Brother Bear 2 is out on DVD in the next few weeks, so I thought a review of the first movie was in order.
Brother Bear is the story of a boy named Kenai. In the movie set right after the ice age, children are given a symbol when they get older that represents who they are and who they will become in life. After seeing his brothers get strong animals like an eagle and a wolf, Kenai receive a bear. The bear that represents love is not exactly what Kenai was hoping for and he is rather disappointed in the selection.
After a bear kills his brother, Kenai retaliates by killing the bear himself. The spirits decide that in order to teach Kenai about bears and himself he must first become one. Kenai is transformed into a bear. His other brother thinks that rather than becoming a bear he has been killed by one, and goes off to seek retaliation against the bears for the death of his brothers.
During the movie Kenai learns a lot about himself and comes to appreciate bears, nature, and the world around him. He spends time with other bears and create friendships. You can see how Kenai changes from the beginning of the movie where he was power hungry to the end where he is more family centered.
I thought this was a beautifully made movie, the animation is part is absolutely phenomenal. The movie is great to teach children that you can’t judge a book by its cover, and not to take everything at face value.
The movie is rated G and runs around an hour and a half. There is a small amount of violence when both of Kenai’s brothers are killed, but those brothers return in the movie as ghosts which may or may not disturb your child.
Brother Bear is availible where DVDs are sold or online at Amazon.com. Brother Bear 2 is out on DVD next week.