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Brother Bear is gentle and pleasant if unremarkable Disney fare, with so-so animation and generic plotting.
All Critics (131) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (82) | DVD (11)
Disney hides the morality tale behind a rip-roaring soundtrack, goofy moose sidekicks and enough bear slapstick to delight any child. Jan 22, 2019 | Full Review…
Disney hides the morality tale behind a rip-roaring soundtrack, goofy moose sidekicks and enough bear slapstick to delight any child.
Sheila Norman-Culp
While the animation itself (from the same team as Mulan) is charming and at times beautiful, the script is banal and uninspired. Jan 10, 2018 | Full Review…
While the animation itself (from the same team as Mulan) is charming and at times beautiful, the script is banal and uninspired.
Neil Norman
Modest but guileless. Nov 16, 2009 | Full Review…
Modest but guileless.
J. R. Jones
Brother Bear is a very mild animated entry from Disney with a distinctly recycled feel. Jun 6, 2008
Brother Bear is a very mild animated entry from Disney with a distinctly recycled feel.
Todd McCarthy
Another watchable, old-fashioned, uninspired Disney animation. Jun 24, 2006 | Full Review…
Another watchable, old-fashioned, uninspired Disney animation.
A lame duck of a movie. Jul 21, 2005
A lame duck of a movie.
Bruce Westbrook
The story is so predictable. Feb 21, 2019 | Rating: F | Full Review…
The story is so predictable.
Rachel Wagner
Rough rule of thumb: the more an animated movie drones on about the Great Spirit, the less likely it is to have any great spirit. Feb 2, 2018 | Full Review…
Rough rule of thumb: the more an animated movie drones on about the Great Spirit, the less likely it is to have any great spirit.
Mark Steyn
...often just as dull as it is engaging... Apr 22, 2011 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…
...often just as dull as it is engaging...
David Nusair
Lackluster story only for kindergarteners. Dec 22, 2010 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Lackluster story only for kindergarteners.
Nell Minow
If "the CEO wants to sell teddy bears" isn't going to inspire writers to do their best work, what on Earth possibly could? Dec 10, 2009 | Rating: 5/10 | Full Review…
If "the CEO wants to sell teddy bears" isn't going to inspire writers to do their best work, what on Earth possibly could?
Tim Brayton
Compared to the Disney classics, this is a lazy and forgettable misfire. Nov 16, 2009 | Full Review…
Compared to the Disney classics, this is a lazy and forgettable misfire.
Film4 Staff
There's definitely a charm to this film, but compared to the trailblazers that came before it, this feels very underwhelming. My main complaint would be that it relies a lot on contrived ideas and has a morality that feels uninspiring, though it's dealing with big, provocative issues. The other thing that was really annoying was the reliance on Phil Collins for the music, which was an interesting gimmick in "Tarzan" but here it's unwelcome and tedious. The message relies on facing up to past misdeeds, letting go of grief's anger, and not blaming the wrong people for mistakes. I liked that it dealt with a culture that doesn't get much screen time, but most of the plot focuses more on a man-bear's journey to a mountaintop, and that's just not that exciting. It was rather funny at times too, though that's mostly because of the Canadian moose, played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. The ending was amazing, and goes against a lot of traditional Disney narratives, which I thought was a very thoughtful choice. It just didn't feel very fresh, as it dealt with a lot of already trodden ground.
Super Reviewer
Animation work is above average and there are a couple of standout scenes but ultimately it doesn't reach the heights of Disney's back catalogue. Full review later.
Fun, but gets really in to spirits and crap. Great music, horrible story, good voice acting. I liked it, but didnt love it.
Brother Bear is a movie that is so close to being great that it's almost ridiculous. Had there been just a few changes made to the story, characters and dialogue, it would've been a really moving and timeless classic. As it stands though, this is interesting and beautiful to look at, but the negative aspects can be overbearing. It's a kid's movie, so the Canadian Moose brothers and Bernie Mac Kid were something I just accepted as part of the package. However, I think that there was basically little to no development of the three brothers. It's just presented and then you're supposed to care about them. Well, at least Juaquin Phoenix was good and helped make the situation a bit easier to take it. I will say that Phil Collins continued his epically constructed score treatment that he started with Tarzan and in fact, it's the strongest element of the movie.
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