Review
BROTHER BEAR
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez and Jason Raize
Directed by Aaron Blaise and Bob Walker
Now playing
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Give the wizards at the Magic Kingdom credit for this much – they held off the release of Brother Bear for 24 hours, choosing a rare Saturday opening over a Halloween Friday debut.
Smart. See, the suits at Disney know that given a choice, kids would much rather go and bum candy off the neighbours than sit through 90 minutes of preaching.
And really, can you blame them? Because that’s what Brother Bear is, unfortunately – an overlong, overblown plea to be nice to animals. And your family. Oh, and don’t go pissing off that spirit world, either.
Presented in rather unspectacular 2-D animation, Brother Bear isn’t a real jaw-dropper on a visual scale, either. So just what does this picture have going for it? Not a heck of a lot. In fact, if it weren’t for a couple of hoseheads who emerge out of retirement to lend a voice to the tale, this baby could’ve easily been lumbering straight towards video.
Set just after the end of the Ice Age, the story revolves around Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix), the youngest of three Inuit brothers. When his oldest sibling is killed by a bear, Kenai sets off, spear in hand, to exact some bloody revenge. The man and beast do battle, a lame light show dances in the sky above, and poof – the headstrong Native American suddenly trades places with his prey, becoming a brown bear.
It’s pretty clear what’s going on here – saddled with looking after a helpless little cub (Jeremy Suarez of TV’s Bernie Mac Show) and hunted by his surviving brother, Kenai is forced to learn the power of love from the fuzzball’s point of view. It’s a particularly cloying exercise – but thankfully, the comic relief (a standard in all animated Disney flicks) is provided by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, putting a spin on their classic Bob and Doug McKenzie routine as a pair of dopey moose. Their one-liners and affection for barley and hops is a beauty addition to the proceedings, eh?
Come to think of it, these boys deserve their own film. It wouldn’t be as deep a story as this one, but as far as overall entertainment goes, the moose are easier to bear. |
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