Rating: 7.5/10
Review date: December 8, 2003
Once upon a time, there were three brothers. One day the older brother (Sitka) was killed a bear so the third brother (Kenai) vows revenge. Unfortunately, Kenai was turned into a bear himself. The second brother (Denami) who doesn�t know this decided to finish the job by killing his remaining sibling. Kenai then befriends a young cub named Koda where he learns the true meaning of brotherhood.
Brother Bear is a perfect example of how 2D animation still can hold its own against 3D animations such as Finding Nemo. The animations were nicely drawn by Disney as always although Brother Bear is not as colorful as their previous works such as Mulan or Lilo & Stitch.
Phil Collins is also back with six original songs thrown into the fray since his last �outing� in Tarzan three years ago. They turn out to be as good as I expect them to be.
As I said earlier, even though the artwork are not as colorful as Disney�s previous work, the voice acting is great and the characters are engaging and interesting as well.
Kenai and his brothers� voice actors did their job adequately although there is nothing worth mentioning.
The real star is of course, Koda who is voiced by Jeremy Suarez. His voice has the perfect character (if you can call it that) which really fits the young bear�s personality.
There are two Canadian moose by the name of Rutt and Tuke who provides much of the comic relief and they are pretty hilarious too.
Regardless of its shortcomings, Brother Bear is a heartwarming tale of brotherhood and loyalty which will appeal to a wide audience. I know what some of you are thinking; is this going to be the last hand drawn animation by Disney? Especially with the recent successes of 3D animated movies such as Finding Nemo which has already gross over Lion King? There are quite a few rumors abound on the Internet as well.
Rest assured that this is totally not true, Disney has already announce a new animation called �Home on the Range� which will be released sometime in 2004. Guess I got carried away there; this is supposed to be a movie review. But I feel the need to say this; I believe 2D animation will never. Even if it does, it will be a part of history. What matters in an animation is the story and the enduring messages that can be learned throughout human generations but not how visually good it is. Long live 2D animation!
Memorable quote: �Well, gee, Hank, you're one big beaver!�
-Rick Moranis as Rutt (voice)-
(c) Martin Taidy