“Brother Bear” is a feature-length film released by Disney in 2003 that details a story of love, forgiveness, and the beauty of a found family. It is also, in my opinion, an underrated gem!
To summarize, the film is about a young man, Kenai, who, wanting to prove his masculinity, sets off to seek revenge on a bear after the unfortunate death of his older brother. As a consequence, Kenai is magically transformed into a bear himself and must set out on a quest to reverse the spell to change back into a human, while accompanied by a bear cub, Koda, who is on a similar journey to find his mom after they got separated.
Briefly mentioned before, the strength of this film lies in the story. Especially for a Disney film, it is rare for a main character to really have flaws and make mistakes over the course of the story. Such things are often associated with villains, which creates separation and distinction from the main characters of the story. However, in Kenai’s flaws, despite being a main character, it deepens the narrative by providing the audience with a character who is more like themselves: an imperfect individual. Especially from Disney, once again, this is a rare sight to see from a company that has built a foundation on creating beautiful, elegant, and flawless princesses.
While following the main characters, Kenai and Koda, the two gradually grow closer and closer, the further they advance on their journey. Learning that there is more to bears than just being savage beasts, Kenai soon begins to see Koda as his own brother, before a huge twist is thrown into the story. While I do not want to provide spoilers, I would just like to say that this film is sure to leave you a different person after watching it. Trust me. “Brother Bear” is an underrated gem!
