Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Piragio T — 07 Sep 2013

I had the extreme pleasure of watching Brother Bear with my kids. I found the movie to be full of antidotes that brought the plot of the story to life in a way for kids to understand. The beginning of the movie was very eventful and it showed you a running theme throughout the movie where the main character, a Native American named Kenai had a problem with being responsible. His immediate family consists of his uncle Sitka and Denahi his older brother. Both encouraged Kenai to embrace his spiritual life for his upcoming ceremony where he would receive his rite to passage. He would be considered and man after being linked to an animal that matched his spiritual walk. The ritual was very important and in the one screen, Kenai his passage to be linked to a certain animal that portrayed masculinity and bravery. Sitka was linked to an eagle and his brother had received a wolf. This made Kenai very anxious and he lost site of the true meaning of the animal and the link they would share in the spiritual world. Tanana was a tribal shaman and she made several attempts to teach Kenai about the spiritual connection. She did not want him to take it for granted. However, Kenai's irresponsibility led to the timely death of Sitka which started the journey which would change the way Kenai would look at the spiritual world forever. The spirit world made Kenai take on the appearance of a bear to teach him a lesson about his spirituality.

He met a cub name Koda. Kenai was indirectly responsible in the death of his mother. He met the cub after being transformed into a bear and they begin a journey to find his way to the mountain which holds the solution to him being transformed into a human again. The trip ends up becoming a pilgrimage to his spiritual awakening. Kenai started to learn more about himself and the spiritual world around him when it comes to being unselfish and putting the needs of others. The other characters in the form of animals from the forest were very instrumental when it came connecting the dots about the rituals. The bears had a camp fire ritual where they shared stories and I was almost blind to it being that the bears were involved in a religious ritual. The journey did not end there. The climactic moment led to Kenai coming to the realization that he was responsible for the death of Koda's mother. He had to confess in order to make things right. At the same time Denahi was tracking and looking to kill Kenai thinking he was responsible for Sitka and Kenai's death. In the end they were able to escape the wrath of Denahi and reach the top of the mountain where the spirit lights were accepting of Kenai's offering. He offered himself as a physical sacrifice to the spirit gods and all was well with the spirit world. Kenai and Koda both learned a valuable lesson in the end. Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts you can pass to another human being.