Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, D.B. Sweeney, Joan Copeland, Michael Clarke Duncan
Written By:
Directed By: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker
Studio: Disney/ Buena Vista
Buy on Amazon.com

I haven’t seen too many Disney animated movies lately. I believe the last one (Besides the Pixar films) was Lion King so yeah it’s been awhile. I decided to check out Brother Bear and see if it was a decent movie.

Brother Bear is about a young Indian man named Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) who gets transformed into a bear after killing a vicious bear that killed his older brother Sitka (D.B. Sweeney). Kenai’s middle brother, Denahi, thinks the transformed Kenai killed Kenai and vows to kill the bear. Geez, a lot of killing huh? I need to find a new word for that. Anyway, Kenai tries to live his new life as a bear and is befriended by a little cub named Koda (Bernie Mac Show’s Jeremy Suarez). The only human Kenai can communicate with is the Shaman for his tribe and she tells him he can be turned back, but he has to go up in the mountains. Along the way, Koda and Kenai develop a brotherly love kind of relationship and encounter some goofy friends like 2 Canadian Mooses (voiced by Bob and Doug Mackenzie basically, AKA Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas). Kenai also finds out out some disturbing news from Koda about Koda’s Mother and it might ruin the friendship, well the whole being a human thing might cause a dent in the relationship as well.

This 2 Disc set contains a 45 minute Making Of featurette called “Paths of Discovery” that’s really good. The directors explain the process of making the movie, the voice over actors talk about how they felt about the movie and the idea of brotherhood. The featurette spent a lot of time with Phil Collins and showed him recording and working on the songs with composer Mark Mancina. I still can’t believe he used to be in Genesis and now it seems he’s just recording songs for animated movies. I love watching the making ofs for animated movies because I’m an artist. Some of the background paintings in the movie are breathtaking. The colors are so vibrant and colorful. I think I saw the artists creating this movie last year down in the animation studios at MGM Studios in Orlando. I went there this year but since the studio shut down, there weren’t any animators in the building or it was blocked off for “renovation.” They said Pixar was there using the space but I don’t think that was the case. It’s sad to see that place get shut down, but maybe they’ll make better movies when they start their own animated studio.

Other extras include deleted scenes, unreleased songs by Phil Collins like the “Fishing Song” and the original English lyrics to the “Transformation Song,” plus music videos, games and my favorite thing on the DVD: Rutt and Tuke’s commentary. I just think this is a brilliant idea to have the movie characters talking about the movie. I wish l Family Guy or the Simpsons did this with their DVDs. I heard bits and pieces of the commentary and I was cracking up at it. Clearly the best thing on here I think. And there’s little animated silhouettes of them like MST3K does. You don’t see them the whole time though.

I didn’t really like the story of Brother Bear and that’s pretty much the main reason why I didn’t like the movie as a whole. The artwork was great, and the voice-over acting did an okay job but the story and Disney clichés bugged me.

Features:
n- “Rutt & Tuke’s Commentary” Watch Along with the Hilarious Moose From the Film
n- Fully Animated Outtakes
n- Exclusive to the DVD
n- Deleted Scenes
n- Including a Funny New Character
n- 2 Exciting Games Featuring Your Favorite Animals from the Film
n- Alln-New Song by Phil Collins, “Fishing Song”
n- Paths of Discovery: The Making of Brother Bear
n- “Look Through My Eyes” Music Video Featuring Phil Collins
n- And Much More!

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
ENGLISH: DTS 5.1
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo

Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Widescreen 1.66:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: I loved all the Moose scenes. They were the best part of the movie I think.
Rating: Rated G
Running Time: 85 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: