Review of Bears (2014) by Andrew H — 06 May 2014

Similar to 2012's Chimpanzee, Bears is a mixed bag. But first, I will say that I enjoyed Bears a little more. Just like Chimpanzee (narrated by Tim Allen), Bears is narrated by a likable Disney animation voice actor.

This time, John C. Reilly (Wreck-it-Ralph) does the play-by-play. His tone fits the film and he's a lot funnier than Tim Allen. Disneynature always tries to add some family-friendly humor when sometimes it's just better to leave nature alone.

For example, when momma bear gets a head start in their travels, John C. Reilly will then say, "Hey mom, wait up!" for the other bear cubs. It it cute and funny at times, but other times it just gets an inaudible groan from me.

But the story told in Bears is a very interesting one, and the inclusion of giving all the bears names just goes to show you that the wilderness is big, but it's a small world after all as the different bears make several reappearances.

But honestly, paying to see a movie like this is theaters is just a matter of preference. Sure, you could probably catch something similar on National Geographic. However, the production value in these Disneynature films is unreal.

I can't even count how many times I actually felt like I was witnessing these animals in real-time. The footage the Disneynature crews get is nothing short of amazing and the end-credits are further proof of their hard work.

Overall, if you like documentaries about animals, you'll most likely love this. Do I think it's worth paying for to see in theaters? Probably not. But I do think it's worth watching, just on your own time.