Heartwarming, if not as impactful as it intends to be.

'Brother Bear' leaves heartfelt feelings and features a cute story. It does get a bit too melancholic in moments where it doesn't need to be or where it's not set up perfectly. It can also feel a little predictable, but the twist is decent enough. Animation-wise it's fine, while that early aspect ratio stuff is oddly done.

The voice cast aren't amazing, despite the talents of Joaquin Phoenix (Kenai) and Michael Clarke Duncan (Tug). Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas are pretty amusing as Rutt and Tuke though. As a whole, I just don't feel the voices suit the characters greatly.

The pacing is pretty good while Phil Collins does a satisfactory job with the music, not sure how I feel about the ending though. Overall, it's very much mid-range Disney.