theaters from October 2003 through April 2004, Disney decided to push Brother Bear 2 straight to video. Koda looks heavenward and prays to his mother, asking her to communicate to the spirits on behalf of Kenai.ĭespite the fact that Brother Bear cleared $85 million at the box office and managed to stay in U.S. Similarly, images appear in the fire when the shawoman seeks the counsel of the spirits. The Great Spirits, in the form of the Northern Lights, accomplish this task as she’s lifted up from the earth a woman and lowered a bear. And, ultimately, Nita chooses to be changed into a bear so she can marry Kenai. Once it’s burned, Nita loses her ability to understand Kenai and Koda. It’s shown that they change winter into spring, and they cast a spell on Nita, giving her the ability to understand and vocalize animal speech. And their swift, physically manifested answer tells viewers that they aren’t just stone gods, they’re real and they are powerful. At the beginning of Nita’s wedding ceremony, they are asked if they are pleased. For instance, the opening song gives “thanks to the moon” before praying, “So Great Spirits, hear my voice today.” Prayers are frequently uttered to the spirits seeking their approval and blessing. That’s probably because the director assumes he’s building on the original and doesn’t feel the need to set the spiritual ground rules again. It could be argued that this spiritual stew is diluted a bit this time around. Taken to its logical extreme, what comes across is the underpinnings of a we-are-all-divine-and-have-Godness-within theology.” Underneath it all is the onscreen belief that living beings are part of a cosmic brotherhood and that when man and beast die, all enter an eternal celestial home collectively making up the pantheistic Great Spirits. Brother Bear‘s New Agey worldview doesn’t just guide the story along, it’s heavy-handed.” As did Brother Bear, this follow-up mixes “Hinduism, ancestor worship and Gaia mysticism. Perhaps the best way to explain how much spiritual content flows through Brother Bear 2 is to refer back to our review of Brother Bear: “If the eco-pantheism of Pocahontas could be quantifiably boiled down and deposited in a container, that, let’s say, filled a quart canning jar, then this film’s spiritualism would fill an oil drum. “I will love you, no matter what you choose,” he tells her. At story’s end, he’s willing to let his daughter be metamorphosed into a bear rather than see her unhappy. Nita and her father’s relationship is very close. At different times, both Kenai and Nita put themselves in jeopardy to rescue Koda. Risking their own wellbeing, Rutt and Tuke (slow-witted, but endearing moose) go out on a limb (literally) to save Kenai from hunters. One situation involves her trying to overcome her fear of water. Two times Nita has to decide whether or not to trust Kenai. When Koda discovers that Kenai thinks about Nita, Kenai reassures him that even if it means he’ll never get to see Nita again, he will never leave him (“You’re my brother. The film’s biggest message is that “once you love someone, they stay in your heart forever.” It’s mixed up with a bit of spiritualism, but the sentiment of remembering those who were dear to us before they died, and “keeping them alive” in our memories and in our hearts is essentially a good one. The old woman talks to the spirits, and then passes on their directives: Nita is to travel to the same falls where she almost drowned as a little girl and burn the mystical amulet Kenai gave her. Unsure why the Great Spirits have pressed the pause button on her wedding plans, Nita goes to a shaman (who refers to herself as sha woman, thank you very much) for advice. The villagers assume the spirits are sending a sign. But before the ceremony came be completed, the Great Spirits make it clear that they are not in favor of the union (an ice crack physically separates her from the groom-to-be, while thunder rolls and lightning flashes ominously). Meanwhile, Nita (now an adult) prepares to marry a Gaston-esque village hunk. There remains inside of him an attraction to his former best friend. Although happy as an animal, Kenai still dreams of his childhood pal Nita and the time he rescued her from drowning. Along with his “brother” Koda (also a bear), the pair readies themselves to forage for berries. Kenai, who was magically changed from human to bear in the first Brother Bear movie, is just waking up after six months of hibernation.
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