Brother Bear 2

The sequel to Brother Bear was released direct to video in late summer of 2006. Brother Bear 2 featured five of the characters from the first film returning, but replaced Joaquin Phoenix with Patrick Dempsey. New characters were voiced by Wendie Malick, Wanda Sykes, and Mandy Moore. It was also Rick Moranis’ final film before he retired.

Several months after the events of the first film, Kenai (Dempsey) is living as a cave bear with Koda (Jeremy Suarez). However, Nita (Moore), a friend from Kenai’s past shows up to burn an amulet that connects them so she can marry someone else. The three start a journey to Hokani Falls with Rutt (Moranis) and Tuke (Dave Thomas) in tow.

Not only was this film boring, slow paced, and idiotic, but it was also completely unnecessary, irrelevant and very annoying.

The first films, while not without its problems, showed the characters’ mythoi and beliefs in a respectful light. Here, all it seems like the film is only using it as a plot device, used so that Nita can meet back up with Kenai and eventually fall back in love again. It’s a total disservice to everything the original did to what was arguably the best parts.

And it also horribly portrays a phobia. Nita is afraid of water because she almost drowned as a kid. And that’s rightly understandable. But it’s only played up for drama in a couple parts of the film before Kenai tells her to trust him in wading a river and when Nita does, she magically loses her fear and starts to swim. Ain’t psychology grand?

Brother Bear was by no means perfect, but it was at least somewhat enjoyable. This is just inexcusable. 

#116.