Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Hannah N — 13 Nov 2016

Brother Bear is a Disney movie that depicts the relationship between Native Americans and nature. In the beginning of the movie, the narrator explains that the world is full of 'magic', which comes from the lights at the top of the mountains. The shaman woman of the tribe explains that these lights are actually spirits of deceased ancestors and loved ones. They are responsible for growth, through people or animals, and changing of the seasons. Typically, these spirits control everything and help guide their loved ones. The main character of the movie, Kenai, is about to turn into a man. The shaman took a quest to the mountains and it was revealed to her that Kenai's totem, is that of a bear. According to the spirits, in order to become a man, Kenai must base his life and actions around love. Kenai is appalled by this and doesn't understand how he must 'love' in order to become a man. He leaves the ceremony and finds that his basket of fish, that he didn't properly secure, had been ransacked by a bear. Kenai tracks down the bear, to try and kill it and prove his manhood. His brothers, Sitka and Denahi, follow him and discover that the bear nearly kills him and it caused him to fall off the side of a ledge. While the brothers are fighting for their lives, Sitka sacrifices himself in order to save the other two. The bear and Sitka fall into the icy river. The bear manages to escape into the woods. Angry over his brother's death, Kenai follows the bear with the intentions to kill it. The tracks the bear to the top of a mountain and as he kills the bear, he is surrounded by the spirits, in the form of the bright lights. Suddenly, Kenai is transformed into the bear. Denahi, who thought Kenai was an actual bear, tried to kill him, thinking that Kenai was dead. Kenai, disoriented and confused, managed to escape and when he wakes up, discovers the shaman, who told him he needed to find the place that the lights touched the Earth. He set on a quest to find this location so he could be human again, where he meets a young cub by the name of Koda. Koda is very annoying to Kenai at first, but soon grows on him. Kenai agrees to take Koda to the salmon run, because Koda says the place he's looking for is right neat the salmon run. When they reach their destination, Koda tells a story of how his mother encountered some hunters. Horrified, Kenai realizes the story is about him and how he killed Koda's mother. Kenai pulls Koda aside, and admits that he killed his mother when he was human. Hurt of the loss of his mother, Koda leaves and Kenai sets back to the mountain with the lights. When he reaches the mountain, Denahi is there and tries to kill him. Koda managed to help save him, and right before Kenai is about to be stabbed, he transforms back into a human. Kenai decides to continue living his life as a bear, so he can take care of Koda. Kenai has finally turned into a 'man', since he learned how to live his life by the way of his totem.

This movie is important in explaining the religions of indigenous people. They have a very strong connection to nature, as it is shown in the movie. At the beginning of the movie, Denahi is shown as the narrator and he's telling the story of his brother's story and the lesson he learned. Myths and story-telling are very popular in indigenous religions, because they teach stories and a lesson. There are many life lessons to be learned by these stories, and this is exactly what this movie is.