Brother Bear (UK)

7 / 10
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See through another`s eyes, feel through another`s heart, and discover the meaning of brotherhood
Certificate: G
Running Time: 85 mins
Retail Price: £32.99
Release Date:

Synopsis:
In Walt Disney Pictures` animated feature BROTHER BEAR beautiful animation of the Pacific Northwest depicts wonderfully intimidating snowcapped mountains and glaciers, beautiful springtime forest scenes, rivers full of leaping salmon, and lots of interesting wildlife--from tiny squirrels and chipmunks to giant wooly mammoths. The colors and movement of the film are dazzling and dreamlike, while the upbeat musical score includes songs by Phil Collins and Tina Turner. The story carries messages about the power of friendship and community, the difficulty of losing a loved one, and the highs and lows of growing up. Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) is a boy who longs to become a man but must learn a valuable lesson before he can achieve the maturity it requires. At a tribal ceremony the spirits give him the symbol of the bear, which stands for love. Then, through a series of events, he is transformed into a bear. Kenai must brave the wild, with only a little bear-cub brother, Koda (Jeremy Suarez), to guide him.

Special Features:
2 Discs
THX Mastered
Audio Commentary: "Rutt and Tuke Commentary"
Fully Animated Outtakes
Deleted Scenes
"Fishing Song" by Phil Collins
"The Making of BROTHER BEAR"
2 Exciting Games

Your Opinions and Comments

7 / 10
Well, I guess there comes a time where Disney cannot come up with new stories, so why not grind previous story all over again?
That`s somewhat the feeling I got from "Brother Bear" - the formula is all too familiar. Still, it`s not a bad movie.
The video transfer is very good. The colors are beautifully saturated and the animation is beautiful. There are no compression signs at all. The disc set contains two versions of the movie: the first one is a 1.66:1 ratio (which is oddly called "family friendly" and the second one is the theatrical ratio, which starts with an odd cropped 2.35:1 ratio and after a while turns to a regular 2.35:1 ratio. One cannot escape the symbolism of the transformation (from narrow to wide), still, Disney could`ve come up with a better idea.
The DTS and DD 5.1 soundtracks are very good. The surrounds are used occasionally and add a lot of depth to the scenes.
The menus are nicely animated with DD 5.1 sound.
The extras include a visual commentary by the two moose from the movie, some so-called outtakes, 2 music videos, 2 interactive games, a 45 minute behind the scenes featurette, a picture gallery and 4 deleted scenes.
Bottom line - a nice (yet somewhat repetitive) movie from Disney. Rent it.
posted by Zvi Josef on 20/2/2006 19:52