BROTHER BEAR — ** 1/2 — Animated feature starring the voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis and others; featuring original songs by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina; rated G (animated violence, mild vulgarity); see "Playing at local movie theaters" for theater listings.
"Brother Bear" is nothing for Disney to worry about.
It's eminently forgettable and does represent Mouse House storytelling at its most formulaic, but it's still better than a great deal of what passes for animated entertainment these days. In a time when movie theaters are remarkably short on family-friendly fare, at least this one is passable and inoffensive.
Still, Disney has made much better animated features than this touchy-feely and surprisingly new-age adventure.
One point in "Brother Bear's" favor is the surprising — but smart — casting of actor Joaquin Phoenix as the voice of the lead character, Kenai. He's an impetuous young hunter who is disappointed when he learns his animal totem is a bear. That choice also turns out to be ironic when Kenai finds himself locked in a life-or-death struggle with a grizzly. (He's trying to avenge the death of his older brother, for which he feels responsible.)
Kenai manages to escape with his life, but animal spirits — including his brother — are unhappy with his actions and decide to teach him a lesson. When he awakes, Kenai discovers he's been transformed into a bear.
Needless to say, he's not pleased. And he decides to find the animal spirits so he can get some answers. Along the way, Kenai also finds a traveling companion in Koda (voiced by Jeremy Suarez, from TV's "The Bernie Mac Show"), a young cub separated from his family.
By setting the story so far in the past (some 10,000 years), the filmmakers seem to be borrowing from "Ice Age" a bit too heavily. Not to give too much away, but there are also themes and subplots in common with "Bambi" and other, better animated features.
The animation is solid, but even at 85 minutes, the film feels a little long, and the surprisingly flat original songs by Phil Collins and co-composer Mark Mancina are merely padding.
The film's saving graces are comedians Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, co-starring as the voices of a pair of dim-witted, wisecracking moose (who sound a whole lot like their McKenzie brothers characters from "SCTV" and the movie "Strange Brew"). The film actually comes to life every time they're onscreen, and ebbs when they're gone.
"Brother Bear" is rated G but contains scenes of animated violence (animal attacks, some roughhousing and some peril) as well as some mildly vulgar gags relating to animal bodily functions. Running time: 85 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com