When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 22 nominations total
Joaquin Phoenix
- Kenai
- (voice)
Jeremy Suarez
- Koda
- (voice)
Rick Moranis
- Rutt
- (voice)
Jason Raize
- Denahi
- (voice)
Dave Thomas
- Tuke
- (voice)
D.B. Sweeney
- Sitka
- (voice)
Joan Copeland
- Tanana
- (voice)
Michael Clarke Duncan
- Tug
- (voice)
Harold Gould
- Old Denahi
- (voice)
Paul Christie
- Ram #1
- (voice)
Danny Mastrogiorgio
- Ram #2
- (voice)
- (as Daniel Mastrogiorgio)
Estelle Harris
- Old Lady Bear
- (voice)
Greg Proops
- Male Lover Bear
- (voice)
Bumper Robinson
- Chipmunks
- (voice)
Patrick Pinney
- Additional Voice
- (voice)
- (as Pat Pinney)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe lines, "I don't care that you and Binky found the world's biggest pine cone ever" and "First of all, it's not Binky, it's Bucky, and it wasn't a pine cone, it was a pine nut" said by Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) and Koda (Jeremy Suarez) was an accidental improvisation because Phoenix messed up his line and Suarez corrected it when they were recording.
- GoofsIn the opening scene, the DVD subtitles identify the narrator as Sitka, when it is actually Denahi.
- Crazy creditsAt the conclusion of the end credits, Koda appears to announce the standard declaration that no salmon were harmed in the making of the film. However, he is embarrased by a bear chasing a salmon behind him and signals for shooting to stop. Koda covers the lens with his paws and the picture goes black as he accidently breaks the camera while the fishing bear belches.
- Alternate versionsThe 2013 Blu-ray release plasters the closing variant of the 2000 Walt Disney Pictures logo with the closing 2011 variant of the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo, which just reads "Disney".
- ConnectionsEdited into Zenimation: Nature (2020)
- SoundtracksGreat Spirits
Written by Phil Collins
Produced and Arranged by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina
Performed by Tina Turner
Featured review
An improbable gem
I didn't go out of my way to see this film, as it had already been pretty much disregarded by both the critics and the public. Shame on me. BROTHER BEAR has many strengths to recommend it, and I hope it eventually finds an audience on video.
I'll admit a bias: I live in the Yukon Territory, and the story obviously takes place in next-door Alaska (with characters named "Sitka", "Kenai", and "Tanana", it's pretty obvious). Like many other Disney movies, it takes its inspiration from a traditional legend. Unlike many other Disney movies, this movie manages to remain respectful to the original legend.
The messages are wonderful. That love is an important thing for a real man to learn. That "the spirits" need to be respected. That vengeance can have a terrible price. This movie manages to do it (mostly) without resorting to daffy sidekicks and sappy tugs at the heartstrings. Yes, there's Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas revisiting their "Bob and Doug Mackenzie" roles as the two moose, but I didn't find them jarring at all. The story works.
So does the animation. This is a visually beautiful film. Yes, it's apparent to my (computer pro) eye that Disney's animation unit is making more use of computer techniques. Mostly, though, you see them used to wonderful effect, like making a realistic snowfall, or moving the point of view through a shot. The animation style is also very appropriate for the story. And as a northerner, I loved the many aurora shots; they looked spot-on.
Not everything in BROTHER BEAR worked for me, unfortunately. Phil Collins' music for TARZAN was quite good, but it mostly falls flat here (except maybe for "On My Way"). A couple of numbers come close to the embarassingly bad category.
Still, this is nowhere near enough for me to disregard this movie. I put it above THE LION KING (way above), probably a little ahead of TARZAN, and almost on the same upper-echelon with THE LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
I'll admit a bias: I live in the Yukon Territory, and the story obviously takes place in next-door Alaska (with characters named "Sitka", "Kenai", and "Tanana", it's pretty obvious). Like many other Disney movies, it takes its inspiration from a traditional legend. Unlike many other Disney movies, this movie manages to remain respectful to the original legend.
The messages are wonderful. That love is an important thing for a real man to learn. That "the spirits" need to be respected. That vengeance can have a terrible price. This movie manages to do it (mostly) without resorting to daffy sidekicks and sappy tugs at the heartstrings. Yes, there's Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas revisiting their "Bob and Doug Mackenzie" roles as the two moose, but I didn't find them jarring at all. The story works.
So does the animation. This is a visually beautiful film. Yes, it's apparent to my (computer pro) eye that Disney's animation unit is making more use of computer techniques. Mostly, though, you see them used to wonderful effect, like making a realistic snowfall, or moving the point of view through a shot. The animation style is also very appropriate for the story. And as a northerner, I loved the many aurora shots; they looked spot-on.
Not everything in BROTHER BEAR worked for me, unfortunately. Phil Collins' music for TARZAN was quite good, but it mostly falls flat here (except maybe for "On My Way"). A couple of numbers come close to the embarassingly bad category.
Still, this is nowhere near enough for me to disregard this movie. I put it above THE LION KING (way above), probably a little ahead of TARZAN, and almost on the same upper-echelon with THE LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
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- Thunderbuck
- May 28, 2004
- How long is Brother Bear?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Братът на мечката
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $128,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $85,336,277
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $291,940
- Oct 26, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $250,397,798
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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