combination actually works. The characters - especially Kenai as a bear! - are distinctive and delightfully well animated. The story is a good one, pulling no punches, and if it makes bears look a bit Disney-innocent, the reason is a good one.

The flaws in the movie are typical of Disney - silly humor provided by even sillier sidekicks. In this case, it's a pair of moose, supplemented by a pair of obnoxious rams and two chipmunks. I much preferred the humor which came from the characters themselves, particularly Kenai (his reactions to his transformatio and to finding himself abruptly in the middle of the salmon run are hysterical).

Get past the dumb jokes, however, and the rest of this movie is marvellous. It's got deep emotion, tragedy, and love of many different kinds (refreshingly, no romantic love). The music is lyrical and complements the story. And Kenai as a bear should not be missed.

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Main Characters:

Kenai (VA Joaquin Phoenix)
The youngest of the three brothers, brave but cocky and immature, Kenai gets transformed into a bear to be taught his greatest lesson in life.

Koda ( VA Jeremy Suarez)
The cute, talkative bear cub who joins Kenai in his quest, Koda has a story to tell that will change Kenai forever.

Denahi (VA Jason Raize, Harold Gould (old Denahi))
The middle brother of the three, Denahi tracks the bear he thinks killed Kenai, only to get a huge and welcome surprise when he finally catches him.

Sitka (VA D.B. Sweeney)
The oldest of the brothers, Sitka is killed, but aids his brothers as a spirit in the shape of his totem, the eagle. He begins and ends Kenai's quest.

Tanana (VA Joan Copeland)
This lovely, wise old woman is the shaman of the brothers' village. She gives them their totems, and communes with the spirit world to help her people.

Other Characters:

Rutt and Tuke (VAs Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas)
The comical sidekicks for Kenai, they invite themselves along for a part of his trip. Brothers who squabble and make up, they help Koda reconcile with Kenai's terrible truth.

Koda's mother
This bear is at the heart of the story. Chasing her brings Kenai all his tragedy and, eventually, she helps him to his epiphany.

The bears at the salmon run ~

Tug (VA Michael Clarke Duncan)
A grizzly bear, Tug is the unofficial leader of the bears.

Old Lady Bear (VA Estelle Harris)
This bear keeps mourning the loss of a husband who isn't actually dead.

The Lover Bears (VAs Greg Proops and Pauley Perrette)
"You're gorgeous." "Well, you're gorgeous-ER." This pair definitely need to "get a cave", as Tug insists.

Foreign Croatian Bear (VA Darko Cesar)
Volatile, first raging, then laughing, this bear can't be understood by any of the others, but they get along with him anyway.