Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Stephanie M — 21 Apr 2012

Brother Bear has always been one of my favorite "children's" movies. Especially because I love the special features on the DVD. Although I have seen this movie about 100 times, I watched again this past weekend with my siblings, and we all enjoyed it very much. Kenai is a young Inuit who doesn't seem to live up to the greatness of his brothers. He constantly is making mistakes, such as not tieing up the fish and keeping it away from bears. When Kenai and his brother run into a momma bear, Sitka, Kenai's older brother is killed and in turn Kenai kills the bear. All the people old enough have spirit totems, and Kenai's is a bear. Tanana, the medicine women of the tribe, turns Kenai into a bear and he must embark on a spiritual journey to become human again. Kenai befirend Koda, who he later find outs is the cub of the bear he killed. Throughout the whole movie, Kenai is trying to make it to the Northern Lights as advised by her older brother's spirit. Koda and Kenai team up to find their ways and have to avoid getting hunted by Denahi, who is Kenai's other brother. As they continue their journey they meet new friends/animals who help them out. Kenai learns what it means to be a bear and although humans are afraid of bears, he learns that humans themselves are the enemies. He completes his journey and is turned back into a man and sees his brother one last time. He then asks Tanana to change him back to a bear so he can stay with Koda and help take care of him.

This movie really reflects what I have learned about Indigenous Religions. Although it is an animated film, it is very spiritual and helps teach children to respect earth and those that live on it. Their is storytelling by Tanana who is very respected among her people. The movie is about Kenai's spiritual journey which is very important to those who practice Indigenous Religions. The main theme of Earth and using the natural resources in a positive way is very prominent in this movie as well.