The thing about Disney animated films that film critics seem to forget—and judging from other reviews of this movie, there's a lot of them—is that they are not made for film critics, or even adults, at all. These are movies designed for kids, with dialog, plots and humor that kids will get. Some do a better job than others of entertaining adults too, but it seems like a kid's movie should be critiqued based on its appeal to a target audience.
That said, Brother Bear is not going to win any awards for best kid's-movie-for-adults, but it's a good offering as just a kid's movie. The story centers around three Native American brothers living in the Pacific Northwest 10,000 years ago. The youngest, Kenai (voiced by Joaquin Phoenix), is about to receive his totem, a symbol that will be revealed through the tribe's shaman, Tanana, to help guide Kenai throughout his life. He hopes to get a tough symbol like an eagle for leadership or wolf for wisdom as his older brothers Sitka and Denahi did. But Kenai is disappointed when Tanana reveals his totem: a bear, for love. While the oldest Sitka does his best to reassure Kenai that this is a good totem, Denahi teases him.
Shortly after, Kenai finds that a bear has stolen the basket of fish he and his brothers had collected earlier. Upset, Kenai goes in search of the fish and soon finds himself in confrontation with the bear. His brothers come to help and Sitka is killed. With Sitka dead and the bear unhurt, Kenai goes after the bear, determined to kill it, despite Denhai telling him that the bear is blameless. He hunts it down and kills it, but finds himself magically transformed by the Great Spirits into the very thing he hated so much—a 7-foot-tall grizzly. When Denahi comes after his brother, he finds the spot where the bear had fallen, though the Great Spirits had taken the bear's body, and a rumpled pile of Kenai's clothes.
And this is where traditional Disney kid's movie morals and lessons really kick in. Kenai has been transformed into the one thing he hates most. He is told by Tanana that it was Sitka's spirit which transformed him. Now, he'll have to journey to the "mountain where the light touches the earth" to find his oldest brother's spirit.
Kenai begins his journey in the company of Koda, a bear cub (voiced by Jeremy Suarez) separated from his mother, and meets a couple of dimwitted but humorous moose brothers, Rutt and Tuke (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas), and a variety of other animals along the way. Kenai begins to understand the animals' way of life, and the fear that they all feel of man. He also finds himself hunted by his own brother, as Denahi sets out to kill the bear that he thinks ate his brother.
The soundtrack features five songs by Phil Collins that don't quite equal his contributions to Tarzan, and a score co-composed by Collins and Mark Mancina. While the music is fine for the movie, none of the songs were striking enough to stay in my mind afterward, which might be a plus among parents.
While Brother Bear can't compete visually with Disney/Pixar's spring release, Finding Nemo, its animation is still charming, its story is constructed solidly enough, and though the film's issues are dealt with very quickly (the movie is an easy hour and 20 minutes long), it's a good length for kids.
Brother Bear also does a decent job of looking at sibling relationships and showing how important understanding others is. Many of the characters, particularly Thomas and Moranis' misguided moose and Michael Clarke Duncan's jovial alpha bear, Tug, are well written and amusing. While most of the movie isn't as funny for adults as some of Disney and Pixar's past material, the many kids in my audience spent much of the movie laughing.
By the end, most of the audience members under 10 years old were completely hooked—not bad for just the third effort by Disney's Florida Animation Studio, which also created Mulan and Lilo & Stitch. Brother Bear doesn't measure up to some of Disney's past work, but it's an enjoyable, fun movie just the same.