Brother Bear is a 2003 traditionally-animated musical fantasy comedy-drama movie produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 21, 2003. It is about a human named Kenai who turns into a bear and discovers brotherhood. The 43rd animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, it was originally titled Bears, and was the third and final Disney animated movie produced mainly by the Feature Animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, that studio was shut down in March 2004, not long after the release of this movie in favor of computer animated features. The movie received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost against Finding Nemo. A sequel, Brother Bear 2, was released on August 29, 2006.

Story
In post-Ice Age North America, the local Native Americans believe in the Great Spirits, who create life and are said to appear in the form of an aurora. Three brothers, Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix), the youngest, Denahi (Jason Raize), the middle, and Sitka (D.B. Sweeney), the elder, return to the tribe to receive totems, necklaces that take the shape of animals, with each animal being representative of something the brothers must achieve to prove themselves as men. Unlike Sitka, who receives the eagle of guidance, and Denahi, the wolf of wisdom, Kenai receives the bear of love, to which he objects, believing them to be thieves; he makes his point a fact when a grizzly bear steals their basket of fish. Kenai and his brothers pursue the bear; when the fight culminates on top of a glacier, Sitka sacrifices himself to save his brothers, by dislodging the glacier, but the bear survives. Following Sitka's funeral, 
Kenai takes it upon himself to slay the bear, blaming it for his brother's death. After fighting and slaying the animal, Sitka's spirit appears in the form of a bald eagle, and the Spirits transform Kenai into a bear. Denahi arrives and, thinking that the bear also killed Kenai, vows to avenge his brother by killing it.

Kenai falls down some rapids and is healed by Tanana (Joan Copeland), the tribal shaman; while she does not speak the bears' language, but advises him to travel to the mountain where Sitka's spirit will turn him back into a human, but only if he atones for his crime; vanishing without explanation. Kenai discovers he can now communicate with animals, meeting two moose called Rutt (Rick Moranis) and Tuke (Dave Thomas). He ends up getting caught in a hunter's trap, but is freed by Koda (Jeremy Suarez), a sassy bear cub. The two strike a deal; in exchange for leading Koda to an annual salmon run, he will take Kenai to the mountain. The two form a brother-like relationship, and Koda reveals his mother is missing. The two are pursued by Denahi, who is out to avenge Kenai; unbeknownst to him, his brother is the bear he is hunting. Upon reaching the salmon run, where several bears congregate, including the leader Tug (Michael Clarke Duncan. Kenai accepts his new surroundings and is comfortable living amongst the bears. During a discussion, Koda tells a story about his mother getting involved in a fight with human hunters; this reminds Kenai of his brothers' fight with the bear, and he realizes, to his horror, that he killed Koda's mother.

Horrified by his actions, Kenai runs away in guilt, but Koda follows him. Upset, he confesses to Koda that he killed his mother, and the bear cub runs off in grief; an apologetic Kenai then travels to the mountain on his own. Meanwhile. Rutt and Tuke have a fight, but reconcile with each other in front of Koda, prompting him to forgive Kenai. On the mountain, Kenai is attacked by Denahi, but Koda steals his spear. Out of love for the bear cub, Kenai sacrifices himself, and Sitka's spirit transforms him back into a human, much to the surprise of Koda and Denahi. Upon realizing that the cub needs him due to his own mistakes, Kenai asks to be transformed back into a bear, with Denahi's support. Sitka complies, and transforms his brother back to his bear form, and Koda is briefly reunited with his mother's spirit, before she and Sitka depart to the spirit realm. In the end, Kenai lives with the other bears, and gains his title as a man through living as a bear.

Reception
The reaction from movie reviewers was mixed to negative with many panning the movie as coping older Disney movies like The Lion King and the 20th Century Fox movie Ice Age (although Brother Bear began production before Ice Age did), while others defended the movie as a different and resonable variation of the theme. The popular American movie critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper have given positive reviews of the movie. however so far, Brother Bear holds a rating of 38% in Rotten Tomatoes, which says that "Brother Bear is gentle and pleasant if unremarkable Disney fare, with so-so animation and generic plotting".

Voice cast
 Joaquin Phoenix as Kenai, the youngest of three brothers who gets turned into a bear, to teach him to see through their eyes
 Jeremy Suarez as Koda, a wisecracking grizzly bear cub, who helps Kenai on his journey to where the Lights Touch the Earth
 Rick Moranis as Rutt, a comic Canadian moose
 Dave Thomas as Tuke, another comic Canadian moose
 Jason Raize as Denahi, the middle brother
 D.B. Sweeney as Sitka, the oldest brother
 Joan Copeland as Tanana, the shaman-woman of Kenai's tribe
 Michael Clarke Duncan as Tug, a wise old cave bear
 Estelle Harris as Mabel, old lady bear
 Darko Cesar as foreign bear
 Frank Welker as Animals' vocal effects (uncredited)
Additional Voices Charlie Adler, Lori Alan, Carlos Alazraqui, Pamela Adlon, Matt Adler, Steve Alterman, Stephen Apostolina, Jack Blessing, Jack Angel, Dee Bradley Baker, Michael Bell, Bob Bergen, Gregg Berger, Lara Cody, Rodger Bumpass,Catherine Cavadini, Julianne Buescher, Nancy Cartwright, Paul Briggs, Kimberly Brooks, Doc Kane, Corey Burton, Stephen J. Anderson, Cam Clarke, Robert Cotworthy, Michael Corbett, David Cowgill, Randy Crenshew, Jim Cummings, E.G. Daily, John Cygan, Jennifer Darling, Debi Derryberry, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Dan Gilvezan, Patti Deutsch, Paul Eiding, Bill Farmer, Byron Howard, John DeMita, Chad Einbinder, Patrick Fraley, Sandy Fox, Jeff Fischer, Eddie Frierson, Earl Ghaffari, Michael Gough, Don Fullilove, Lex Lang, Hope Levy, Neil Kaplan, Tom Kane, David Kaye, Carole Jeghers, Rosanna Huffman, Daamen J. Krall, Marsha Kramer, Tim Mertens, David McCharen, Barbara Goodson, Mona Marshall, Anne Lockhart, David Michie, Lara Jill Miller, Michael Lindsay, Sherry Lynn, Mickie McGowan, Jim Meskimen, Rob Paulsen, Bobbi Page, Paul Pape, Patrick Pinney, Phil Proctor, Peter Renaday, Tony Oliver, Michelle Ruff, Don Hall, Susie Stevens-Logan, Brian Pimental, Andre Sogliuzzo, Justin Shenkarow, Terrence Stone, Skip Stellrecht, Steve Susskind, Paula Tiso, Marcelo Tubert, Kari Wahlgren, Russi Taylor, Wally Wingert, Frank Welker, Brian Tochi, David Zyler, Jim Ward, Billy West, Ezra Weisz, & Dave Wittenberg.

Crew

Songs

Score by Mark Mancina/Phil Collins

Deleted songs
 "The Fishing Song" - This was intended for the salmon run sequence, but was replaced by "Welcome".
 "This Can't Be My Destiny" This was song by Phil Collins. But unfortunately it never made it to the movie. The song was however mention in the special feature by Phil Collins. This song was never released.

Sequel

Brother Bear 2 was released August 29, 2006.

References

Other websites

 Official site
 
 Brother Bear at the Big Cartoon DataBase(BCDb)
 

2003 movies
2003 animated movies
Disney animated movies
English-language movies
American family movies
American musical movies
Movies about bears
Movies about brothers
Movies set in prehistory