It’s Film
Strip Friday!
Brother
Bear
Release
Date November 1st, 2003
SYNOPSIS:
When an
impulsive boy named Kenai is magically transformed into a bear, he must
literally walk in another's footsteps until he learns some valuable life
lessons. His courageous and often zany journey introduces him to a forest full
of wildlife, including the lovable bear cub Koda, hilarious moose Rutt and
Tuke, woolly mammoths, rambunctious rams, and more!
FUN FACTS:
Brother Bear is a 2003 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the 44th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. In the film, an Inuit boy pursues a bear in revenge for a battle that he provoked in which his oldest brother is killed. He tracks down the bear and kills it, but the Spirits, angered by this needless death, change the boy into a bear himself as punishment. Originally titled Bears, it was the third and final Disney animated feature produced primarily by the Feature Animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida; the studio was shut down in March 2004, not long after the release of this film in favor of computer animated features. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Finding Nemo. A sequel, Brother Bear 2, was released on August 29, 2006.
Plot
The film is set in a post-ice age North America, where the
local tribesmen believe all creatures are created through the Spirits, who are
said to appear in the form of an aurora. Three brothers, Kenai (voiced by Joaquin
Phoenix), Denahi (voiced by Jason Raize) and Sitka (voiced by D.B. Sweeney),
return to their tribe in order for Kenai to receive his sacred totem, its
meaning being what he must achieve to call himself a man. Unlike Sitka, who
gained the eagle of guidance, and Denahi who gained the wolf of wisdom, Kenai
receives the bear of love, much to his objections, stating that bears are
thieves. His point is made a fact when a bear steals some salmon. Kenai and his
brothers pursue the bear, but a fight follows on a glacier, Sitka giving his life
to save his brothers, although the bear survives. Vengeful, Kenai heads out to
avenge Sitka. He chases the bear up onto a mountain and kills it. The Spirits,
represented by Sitka's spirit in the form of a bald eagle transforms Kenai into
a bear after the dead bear's body disappears. Denahi arrives, mistaking Kenai
for dead, and his bear form is responsible for it, vows to avenge Kenai.
Kenai falls down some river rapids, survives, and is
healed by Tanana (voiced by Joan Copeland), the shaman of Kenai's tribe. She
does not speak the bear language, but advises him to return to the mountain to
find Sitka and be turned back to normal, but only when he corrects what he had
done; she quickly disappears without an explanation. Kenai quickly discovers
the wildlife can talk, meeting two brother mooses, Rutt and Tuke (voiced by Rick
Moranis and Dave Thomas). He gets caught in a trap, but is freed by a chatty
bear cub named Koda (voiced by Jeremy Suarez). The two bears make a deal, Kenai
will go with Koda to a nearby salmon run and
then the cub will lead Kenai to the mountain. As the two eventually form a
sibling-like bond, Koda revealing his mother is missing. The two are hunted by
Denahi who fails multiple times to kill Kenai, still unaware that he is his
brother. Rutt and Tuke run into the bears multiple times, the group hitching a
ride on a herd of mammoths to quicken the pace to the salmon run, but the moose
are left behind when the bears move on. Kenai and Koda escape Denahi again, and
reach the salmon run, where a large number of bears live as a family, including
the leader Tug (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan), a Grizzly Bear. Kenai becomes
very much at home and at content with the other bears. During a discussion
among the bears, Koda tells a story about his mother fighting human hunters,
making Kenai realize he killed Koda's mother.
Guilty and horrified, Kenai runs away but Koda soon finds
him. Kenai reveals the truth to Koda, who runs away grief-stricken. An
apologetic Kenai leaves to reach the mountain. Rutt and Took, having fallen
out, reform their brotherhood in front of Koda, prompting him to go after
Kenai. Denahi confronts Kenai on the mountain, but their fight is intervened by
Koda who steals Denahi's hunting pike. Kenai goes to Koda's aid out of love,
prompting Sitka to appear and turn him back into a human, much to Denahi and
Koda's surprise. However, Kenai asks Sitka to transform him back into a bear so
he can stay with Koda. Sitka complies, and Koda is reunited briefly with the
spirit of his mother, before she and Sitka return to the Spirits. In the end,
Kenai lives with the rest of the bears and gains his title as a man, through
being a bear.
Voice cast
- Joaquin
Phoenix as Kenai, the youngest of three brothers who gets turned into a
bear, to teach him to see through their eyes. John E. Hurst and Byron
Howard served as the supervising animators for Kenai in human and bear
form respectively.
- Jeremy
Suarez as Koda, a wisecracking grizzly bear cub, who helps Kenai on his
journey to where the Lights Touch the Earth. Alex Kupershmidt served as
the supervising animator for Koda.
- Rick
Moranis as Rutt, a comic Canadian moose.
- Dave
Thomas as Tuke, another comic Canadian moose.
- Jason
Raize as Denahi, the middle brother. Ruben A. Aquino served as the
supervising animator for Denahi.
- D.B.
Sweeney as Sitka, the oldest brother.
- Joan
Copeland as Tanana, the shaman-woman of Kenai's tribe.
- Michael
Clarke Duncon as Tug, a wise old grizzly bear.
- Greg
Proops as Male Lover Bear
- Pauley
Perrette as Female Lover Bear
- Estelle
Harris as Old Lady Bear
- Bumper
Robinson as Chipmunks
- Angayuqaq
Oscar Kawagley as Inuit Narrator
Production
In 2002 Digital Media Effects reported the title of the
film as Bears. An article in IGN in 2001 also mentioned an upcoming
Disney release with the title Bears as did Jim Hill of Ain't It Cool
News.
Design and animation
The film is traditionally animated but includes some CG
elements such as "a salmon run and a caribou stampede". Layout artist
Armand Serrano, speaking about the drawing process on the film, said that
"we had to do a life drawing session with live bear cubs and also outdoor
drawing and painting sessions at Fort Wilderness in Florida three times a week
for two months [...]".
According to Ruben Aquino, supervising animator for the
character of Denahi, Denahi was originally meant to be Kenai's father; later
this was changed to Kenai's brother. Byron Howard, supervising animator for
Kenai in bear form, said that earlier in production a bear named Grizz (who
resembles Tug in the film and is even voiced by the same person) was supposed
to have the role of Kenai's mentor. Art Director Robh Ruppel stated that the
ending of the film originally showed how Kenai and Denahi get together once a
year to play when the northern lights are in the sky.
Release
Critical reception
The reaction from film reviewers was mixed, with some
panning the film as a retread of older Disney films like The Lion King and the 20th
Century Fox film Ice Age (although Brother Bear began production before Ice
Age did), while others defended the film as a legitimate variation of the
theme. The popular American movie critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper have
given positive reviews of the film.
Of note to many critics and viewers was the use of the
film's aspect ratio as a storytelling device. The film begins at a standard
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.75:1 (similar to the 1.85:1 ratio common in U.S.
cinema or the 1.78:1 ratio of HDTV), while Kenai is a human; in addition, the
film's art direction and color scheme are grounded in realism. After Kenai
transforms into a bear twenty-four minutes into the picture, the film itself
transforms as well: to an anamorphic aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and towards
brighter, more fanciful colors and slightly more caricatured art direction. Brother
Bear was the first feature since The Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen
shift. It was the only animated feature to do this trick, until The Simpsons
Movie and Enchanted in 2007.
Box office
The film made $85,336,277 during its domestic theatrical
run and then went on to earn $164,700,000 outside the U.S., bringing its
worldwide total to $250,383,219, which is successful.
Home video
The film's March 30, 2004 DVD release brought in more
than $167 million in DVD and VHS sales and rentals. In April 2004 alone, 5.51
million copies of Brother Bear were sold.
The film will be released on a Blu-Ray Special Edition in
winter 2012.
Awards and nominations
The film was also nominated at the 76th
Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, but ultimately ended losing out to
another Pixar/Walt Disney pictures film, Finding Nemo.
Video games
Disney's Brother Bear was released in November 2003
for the Game Boy Advance, Mobil phone and Microsoft Windows. The story starts
as the two moose are telling the story of "The bear who said he wasn't a
bear". The story follows the film where Kenai transformed into a bear by
his brother Sitka and is being hunted by his brother Denahi.
You play as Kenai and play mini-games like snow sliding
or salmon run and eat berries to get totems and avoid purple bushes. In the GBA
version, you play either Kenai or Koda. Collect three green, red or gold totems
and avoid thorns and Denahi.
Plot
The film is set in a post-ice age North America, where
the local tribesmen believe all creatures are created through the Spirits, who
are said to appear in the form of an aurora. Three brothers, Kenai (voiced by Joaquin
Phoenix), Denahi (voiced by Jason Raize) and Sitka (voiced by D.B. Sweeney),
return to their tribe in order for Kenai to receive his sacred totem, its
meaning being what he must achieve to call himself a man. Unlike Sitka, who
gained the eagle of guidance, and Denahi who gained the wolf of wisdom, Kenai
receives the bear of love, much to his objections, stating that bears are
thieves. His point is made a fact when a bear steals some salmon. Kenai and his
brothers pursue the bear, but a fight follows on a glacier, Sitka giving his
life to save his brothers, although the bear survives. Vengeful, Kenai heads
out to avenge Sitka. He chases the bear up onto a mountain and kills it. The
Spirits, represented by Sitka's spirit in the form of a bald eagle transforms
Kenai into a bear after the dead bear's body disappears. Denahi arrives,
mistaking Kenai for dead, and his bear form is responsible for it, vows to
avenge Kenai.
Kenai falls down some river rapids, survives, and is
healed by Tanana (voiced by Joan Copeland), the shaman of Kenai's tribe. She
does not speak the bear language, but advises him to return to the mountain to
find Sitka and be turned back to normal, but only when he corrects what he had
done; she quickly disappears without an explanation. Kenai quickly discovers
the wildlife can talk, meeting two brother mooses, Rutt and Tuke (voiced by Rick
Moranis and Dave Thomas). He gets caught in a trap, but is freed by a chatty
bear cub named Koda (voiced by Jeremy Suarez). The two bears make a deal, Kenai
will go with Koda to a nearby salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to
the mountain. As the two eventually form a sibling-like bond, Koda revealing
his mother is missing. The two are hunted by Denahi who fails multiple times to
kill Kenai, still unaware that he is his brother. Rutt and Tuke run into the
bears multiple times, the group hitching a ride on a herd of mammoths to
quicken the pace to the salmon run, but the moose are left behind when the
bears move on. Kenai and Koda escape Denahi again, and reach the salmon run,
where a large number of bears live as a family, including the leader Tug
(voiced by Michael Claarke Duncan), a Grizzly Bear. Kenai becomes very much at
home and at content with the other bears. During a discussion among the bears,
Koda tells a story about his mother fighting human hunters, making Kenai
realize he killed Koda's mother.
Guilty and horrified, Kenai runs away but Koda soon finds
him. Kenai reveals the truth to Koda, who runs away grief-stricken. An
apologetic Kenai leaves to reach the mountain. Rutt and Took, having fallen
out, reform their brotherhood in front of Koda, prompting him to go after
Kenai. Denahi confronts Kenai on the mountain, but their fight is intervened by
Koda who steals Denahi's hunting pike. Kenai goes to Koda's aid out of love,
prompting Sitka to appear and turn him back into a human, much to Denahi and
Koda's surprise. However, Kenai asks Sitka to transform him back into a bear so
he can stay with Koda. Sitka complies, and Koda is reunited briefly with the
spirit of his mother, before she and Sitka return to the Spirits. In the end,
Kenai lives with the rest of the bears and gains his title as a man, through
being a bear.
Voice cast
- Joaquin
Phoenix as Kenai, the youngest of three brothers who gets turned into a
bear, to teach him to see through their eyes. John E. Hurst and Byron
Howard served as the supervising animators for Kenai in human and bear
form respectively.
- Jeremy
Suarez as Koda, a wisecracking grizzly bear cub, who helps Kenai on his
journey to where the Lights Touch the Earth. Alex Kupershmidt served as
the supervising animator for Koda.
- Rick
Moranis as Rutt, a comic Canadian moose.
- Dave
Thomas as Tuke, another comic Canadian moose.
- Jason
Raize as Denahi, the middle brother. Ruben A. Aquino served as the
supervising animator for Denahi.
- D.B.
Sweeney as Sitka, the oldest brother.
- Joan Copeland
as Tanana, the shaman-woman of Kenai's tribe.
- Michael
Clarke Duncan as Tug, a wise old grizzly bear.
- Greg
Proops as Male Lover Bear
- Pauley
Perrette as Female Lover Bear
- Estelle Harris
as Old Lady Bear
- Bumper Robinson
as Chipmunks
- Angayuqaq
Oscar Kawagley as Inuit Narrator
Production
In 2002 Digital Media Effects reported the title of the
film as Bears. An article in IGN in 2001 also mentioned an upcoming
Disney release with the title Bears as did Jim Hill of Ain't It Cool
News.
Design and animation
The film is traditionally animated but includes some CG
elements such as "a salmon run and a caribou stampede". Layout artist
Armand Serrano, speaking about the drawing process on the film, said that
"we had to do a life drawing session with live bear cubs and also outdoor
drawing and painting sessions at Fort Wilderness in Florida three times a week
for two months.
According to Ruben Aquino, supervising animator for the
character of Denahi, Denahi was originally meant to be Kenai's father; later
this was changed to Kenai's brother. Byron Howard, supervising animator for
Kenai in bear form, said that earlier in production a bear named Grizz (who
resembles Tug in the film and is even voiced by the same person) was supposed
to have the role of Kenai's mentor. Art Director robh Ruppel stated that the
ending of the film originally showed how Kenai and Denahi get together once a
year to play when the northern lights are in the sky.
Release
Critical reception
The reaction from film reviewers was mixed, with some
panning the film as a retread of older Disney films like The Lion King and the 20th
Century Fox film Ice Age (although Brother Bear began production before Ice
Age did), while others defended the film as a legitimate variation of the
theme. The popular American movie critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper have
given positive reviews of the film.
Of note to many critics and viewers was the use of the
film's aspect ratio as a storytelling device. The film begins at a standard
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.75:1 (similar to the 1.85:1 ratio common in U.S.
cinema or the 1.78:1 ratio of HDTV), while Kenai is a human; in addition, the
film's art direction and color scheme are grounded in realism. After Kenai
transforms into a bear twenty-four minutes into the picture, the film itself
transforms as well: to an anamorphic aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and towards
brighter, more fanciful colors and slightly more caricatured art direction. Brother
Bear was the first feature since The Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen
shift. It was the only animated feature to do this trick, until The Simpsons
Movie and Enchanted in 2007.
Box office
The film made $85,336,277 during its domestic theatrical
run and then went on to earn $164,700,000 outside the U.S., bringing its worldwide
total to $250,383,219, which is successful.
Home video
The film's March 30, 2004 DVD release brought in more
than $167 million in DVD and VHS sales and rentals. In April 2004 alone, 5.51
million copies of Brother Bear were sold.
The film will be released on a Blu-Ray Special Edition in
winter 2012.
Awards and nominations
The film was also nominated at the 76th Academy Awards for Best animated Feature, but ultimately ended losing out to another Walt Disney pictures film, Finding Nemo.
Video games
Disney's Brother Bear was released in November 2003
for the Game Boy Advance, Mobil phone and Microsoft Windows. The story starts
as the two moose are telling the story of "The bear who said he wasn't a
bear". The story follows the film where Kenai transformed into a bear by
his brother Sitka and is being hunted by his brother Denahi.
You play as Kenai and play mini-games like snow sliding or salmon run and eat berries to get totems and avoid purple bushes. In the GBA version, you play either Kenai or Koda. Collect three green, red or gold totems and avoid thorns and Denahi.
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