Parents' Guide to Boonie Bears: Guardian Code

Far from cute and cuddly, this ninth film in the Boonie Bears franchise is a downbeat and often violent action adventure. Boonie Bears: Guardian Code has very little brightness in its story about two orphaned cubs. Older brother Briar is serious to the point of joylessness and moved to tears as he resents his missing mom. But rather than treating this as an opportunity to thoughtfully show how it's OK and even healthy to show emotion, the movie instead frames it as a negative, looking down on people who are feeling loss or grief. Younger brother Bramble mocks the idea of a "safe space" where Briar can share his feelings, while villain Leonard laughs at a grieving mother and calls another grieving character a loser. Keeping with the mean-spiritedness of the film are some vicious wolves who surround the two terrified bear cubs before matter of factly saying their mother must not have loved them. The filmmakers may have initially wanted to try to tackle themes of trauma and family, but it doesn't have the heart or smarts to take it seriously. As an action adventure, it's OK, but the confusing and cruel story makes it difficult to warm to.