Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Terry L — 17 Apr 2010

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It showed how the people believed that the spirits chose ones destiny. Everything that happened in this movie happened for a reason. The boy wanted to become a man, and so he did, when he was turned into a bear.

This movie relates to World Religions because it shows the viewer how indigenous people believed in the spirits. Everything they did was to please the spirits. They did not want to anger the spirits. It shows how they would look up into the sky at the Northern Lights and believe that they were the spirits. In all other religions we see the same type of behavior. All other religions assume that their God or Gods are in the heavens and that one must do things not to anger or displease him/her/them.

We see in this film, how a boy wants to become a man and the tribe gives him a ceremony of manhood, lets say. We see in tribe how things are done for the spirits, or are done to please them. Though Kenai was very upset that his totem was that of a loving bear his brother told him that once he lived up to his totem he would become a man. The thought there is something above us guiding our lives seems to make sense for a lot of people, that is why there is religion. To see in this film how Kenai transformed into a bear in order to become what his totem was, is very interesting. The belief that the spirits would transform one to guide them amused me.

The film and the study of Indigenous Religions seem to go along with one another. For it is the will of the spirits that one live by, and not the will of one. This film was enjoyable and my little one enjoyed it as well.