This bear family is for . . . Disney . . . real
Does a bear have a snit in the woods?
Certainly it does in Bears, the fifth release in Disneynature’s True Life Adventure series.
Solo brown bear mother Sky and her adorable cubs, Amber and Scout, are given a wide range of human characteristics for the purposes of making them more kid-friendly in Bears. So there are moments of bear frustration, discovery, selfishness and fear amid occasional cries of “wait up, mom!” and jokes about a sushi buffet during a salmon fishing expedition.
The creatures are enthusiastically voiced by John C. Reilly, an ideal choice for the task, his folksy narration making him sound like a member of the Country Bear Jamboree.
Directors Alastair Fothergill ( Planet Earth) and Keith Scholey who previously teamed up on African Cats, work now-typical Disney cinematic magic with Bears, getting us as close as a nursing mother in her den then going for stunning aerial views as a sweeping avalanche barrels down an Alaska mountainside. The filmmakers often use slow-motion techniques to capture stunning scenes of bears going about their daily lives. Images of them standing hip-deep in rushing water to try to catch leaping salmon, ending up with some amusing face smacks, are compelling, as are scenes showing their power while fighting to defend their turf. Folksy, backwood music sets the tone for the story of the cubs’ first year, most of which is devoted to finding enough food to carry Sky through another winter of hibernation.
Reilly’s narration gives the doc its loose plot but the best bits in the quick-moving 77-minute film come when we get a chance to watch the bears move around their stunning surroundings. Kids will be especially captivated by the reliance the cubs have on their mother, especially Amber’s fondness for hitching a ride on her broad back. However, more steely eyed viewers who have no time for anthropomorphizing animals will be less impressed with the reliance on cute chatter, along with the demonizing of a wolf named Tikaani and badnews bears Magnus, the massive alpha male, and touchy exile Chinook. But you must admit it is pretty adorable when the bear family goes shellfish digging on the beach and Scout gets a lesson from a clam that snaps shut on his marauding claw.
Disney times the release of the films in this series to link with Earth Day (April 22) and, although Bears doesn’t have a stated green message, it’s hard to see the majestic natural beauty presented onscreen and not feel stewardship urges.
Still, any G-rated violence is of the bear-on-bear variety; there are no lessons about the folly of seeing bears as our chums in fur coats. Werner Herzog’s 2005 doc Grizzly Man explored that misguided philosophy as the cause of the violent end suffered by naive conservationist Timothy Treadwell and partner Amie Huguenard. Or does pointing this out make me seem grumpy as a bear?