Reviewed by: Joe

Directed by: Aaron Blaise & Bob Walker

Produced by: Chuck Williams (II)

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Rick Moranis, Jeremy Suarez, Dave Thomas, & Joan Copeland

Released: October 24th, 2003

Animation and Kids/Family 1 hr. 25 min. Set in the Pacific Northwest before the invasion of the white man, this is the story of the youngest (Phoenix) of three sons whose oldest brother was killed by a bear when he accidentally disturbed a mother bear, who killed him thinking he wanted to harm her cubs. Enraged, the young man sets out to hunt the bear himself when his other older brother refuses to form a hunting party right away. In his hunt for vengeance however, the young man is transformed by the spirits of the forest into the very thing that he sought to slay... a bear. Seeing the world through a bear's eyes, the young man will learn valuable lessons about the cycle of life... especially when he learns that his middle brother has finally formed a hunting party, aiming to kill *all* bears to avenge the brother's death... which means him too.

Brother Bear successfully revitalizes the traditional animation genre and brings it back to its roots with memorable songs and delightful talking animals. There will be plenty of comments coming upon the release of the film that it seems too renascent of The Lion King but those should be greatly ignored. Brother Bear makes the story its own by combining breathtaking landscapes, memorable characters and delightful voice talent to make one of the best family films of the year. Phil Collins, who worked on Tarzan in 1999, returns to Disney with a slew of brand new songs and even works a bit on the musical score for the feature. Each song works exceedingly well except for the opening one. The only squabble that can be made about it is that Tina Turner is singing it. Had Collins been singing it then there would be no problem but it just doesn’t seem to work with Turner. While we are on the subject of faults, one of the few problems with Brother Bear is that it is too slow at the beginning. It takes the film quite awhile to really get going based on action.

Though this isn’t a huge deal for children, it is a problem none the less. Bottom line is that Disney once again provides a wonderful film that appeals not only to young children but every member of the family. Parents need not fear of being bored thanks in part to Collins songs and the two delightful moose, who provide many hilarious lines that won’t get annoying upon repetition. Take the whole clan out for one the first of hopefully many wonderful holiday fares at the box office this year.