Brother Bear

"See through another’s eyes, feel through another's heart, and discover the meaning of brotherhood."

2003 1h 25m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 5,879

AdventureAnimationFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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 and rambunctious rams.

“See through another’s eyes, feel through another's heart, and discover the meaning of brotherhood.”

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Cast

Joaquin Phoenix
Kenai (voice)
Jeremy Suarez
Koda (voice)
Jason Raize
Denahi (voice)
Rick Moranis
Rutt (voice)
Dave Thomas
Tuke (voice)
D. B. Sweeney
Sitka (voice)
Joan Copeland
Tanana (voice)
Michael Clarke Duncan
Tug (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Aaron Blaise
Writers: Tab Murphy, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton
Languages: Croatian, English, Inuktitut
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

85 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$128M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Croatian, English, Inuktitut.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Brother Bear Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Mancina. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tim Mertens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Suarez and Jason Raize carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Aaron Blaise directs. Mark Mancina scores. Tim Mertens cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Croatian, English, Inuktitut.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2$128M budget — tentpole studio territory.
3Released 23 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Croatian, English, Inuktitut.
5Part of the "Brother Bear Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Original score by Mark Mancina. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Tim Mertens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Suarez and Jason Raize carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "See through another’s eyes, feel through another's heart, and discover the meaning of brotherhood.".
10IMDB entry: tt0328880 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 17 themes, including "friendship", "sibling relationship", "transformation", "grizzly bear".

The technical file

Original score: Mark Mancina
Editing: Tim Mertens
VFX supervisor: Garrett Wren
Sound: Mark Smith
Runtime: 85 min · 1h 25m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $128,000,000
Box office: $250,397,798
Return: 196% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Brother Bear (2003)

Part of

Brother Bear Collection

The Brother Bear collection.

Also by

Aaron Blaise

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-07-30
★ 7/10
Heartwarming, if not as impactful as it intends to be. <em>'Brother Bear'</em> leaves heartfelt feelings and features a cute story. It does get a bit too melancholic in moments where it doesn't need to be or where it's not set up perfectly. It can also feel a little predictable, but the twist is decent enough. Animation-wise it's fine, while that early aspect ratio stuff is oddly done. The voice cast aren't amazing, despite the talents of Joaquin Phoenix (Kenai) and Michael Clarke Duncan (Tug). Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas are pretty amusing as Rutt and Tuke though. As a whole, I just don't feel the voices suit the characters greatly. The pacing is pretty good while Phil Collins does a satisfactory job with the music, not sure how I feel about the ending though. Overall, it's very much mid-range Disney.
CinemaSerf2024-01-01
★ 7/10
"Kenai" is a young Inuit warrior who disturbs the spirits when he kills a bear. His punishment is to be turned into one himself, and be left to wander the wilderness alone. Luckily, he encounters the young cub "Koda" who thinks he might know the exact spot where "Kenai" might be restored to his humanity. What doesn't help their quest is that his human brother "Denahi" thinks that "Kenai" has been killed by a bear, and so is chasing his new form with lethal intent. As the two bears start to bond, they have some fun escapades, meet the "Stadler & Waldorf" of the moose fraternity and "Kenai" learns the values of friendship, loyalty and community - as well as how to catch some leaping salmon! The quality of the animation, the Phil Collins-led soundtrack (with a decent number from Tina Turner too) and the spirituality of the whole thing is breezy and enjoyable to watch. The young "Koda" reminded me frequently of a sort of "Mowgli" character. Friendly and playful but still staying on the right side of annoying. I also rather liked the denouement - that, too, had a sort of joy to it that exemplified the symbiotic nature of the relationship that ought to exist between mankind and the rest of nature. Characterful animations and cave paintings too! Worth a watch, definitely.