#Brother bear and pocahontas dvd movie#
We can partly excuse this take on Native religion because the movie is set in the distant past. How about presenting a view of Native religion at least as complex as basic Christianity? If you were doing an overtly Christian film, would you lump God and Jesus together and call them spirits? Probably not. Although I don't know the details of Inuit-style religions, I'm pretty sure they're more complicated than this, with a typical pantheon of gods, spirits, and creatures. This religion doesn't seem to be much more than ancestor worship. When these lights touch the mountaintop, the dead can mingle with the living.
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There are no named gods, only the unnamed "Great Spirits." These spirits, which seem to include the essence of every deceased human and animal, live in the Northern Lights.
#Brother bear and pocahontas dvd tv#
You might think this would be obvious, but how many thousands of movies, TV shows, books, and comic books have gotten such things wrong?īad: The Natives' religion is grossly oversimplified. There are no tipis or chiefs in headdresses here. Good: The cultural trappings-fur-lined clothing, kayaks, nets, spears, cave paintings-all seem authentic or appropriate. They don't speak stoically, commune with nature, or hunt like hit men. They're just what we'd consider normal, not stereotypical. Good: The three brothers joke, play, and roughhouse like any brothers might. The viewer has no trouble distinguishing them. In particular, the three brothers-Sitka, Denahi, and Kenai-look and act differently. Good: All the tribal members look like Inuit-style Natives, yet also like distinct individuals. Good: Tanana, the tribe's "shaman" and apparent leader, is an old woman, suggesting the prominent role of elders and women in many tribes. Set in an Edenic Pacific Northwest some 10,000 years in the past, "Brother Bear's" world of lush waterfalls and verdant forests is one we'd like to vacation in forever. The best thing about "Brother Bear" (directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker) is the richness and fluidity of its visuals, a painterly look that was inspired in part by the classic 19th century canvases of Albert Bierstadt. As critic Kenneth Turan put it (LA Times, 10/25/03): Good: The lush animation, especially the stunning landscapes. So why not use Native actors in most or all of the parts? Using the "right" people in an animated movie may seem like a trivial point, but Native voices might have given the characters a distinct cadence or accent, as they did in Pocahontas.īesides, with rare exceptions (e.g., Robin Williams as Aladdin's genie), people don't go to animated movies for the voices. Good: The opening narrator, an elder version of the middle brother, speaks Inuit or a similar language.īad: None of the characters is voiced by a Native actor.
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Let's see what's good and bad about this movie: The critics largely agreed, but they didn't address whether Brother Bear's Natives seemed authentic or stereotypical. Sweet and good-looking, but lacking the zowie factor of "The Lion King" or "Finding Nemo." Children and their parents are likely to relate on completely different levels, the adults connecting with the artistry and the transfer of souls from man to beast, while the kids are excited by the adventure stuff. Three Indian brothers have their destiny transformed when one is killed by a bear, another is changed into a bear, and the third mistakenly targets his bear-brother for vengeance. 'Brother Bear' engaging and cute but lacks zing of 'Finding Nemo' Here's what critic Roger Ebert said about it (Daily Times, 10/31/03):