Brother Bear

[Squeely]

^Yeah, Brother Bear really is a mixed bag. It has so many good elements, but they don't quite get the focus they deserve. Overall though, it is a great and heartwarming film. It really is a shame that it's been mostly swept under the rug from day one, because those really good elements deserve more attention. Flawed as it may be, I still consider it one of Disney's greats.

[PridelandsPhantom]

I think many people tend to overlook this movie but I enjoy it quite a bit. What really gets me is the middle of the movie when you see what Koda's mother was doing and then you see how wrong Kenai's killing her was. I feel sad for Koda knowing he thinks his mother is alive when we know she was called when Sitka broke the ice apart. The transformation sequence is one of my favorites and really beautiful.

Kenai goes for a self absorbed young man bent on revenge to having his eyes opened to how others feel and caring about others especially Koda. He knows he needs to raise him to make up for killing Koda's mother. The talk of the bears at the river is very funny especially the older female bear saying her husband is dead.

[Panpardus]

The Lion Guard and now Moana are making me feel kind of nostalgic for the few Disney movies I really enjoyed growing up, and I've been meaning to re-watch both Brother Bear films for months now. (College has a tendency to get in the way of those things but I'm taking a year off now, so I'll eventually get around to it one of these weekends.) All this is to say that I'm currently speaking from the perspective of not having seen Brother Bear in about a decade.

I've always found at least the original Brother Bear to be one of Disney's more emotionally powerful films, or at least it was more unique because of its Ice Age Alaskan setting (I'm a big biology and paleo-nerd) and the fact that it delves into and employs elements of a Native American culture, generalized as it may be. As others have said, I really like the soundtrack, and the opening and third acts were quite moving to me. "Great Spirits", Sitka's funeral, and Kenai's transformation scene collectively had a "Circle of Life" vibe to me, and Kenai's confession to Koda about killing his mother was almost up there with Mufasa's death the more I sat and just soaked in the moment. (Unlike with The Lion King, I remember the first time I saw this movie, so I remember the experience of almost crying during that scene.) Overall I've always thought it was a good movie, among my favorites from Disney, actually. Just writing this makes me really want to re-watch it now...

As far as the sequel goes, I may try to re-watch that one too, but I barely remember anything about it other than Kenai's old girlfriend eventually became a bear herself, and Wanda Sykes voiced that film's obligatory shaman-women character. Maybe that's already saying something towards the film's quality considering how much I liked its predecessor, but then again I only watched the sequel once because I happened to find it airing on TV at some point.

Once I finally get around to re-watching at least the first movie, I'll probably have shifted my opinions a little since I'm older now and consider myself a little more sophisticated, but I kinda don't think it'll change all that much; I'll probably just have deeper thoughts on my current positions.

[MusicLion101]

Brother Bear would've been so much better if they didnt let Phil Collins ruin the confession scene. The deleted full confession is so much more impactful rather than the phil collin's cheesefest. YAWN.

[SimbasGuard]

I did not read this whole thread, but like other's here I really like Brother Bear and Brother Bear 2. They don't belong on the same level as The Lion King for me, but I should also take some time to rematch the movies, and remind myself why I think so highly of this movie. It is too bad that this franchise is so underrated.

An interesting side note is in the trailers for Brother Bear 2 Kenai is voiced by Jason Marsden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usQQ7qwXf58

Kenai and Kovu would have had the same voice. I do not know why Patrick Dempsey replaced him in the actual movie. My only guess is that Disney just wanted a bigger star in the lead role. Although since that was not used to promote the movie, I don't see how that could have been a factor

[Ultra Fox]

my brother is a bear named beary mcbearson

[MeerkatOnTheMoon]

Brother Bear is quite underrated. Lovely story.

[Bunga2019]

I was at the sneak peek of Brother Bear back then.

[MeerkatOnTheMoon]

That's awesome to know.