Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Victoria J W — 08 Apr 2017

Brother Bear Review:

Brother bear is a lovely Disney film about a young man who has to really make the transition from being completely childish into adulthood by being transformed into a bear by forces beyond his own control. He must take the time to learn about loss, grieving, anger and everything in between by meeting various animals that all offer a different piece of the story. Along the way, he ends up teaming up with the young and lone bear cub Koda. Together they go through a world of hurt and misunderstanding, to enter into what can only be described as true love that really makes one see what family can really mean to someone big or small. What made this so interesting to watch, was really something about the idea of learning a lesson from a myth. In native American mythologies, the tales that the elders within the community often present to children and sometimes adults to teach them lessons from on how to handle others in society and overall help them gain an understanding of the meaning of life in all of its forms. Usually these myths are presented from the point of view of the trickster, but I can see the idea being presented differently here to show children the same lessons in a different way. There are plenty of other myths that teach the lessons of life and death and the ideas that accompany those things. I think that this movie is so sweet, and looking back it really make me so happy because I was proabably in about 1st or 2nd grade and back then I just saw it as being a fun little movie and a man who gets turned into a bear, like there was some amazing Disney magic behind it when in reality it had an AMAZING message.