Brother Bear

You can really feel the urgency Disney had in the 2000s. With Pixar and Dreamworks delivering hit after hit, Disney was being left in the dust. They had abandoned their fairy tale routes and were trying to rediscover themselves. They tried being more adult, they tried going in a new direction with Sci-Fi movies. And with Brother Bear they tried to revisit the fantastical fairy tales they were known for.

The plot is oddly similar to Brave which would be put out by Pixar a few years later. The story is much better put together than Treasure Planet. It moves at a good pace, makes sense, but does have some similarities to Pocahontas where there is a lot of talk about nature and spirits and stuff like that. That is likely my own prejudice, but it always feels way over the top to me. The best thing about the story is that it is not relying on the old Disney trope of the villain being evil for the sake of it. Instead, the hero villain roles are wildly obscured for most of the movie.

The characters are good. There is a lot of comedy going on while the story is very serious and sad. But, this is a good thing to keep the show a bit lighter. The moose in particular are hilarious and really bring back images of the crows from Dumbo. Much of the movie feels like they leaned heavily on Tarzan. Both the buddy duo that shouldn't really work as well as the split between two worlds motif.

The animation is classic hand drawn. Not a lot to speak on here, there is little in the realm of style changes. This movie could easily be drawn alongside any of the Disney Renaissance films.

Speaking of leaning on Tarzan, Phil Collins sings the big breakout song from the film. This and the music just continues to make this feel like Disney is stretching to force this into the one of the popular Disney films of the 90s. They also brought in Joaquin Phoenix to voice the main role, fresh off his success in the film Gladiator.

In the end this is another of those forgettable Disney films from this era. It is alright, worth a watch if you have child that is interested in animals. But there is no representation in the parks. The is no must see Disney Channel episodic version. The songs didn't get the Academy Award nomination. In fact, the only nomination the film got was for Best Animated Feature which it lost to Pixar's Finding Nemo. So, it feels mediocre at best.

Run Time – 85 Minutes

76th Academy Awards – 1 Nominations

Best Animated Feature Film - Nominated

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Beauty and the Beast 9-29-1991

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 6-21-1996

3. Lady and the Tramp 6-22-1955

4. Aladdin 11-25-1992

5. Tarzan 6-18-1999

6. Mulan 6-19-1998

7. Peter Pan 2-5-1953

8. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 3-11-1977

9. One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1-25-1961

10. The Lion King 6-15-1994

11. Hercules 6-13-1997

12. The Emperor’s New Groove 12-15-2000

13. Lilo & Stitch 6-21-2002

14. Dumbo 10-23-1941

15. Atlantis: The Lost Empire 6-15-2001

16. The Fox and the Hound 7-10-1981

17. Oliver and Company 11-18-1988

18. Cinderella 2-15-1950

19. The Little Mermaid 11-17-1989

20. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

21. Sleeping Beauty 1-29-1959

22. The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 10-5-1949

23. The Jungle Book 10-18-1967

24. Brother Bear

25. The Great Mouse Detective 7-2-1986

26. Fantasia 2000 6-16-2000

27. Robin Hood 11-8-1973

28. The Rescuers Down Under 11-16-1990

29. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

30. Fun and Fancy Free 9-27-1947

31. Dinosaur 5-19-2000

32. Treasure Planet 11-27-2002

33. The Aristocats 12-11-1970

34. Pocahontas 6-23-1995

35. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

36. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

37. The Sword in the Stone 12-25-1963

38. The Rescuers 6-22-1977

39. Alice in Wonderland 7-26-1951

40. The Black Cauldron 7-24-1985

41. Melody Time 5-27-1948

42. Bambi 8-13-1942

43. Fantasia 11-13-1940

44. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944