Not Disney’s best effort

Brother Bear

Featuring the voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick…

Brother Bear

Featuring the voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, and Dave Thomas

Directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker

It’s that time of the semester again – midterms are coming to a close, and we’re all feeling a bit out of sorts. Reality is just a little too pressing and all we really want to do is regress back to childhood. While accomplishing this in actuality would be extremely difficult – not to mention disturbing – escapism is available in the world of the cinema. And where better to turn than to our old favorites, the animators at Disney? The newest effort from Walt Disney Pictures, “Brother Bear,” is a nice retreat into the simplicity of childhood.

“Brother Bear” is the story of Kenai (the voice of Joaquin Phoenix), a young man who, after killing a bear, is turned into one himself. After befriending a lost bear cub named Koda (the voice of Jeremy Suarez), Kenai embarks on a journey that leads to a whole new perception of the world. Looking at life through the eyes of the enemy, he learns the value of all living creatures. Through his relationship with Koda, he’s finally made aware of what it means to be a brother.

Everything about this movie has been seen before. The lesson is unquestionably played-out; we saw it in “The Lion King” and “Tarzan,” among others. The soundtrack is written and recorded by Phil Collins – who also composed the music for “Tarzan” – with Tina Turner lending vocals to one track. The animation is the same as always, and the Disney formula, for the most part, is followed. But then, this is Disney; did we really expect it to be otherwise?

What sets this movie apart are the sidekicks. Rutt and Tuke, voiced by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, are dimwitted moose siblings with Canadian accents. The two actors recorded their lines together – normally, Disney has their actors record alone – giving them the freedom to improvise and feed off of one another. It also helps that the roles were actually created with these two actors in mind. All of the movie’s best and most memorable lines come from their mouths. They steal scene after scene, providing laughs throughout. While all the characters are likable, these two are lovable and will be the ones all the kiddies walking around quoting for the rest of this year.

Admittedly, “Brother Bear” by no means has the makings of a Disney classic. It is, however, a cute story with great characters. There are worse ways to spend an afternoon.