Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Tristan P — 01 Nov 2010

Quite possibly Disney's worst animated film (Yes. Even worse than Home on the Range). OK. The story on its own is not too bad and background and animation are gorgeous not to mention Phil Collins's tunes are downright catchy. But the tone of it is very inconsistent. One minute it's a serious drama about overcoming prejudice the next minute it's a tongue in cheek comedy (Two rams confusing their own echoes with different characters? A senile old bear pretending that her mate is dead? What is this? A Ben Stiller routine?). Also, Kenai is quite possibly the most unlikeable lead in any of the films. He's whiny, he's selfish and he's so difficult to sympathize with even when he does redeem himself. The moose are funny but they feel like they belong in another movie altogether.

All in all a big disappointment on Disney's part. The biggest irony of it all? The direct-to-video sequel with Mandy Moore was better and you know there's a problem when a Disney DTV sequel is better than the theatrical release that inspired it.