User reviews

I will admit I was not sure whether I wanted to see this sequel. I am not saying that all Disney sequels are terrible, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Rescuers Down Under, Simbas's Pride, Enchanted Christmas and Bambi 2 were surprisingly good. However, Cinderella 2 and Jungle Book 2 were below par; both had average animation and a decent voice cast but everything else ranged from mediocre to poor, Cinderella 2 in the music and Jungle Book 2 in the plot.

What were my thoughts on Brother Bear 2 exactly? Well I was surprised. This sequel is above average, and you know what that is quite an achievement. Why do I say that? Well, the first Brother Bear has to be hard to beat in terms of quality. Like another Disney film like Pocahontas, it was visually stunning and I thought the music was awesome. Plus I found the characters engaging and the story heart warming. In fact, despite the flaws the first Brother Bear had, it is beautiful and very underrated.

Back on track, this sequel is inferior in quality to its original, but I admit I wasn't expecting otherwise. The story is a little thin on the ground, and not as well written and heart warming as the one in the first film. Also while there is some humour with the two Moose, the writing isn't quite as inspired. My next problem applies to a lot of the sequels come and gone, it is too short so there isn't quite enough character development.

That said though, a lot does compensate. Well for one thing, the animation is very nicely done. True it isn't as gorgeous or as detailed as the original's animation, but like Bambi 2, Ariel's Beginning and Cinderella 3 it's style is fluid and it is colourful. Some of the beginning scenes especially were like looking at a watercolour painting. Also the soundtrack is very nice, maybe not as catchy as Phil Collin's lively and fun one, that is good as the one he did for Tarzan, but the theme song is beautiful and very memorable. The characters are still likable, if we forgive the fact that Koda isn't quite as adorable anymore, and Nita reminds me in terms of looks of Mulan. And the voice acting is good, Patrick Dempsey is above decent as Kenai, but I do think Joaquin Pheonix put more heart and spirit into the character, and Mandy Moore is surprisingly emotive as Nita. Then like the original, there is some nice messaging.

All in all, not the best sequel there is, but it is above average and definitely worth the look. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This is a sequel to the 2003 Disney movie staring the voices of Joaquin Phoenix and Harold Gould. But neither returns for this movie which picks up some time after the first. This time Kenai ( still a bear) must team up with his old love Nita vicoed in swedish by singer Ana Johnsson to travel to Hokani Falls to break a bound they made as kids. They are joined by the annoying cub Koda. The Only other returning characters are the moose Rutt and Tuke. Neither Kenais brothers nor the old shaman fron the first movie return. Instead we are joined by a host of new characters like a sassy medicine woman., Two female moose and Nita's two aunts all well voiced at least in Swedish which was the language i saw the movie in by the likes Eva Bysing and Babben Larsson. One a famous old time singer and the other a well known comedian. The Medicine woman is particularly amusing.

This movie unlike the first one is a love story. And it's a decent if unremarkable one. Maybe this stems from me not being such a big fan of the original. . So i hade low expectations. So i find this to be about on the same level. If not a little better. The animation is good especially for a Direct to DVD movie

There are no big twists or turns. But it's not a bad plot. As love stories go it's a good one for kids and it's not too stupid for adults. One good scene is between Nita and her father voiced by Nikolas Falk from the swedish tv show Tre kronor. The songs are nice if nothing special. No characters sing just like the first movie instead it's inspirational pop tunes played over the scenes. All sung by Ana Johnsson , who has a great voice !

The moose could have been funnier. But on the bright side they could have also been a lot more annoying.

And speaking of annoying Koda actually becomes likable in the end when he makes a really selfless offer. Of course the offer isn't taken. But it's a nice gesture and it woerks out fin in the end. Although i think you could have included some more characters from the first movie at the end wedding scene.

The end is also a bit silly with the bears as guests stading side by side with humans and the raccoon is really nasty and mean spirited before suddenly at the end celebrating the wedding with the others like they somehow became friends off screen. But those are the big flaws.

Overall it's a good kids movie. But not a spectacular one with above average swedish voice acting and good animation. But not a classic.

Fun fact: Eva Bysing who does a voice in this movie played Velma Kelly in thee Orginal Swedis hproduction of Chicago. A role played on broadway by Hispanic star Chita Rivera who gott a Lifetime Achievement award from the Tonys in 2018 and a Kennedy Center Honors award in December 2002. That's quite big shoes to fill.

5,5 of 10

I found Brother Bear Two and inspirational and beautiful movie. What I was able to reap from the movie was that through adversity and many obstacles true love, be it the love of a family or the love of another in this case a bear to human that our own spirit will direct us. Their heart are intrinsically linked the movie shows that thought we all have difficulty it can be overcome. I absolutely loved the music it was inspirational also. Melissa Etherage is wonderful and her music was outstanding. I'm afraid that some were expecting the movie to be really funny and not expecting a heartfelt message. I'm truly sorry if they were disappointed. Personally I love the movie and rate it 10 of 10

"Brother Bear", released in 2003, is not one of the most popular Disney animated features, but like a number of the more popular ones, it did get the direct-to-video sequel treatment. "Brother Bear 2" was released in 2006. I saw the original for the first time just last month, nearly seven years after its release, and certainly didn't like it as much as some clearly do, but thought it was pretty good nonetheless. These Disney direct-to-video sequels aren't usually that good, and I figured this one would be no exception. Even though this one is more popular than some of the others, it didn't quite surpass my expectations. For the most part, I thought it was simply mediocre, with occasional funny moments, but also found that it got slightly better towards the end, so I thought it was still better than "Home on the Range".

Kenai now lives happily as a bear with his orphaned foster brother cub, Koda. Winter is almost over, and the bears have just awoken from hibernation. On their way to Crowberry Ridge to get berries, Kenai and Koda stop to sleep, and Kenai has a dream about Nita, a childhood friend of his, and it is then obvious that he is haunted by his memories of her. Meanwhile, Nita is about to get married, but the wedding is interrupted by the Spirits, who make it clear that they do not approve! When they were children, Kenai gave Nita an amulet, and she will not be able to marry somebody else unless she makes it to Hokani Falls in time for the vernal equinox and burns the amulet, and Kenai has to go with her. Innoko, the "sha-woman," puts Nita under a spell so she can communicate with bears, and Nita goes out to find Kenai and begin the trek to Hokani Falls. Along the way, the three of them (Kenai, Nita, and Koda) face more than one problem.

When I started watching this sequel, I already didn't find it very interesting, but knew this could change as the film went along. I didn't care much for the Nita character and the voice acting provided for her by Mandy Moore. The humour in "Brother Bear 2" usually doesn't work so well. Innoko, voiced by Wanda Sykes, is clearly supposed to be funny, but isn't, and basically, the same goes for Aunt Siqiniq and Aunt Taqqiq. Also Koda is once again pretty lame as a comic relief, and there are some poor lines in the film, such as Nita's comment when she sees Kenai as a bear for the first time. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas returned to play Rutt and Tuke, the moose brothers based on the two actors' iconic "SCTV" alter egos, Bob and Doug McKenzie. If it weren't for them, the humour in this movie would generally miss the mark. The animation in this sequel is like that in the original "Brother Bear", pretty good, but not great. I also didn't find the adventure very entertaining for the most part. Towards the end, I found that there are some exciting and touching moments, which is what makes it slightly better at this point, and this is why I'm giving the film a 6/10 instead of a 5. So, "Brother Bear 2" may be entertaining for many kids and some adults as well, but unsurprisingly, like probably most of these direct-to-video sequels, I wouldn't call it a must-see.

Let me just make this clear from the start: I love the original Brother Bear, but as a rule I despise direct-to-video sequels (there are exceptions though). To put it simply... I went into this not expecting much, but I wished I was wrong. And I'll warn you... if you don't like being sequels being reviewed solely compared to the original, you probably won't like my review.

Story: I've read reviews saying that the original's basic story was copied from other movies... I never saw that. This, however, is your general "we think there's a writers strike on right now" copied story. Not a blatant rip-off of anything in particular, but its been done before.

Writing: To be honest, this probably disappointed me the most. While the original was deep and meaningful (or at least as can be for whats supposed to be a kids movie), this relies on a lot of cheap humour, particularly at the start. It levels off, but it never reaches the quality what was in the original. I'm probably one of the few who don't like Rutt and Tuke, although they didn't seem as bad this time around (probably because they had less time on screen and more to do, so less time to waste).

Art/Animation: This was probably the part which disappointed me the least. While it's more than adequate (its pretty good) it just doesn't have the same flair as the original did (or some of the fancier effects). Other than that, no major complaints.

Acting: With most of the returning characters are voiced by their original actors, Kenai's recasting stands out. Don't get me wrong, its not too bad... it's just not the same. Everyone else does a decent job though.

Music: Obviously no Phil Collins music this time around. I'm not quite sure who does the music in this (nobody immediately recognisable) and while the music is appropriate and fits in well, there's nothing memorable like "No Way Out" was for me.

Closing comments: It might not sound like much, but this movie ends up to be more than the sum of its parts (not much though). I don't accept it as a sequel up to the standards of the original Brother Bear, by its own merits, it's a decent movie. I do think it's worth buying, but I'd have no problem recommending it as a rental (especially if you're a fan of the original). Just don't go in expecting too much, and you won't be disappointed.

The first film is probably my favourite Disney film of all time.

This film feels tacky. The voice acting is excellent but the storyline is lacking and relies too much on humour. The animation / art-style is not as good as the first Brother Bear film. Characters are heavily "cartoony" in a slapstick sort of way; it's as though this whole film was animated the same way as Rutt and Tuke, which simply doesn't reflect the characters.

The lack of Joaquin Phoenix as the lead character takes alot away from this film. Not to say that Patrick Dempsey did a poor job, rather he is not Joaquin but playing a role his role; it doesn't work for me.

The story is dry and just overall boring.

Sound track is okay, kinda folksy though and obviously doesn't compare to Phil Collins's of the first.

I loved "Brother Bear" back during it's theatrical run in 2003...and thought that it should have been recognized as a high water mark in hand drawn animated films...and I was deeply saddened when it failed to find a huge audience...and became one of the last masterworks of the art...( which was replaced in audience favor by often lumpy, clunky, and distressingly flat and "realistic" computer generated cartoons.

I was very upset that line drawn was shoved aside and forgotten except for low quality TV animation...and what looked to be shoddy direct to video sequels...which I initially refused to watch because I feared that these "follow ups" would just be graceless rip offs of the original films.

When I began collecting the original Disney Classics on Blu-Ray (which really IS the best way to appreciate them since they are no longer re-released to theaters) (such a shame)...I ended up with the sequels in my library...and decided that I might as well watch them after re-savoring the original classics.

I was a bit surprised to find that most of them are respectable efforts that might have deserved theatrical release if a bit more polishing had been applied to the writing...and I was pretty much shocked when I watched "Brother Bear 2" and found it to be just as visually stunning as "Brother Bear"...almost as well written...and if anything even more moving thanks to some absolutely lovely songs by Mellisa Etheridge.

Why this was relegated to "Direct to Video" status is beyond me...but it deserves to be re-evaluated and rediscovered as the masterpiece it is...

The original 'Brother Bear' deserves better recognition as a good Disney animated film, so I was looking forward to seeing this straight to DVD sequel.

Now, these tend to be a bit hit and miss, but thankfully this is one of the better ones. There's a lot of heart, there's some lovely messages in there too.

I thought this worked well, I enjoyed it.

Well, to start off, I adore the original Brother Bear. So, as you can imagine I was a little ticked off when I heard Disney was making yet another one of their trashy sequels. I've seen some, Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 for instance...terrible, absolutely horrifying. And to find out that this might be done with one of my favorite movies was not the greatest piece of news. I decided to see it, actually buy it, encouraged by the positive early reviews it got. I was surprised. It's pretty good, but I have to admit the ending was cheap and easily guessed from the very beginning. I didn't like Nita, and Rutt and Tuke got on my last nerves. If you liked the first Brother Bear you'll like this one. I give this a 5/10.

Didn't expect this to be good, and yet it is.

'Brother Bear 2' can feel like a slight retread and it does the overdone Disney romance stuff, it also ends as dissatisfying as the original. With all that noted, it is actually an enjoyable and respectable sequel. The new characters are fun, as the older ones remain just that.

The animation looks similar, leaving equal impressions to the 2003 production. Patrick Dempsey is arguably better as Kenai than Joaquin Phoenix, or at least his voice suits better. The music, as much as I do like Phil Collins' efforts, is definitely improved here in my opinion.

All in all, given all that I've mentioned, it still tallies up lower than the first film. However, it does do some things well and it merits credit for that.

Brother Bear 2 (2006)

** (out of 4)

Kenai and Koda are happily living as bears but soon Kenai has a dream about a girl he knew back when he was human. Soon afterwards that girl, Nita, comes to him. She is about to be married but the spirits warn her about a bad curse if she doesn't take the amulet Kenai gave her to the place he gave it to her and burn it.

BROTHER BEAR came out of nowhere and really shocked me. The film has no reputation and it never gets brought up when people discuss good Disney movies and that's a really shame because the film was very good and deserves a better reputation. I wasn't sure what to expect from this direct-to-video release because these types of films from Disney are a real mixed bag. Sadly, this one here doesn't come anywhere close to matching the original's charm or heart and in the end this just seems like a money grab.

There really wasn't too much that I liked about this film. It's certainly not an awful movie but at the same time everything just seems like a watered down version of the original. The biggest problem is that the story itself just doesn't have too much going for it. I really wish there had been more of an adventure as the two bears and this woman went to the location they were trying to reach. There really wasn't any excitement or drama to be had. I'd even argue that the vocal performances weren't as strong as they needed to be.

BROTHER BEAR 2 thankfully didn't run too long but people should just stick with the original.

This is the only movie I've ever watched that's made me lose my sanity, For the first time, I'm disappointed in a Disney sequel, this is definitely on the podium for the worst things I've ever watched, you have to put effort into making this level of sheer awfulness. The animation is decent I guess, but this is still worthless, every single thing about this movie is awful, the music is dumb, and unlike in the first movie where the moose were funny, this time they are annoying, and on this movie, they do the whole "let's add in a villian in the last 15 minutes of the movie". Koda is as irritating as he was in the first movie, kenai's voice actor changed while EVERYONE ELSE had the same one from the last movie, and speaking of which, WHERE TF IS DENAHI, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH SITKA NOT BEING HERE CAUSE HES DEAD, BUT DENAHI IS NOT EVEN MENTIONED, NEITHER IS THE SHAMAN FROM THE LAST MOVIE, SO THEY GOT ANOTHER SHA"WOMEN" TO REPLACE HER FOR NO REASON, and also the ending is SO STUPID, kenai's girlfriend from when he was a child who was not mentioned In the first movie, with no hesitation, turns herself into a bear somehow and her father isn't concerned AT ALL, and because of how Nita and kenai meet up, the spirits are basically the villian of this movie. And when Nita's assumed husband who's name I don't know, in the climax tries to kill kenai, and Nita says to him, how could you!, HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHO THAT WAS, IF I SAW A BEAR, I WOULD HUNT IT DOWN TOO. Overall, this is by far the worst thing to come out of the Disney catalog, this movie was worthless and should not be watched by anyone for any reason at all, regardless if you are one of the 5 people that liked the first one.

Disney outperformed itself in this sequel to "Brother Bear".

Most sequels for movies for family viewing usually lack in most departments, but Disney really put the effort into this one.

While the other "User Comment" covers the story line it missed in extolling the virtues of the movie. Some "Brother Bear 2" finer points are:

1. A solid first rate script for a family sequel--bonus points here.

2. A first rate song selection with two new songs from Melissa Etheridge. Her two songs, "Just Feels Like Home" and "It will be Me" are excellent. "It will be Me" is my favorite, and now one or my all time favorites due to its guitar/orchestral music and touching lyrics.

3. The return of the original cast--continuity is important for children. (Many actors deplore 'going back' and covering old ground--actors should consider the benefits and character-building these young minds derive from the casts's continued efforts in such sequels.)

4. The simple illustration of friendship, loyalty, and self-sacrifice--the storyline easily shows the family the importance of keeping these qualities.

If Disney writes another sequel on this Brother Bear theme and keeps the same higher quality, they should find it as well received and loved. While older kids may find the Brother Bear series story lines a bit slow to build, the younger children enjoy its pace, score, storyline, and characters. Brother Bear 2 is very "age appropriate" for their 'under' 8-year-old developing minds.

My young son loves both "Brother Bear" and "Brother Bear 2" as much as other age appropriate animated movies for the younger children such as "Cars", "Ice Age", & "Monster's Inc".

"Brother Bear 2" is a solid '9 out of 10' for its hitting the mark for the family with younger children.

When I was younger I'd always prefer to watch the second brother bear to the first there's so much charm and warmness In this movie upon rewatching both brother bears I didn't even notice Joaquin Phoenix was gone in the second there's a lot of bad direct to video sequels and this certainly is not one of them full of soul and made with heart!

"Brother Bear 2," directed by Ben Gluck, is a charming continuation of the story of Kenai, the bear transformed from a human, and his adventures in the wild. The sequel introduces a new character, Nita, voiced by Mandy Moore, Kenai's childhood friend who needs his help to break an old promise and find closure.

The film retains the stunning animation and heartfelt moments that made the original "Brother Bear" beloved. The landscapes are beautifully rendered, and the character animations are expressive, capturing the warmth of the story. The relationship between Kenai and Nita adds a new dynamic, exploring themes of love, friendship, and personal growth.

However, the plot is somewhat predictable, following a familiar formula without much deviation. The songs and soundtrack, while pleasant, don't quite reach the emotional heights of the original. Despite these shortcomings, "Brother Bear 2" manages to be an enjoyable family film, filled with touching moments and valuable lessons about the importance of connections and understanding one's path in life. It may not have the impact of its predecessor, but it remains a worthwhile watch for fans of the first movie.

Now permanently a bear, "Kenai" and best buddy "Koda" are living life to the full but the former still dreams of his first love "Nita". They parted many years ago and the time has now come for her to wed. The spirits are not impressed though. They consider that she and "Kenai" are promised to each other. The only way she can appease their objections is to return to a place where he gave her an amulet, and then burn it! She seeks the pair out and together they journey to that spot, but en route they all have doubts about the best way forward and the young "Koda" fears he may lose his best friend. It's not quite as good as the first film, but it still taps into the spirituality of mankind's relationship with nature as well as humorously taking us on a few lively adventures - especially when her new beau follows and becomes increasingly miffed at what he sees. It moves along quickly and engagingly enough for just over an hour with some traditional looking animation and a fairly amiable, if maybe a little too sentimental, story.