E-Mail This Article to a Friend BROTHER BEAR

Disney’s latest animated film is, if not exactly a return to form, a return to the spirit of The Lion King. Directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker and narrated in voiceover as a legend passed from generation to generation, Brother Bear is about a willful boy (Joaquin Phoenix) who’s turned into a bear by the spirits his people worship. The reason? To teach him how to become a man. On his quest to become a boy again, he joins up with a bear cub who’s been separated from his mother. Also tagging along are two dim-witted moose (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, in an animal reprisal of their Strange Brew roles). Like The Lion King, Brother Bear emphasizes the relationship among all living things with a quasi-mystical, tribal vibe. Although not as successful at evoking the grandeur and the impressive beauty of animal life as that film was, it finds its own tone, one that is more light-hearted and comical but still touching. As always, the story of a young adult searching for his place in the world is sure to keep kids and their parents happy.