Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Tiffany G — 05 Sep 2009

Brother Bear was a great movie. It?s an excellent addition to the Disney collection. The hand drawn animation reminded me of when I was growing up watching the other Disney movies. I have to say that this movie is too complex for really little kids. I have a little sister who is 3 and she was not interested at all so I ended up watching it by myself. This intriguing, coming of age movie is about three brothers who live in a tribal community during what looks like the post-ice age era. They each get a totem during their initiation ceremonies. Sitka, the eldest, gets the eagle of guidance. Denahi, the middle-child, gets the wolf of wisdom. Kenai, the youngest, gets the bear of love. When one brother dies, the main character Kenai vows vengeance on the bear that killed him. The Great Spirits don?t like that he?s going after it for revenge so when he actually kills the bear, the Great Spirits transform him into the very thing he killed, a bear. He then is forced to see life through a bear?s eyes. His other brother does not know that Kenai is now a bear so because he wants to get revenge for Kenai?s ?death?, he ends up trying to kill his own brother. While running from his brother and trying to get to the sacred mountain, he runs into a pesky bear cub named Koda. They end up traveling together and Kenai is forced to show what his totem revealed, love. I loved the two talking moose.

This movie has a lot of references to traditional indigenous religious beliefs. They show a shaman which was very common of various tribes. Great Spirits were also a common belief. They showed animism which is the belief that everything living and non-living has a spirit. Also, initiation rituals were shown which are still common in indigenous tribes today. The movie was also emphasizing the importance of harmony between humans and nature.