I may have a hard time accurately writing this review, as my 4-year old and 2-year old nieces explained many aspects of the movie while we were watching it. But I guess that may be a testament on how good this movie is. My parents rented it so we could watch it with my nieces on the Friday of the week it was released on video. Little did we know, my sister bought this movie, and my nieces knew it pretty well over just a three-day span! That's pretty impressive, especially when they were explaining things I didn't expect kids their age to know about, like spirits.
So what did I ultimately think? First off, the visuals were excellent and a testament to the effectiveness of traditional animation. I especially liked the artistic transition when Kenai changed into a bear. It seemed like the movie shifted from realistic-looking animation to a more cartoon-like and vibrant animation style. While digital animation may be clearer and look of higher quality, there just seems to be more soul poured into traditional animation. Some digital animation has a synthetic look to it, while traditional animated projects seem to reflect the meticulous and hard work that was put in by the animators.
As for the story of "Brother Bear," I enjoyed it for the most part. It wasn't pound for pound the best story I've seen from a Disney film, but it did effectively connect with my nieces. There were some funny moments, like when the moose played a challenging game of "I Spy." There were also cute moments, like Koda's mannerisms in the final scenes. My chief complaint though is from the lesson "Brother Bear" was trying to teach. I kind of rolled my eyes thinking, "Didn't we already learn this lesson in 'Bambi?!'"
Overall, "Brother Bear" is a nice addition to the Disney library. It will connect with people for years to come, but I wouldn't exactly dub it as a masterpiece like "Bambi" or "Beauty & the Beast."
My IMDb Rating: 8/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B+ (Memorable)
So what did I ultimately think? First off, the visuals were excellent and a testament to the effectiveness of traditional animation. I especially liked the artistic transition when Kenai changed into a bear. It seemed like the movie shifted from realistic-looking animation to a more cartoon-like and vibrant animation style. While digital animation may be clearer and look of higher quality, there just seems to be more soul poured into traditional animation. Some digital animation has a synthetic look to it, while traditional animated projects seem to reflect the meticulous and hard work that was put in by the animators.
As for the story of "Brother Bear," I enjoyed it for the most part. It wasn't pound for pound the best story I've seen from a Disney film, but it did effectively connect with my nieces. There were some funny moments, like when the moose played a challenging game of "I Spy." There were also cute moments, like Koda's mannerisms in the final scenes. My chief complaint though is from the lesson "Brother Bear" was trying to teach. I kind of rolled my eyes thinking, "Didn't we already learn this lesson in 'Bambi?!'"
Overall, "Brother Bear" is a nice addition to the Disney library. It will connect with people for years to come, but I wouldn't exactly dub it as a masterpiece like "Bambi" or "Beauty & the Beast."
My IMDb Rating: 8/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B+ (Memorable)