Brother Bear

Movie review by Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Brother Bear Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 5+

Cute bear tale has some peril.

G 2003 85 minutes
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Parents say

age 5+

Based on 23 reviews

Kids say

age 6+

Based on 37 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the movie has some tense scenes of peril, and two characters are killed. Some children may be disturbed by the way that those characters return as spirits, but some may be reassured that love never dies. There is a little potty humor. The movie's multicultural range of voices and setting in pre-historic Inuit culture add a lot to the movie's texture.

Community Reviews

Rroebig
Rroebig Adult
August 6, 2020
age 7+

Scary and sad

A bit too sad for kids under six.

This title has:

Too much violence
Ryan H.
Ryan H. Adult
August 2, 2020
age 6+

This site’s review is horribly off.

Ignore what CommonSenseMedia’s “expert review” says; before I talk about the film, I must criticize this normally excellent website for this. The lackluster description is lazy (pitifully short) and wrong, as there are some fight scenes that are pretty intense and probably too much for kindergarteners, and some of the content might go over their heads. I am a father as well as a teacher of elementary and middle school (everything from kindergarten to 6th). Without giving away the plot, let me state that this movie is deep, with much-needed lessons of compassion and the causality of actions. Kenai, the main character, undergoes a tremendous amount of change. In the beginning, he is an ignorant teen that is motivated by pride, anger, and a desire to become a “man”, which he misunderstood as being only the macho sense of the word. Early in the film, he decides to skip on his responsibilities, which is a mistake that sets off a chain of events. Pride and anger drive him to make further bad decisions that drag many other lives along too. After a certain point, a glimpse of compassion for a bear cub leads him to take responsibility. This is the point at which he changes. This film’s plot is centered around morality. Its lessons are some that all children should learn, but not merely by watching the movie; you should talk with your child about the decision-making of Kenai after the movie is over (go over his mistakes and how each one led to something tragic, discuss what he did to try to make things better, and then talk about how his decision making will be different in the future). Due to the intensity of some fight scenes, I would recommend waiting until your child is 6 or 7.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
See all 23 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In BROTHER BEAR, Kenai (voice of Joaquin Phoenix) is the youngest of three brothers. He is impetuous, careless, and very impatient for the coming-of-age ceremony where he will be assigned a "totem," a symbol that will guide him through life. But he is disappointed by the symbol he receives, a bear, symbolizing love. His brother Sitka (D. B. Sweeny) has the eagle, for leadership, and his brother Denahi (Jason Raize) has the wolf, for wisdom. Kenai does not think either the bear or the love it symbolizes are very important. When Sitka is killed protecting his brothers from a bear, an enraged Kenai kills it. The Great Spirits want to teach Kenai a lesson, so they use the Northern Lights to transform him into the creature he despises. When Denahi arrives, he thinks Kenai has been killed, and so he hunts the bear, not realizing it is his own brother. Kenai must make a journey, physical and spiritual, before he can become his true self. Guided by a cheerfully chatty cub named Koda (Jeremy Suarez), Kenai sets off for the place where he can return to human form. But Denahi is pursuing them and other challenges lie ahead. The most important are the lessons Kenai must learn about loss, love, and brotherhood.

Is It Any Good?

The most imaginative part of this Disney animated feature, set in the Pacific Northwest at the end of the Ice Age, is the sunlight on the glaciers. It is magnificently rendered. The grandeur of the settings is nicely evoked, especially after Kenai becomes a bear and the screen literally opens up and brightens. Other than that lovely glimpse of majesty and artistry, the movie is right off the assembly line, an uninspired and lackluster story told with some visual flourish and a few cute moments but without much energy.

There are some exciting moments when Kenai fights the bear and when Kenai and Koda race through a sulfurous geyser field. There are some funny moments with SCTV veterans Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis as a pair of silly moose brothers. But the music by Phil Collins is mediocre, even when legends Tina Turner and the Blind Boys of Alabama do their best to add some spirit. All cultures have legends of physical transformation as a way of making more accessible the idea of spiritual and emotional change. These stories can be compelling and deeply meaningful, even for children. But here, the story is just too superficial and the script is too pseudo-mythological. The conclusion may strike some in the audience as jarring.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about which totems they would like to pick for themselves and what animals they would most like to get a chance to be. What did Kenai learn as a bear that he could not learn as a human? There is an old Native American saying that you should not judge another person until you have walked a mile in his moccasins. How does this movie make handle that idea? What do you think about his decision at the end of the movie? Talk about the movie's perspective on what you do to make amends when you have done something terrible, and about how siblings should support each other. Be sure that children notice how the look of the movie changes when Kenai becomes a bear. As Kenai sees through a bear's eyes, we see through his, the entire shape of the screen changing and the colors brightening. As Kenai also learns to listen, the sound of the movie becomes fuller as well.

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