Bärenbrüder 2 (Video 2006)

Bärenbrüder 2: Directed by Ben Gluck. With Patrick Dempsey, Mandy Moore, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis. An old female friend of Kenai needs his help on a quest, much to Koda’s growing consternation.

“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 Iu0026#39;ll warn you… if you donu0026#39;t like being sequels being reviewed solely compared to the original, you probably wonu0026#39;t like my review.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStory: Iu0026#39;ve read reviews saying that the originalu0026#39;s basic story was copied from other movies… I never saw that. This, however, is your general u0026quot;we think thereu0026#39;s a writers strike on right nowu0026quot; copied story. Not a blatant rip-off of anything in particular, but its been done before.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWriting: 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. Iu0026#39;m probably one of the few who donu0026#39;t like Rutt and Tuke, although they didnu0026#39;t seem as bad this time around (probably because they had less time on screen and more to do, so less time to waste).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eArt/Animation: This was probably the part which disappointed me the least. While itu0026#39;s more than adequate (its pretty good) it just doesnu0026#39;t have the same flair as the original did (or some of the fancier effects). Other than that, no major complaints.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eActing: With most of the returning characters are voiced by their original actors, Kenaiu0026#39;s recasting stands out. Donu0026#39;t get me wrong, its not too bad… itu0026#39;s just not the same. Everyone else does a decent job though.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMusic: Obviously no Phil Collins music this time around. Iu0026#39;m not quite sure who does the music in this (nobody immediately recognisable) and while the music is appropriate and fits in well, thereu0026#39;s nothing memorable like u0026quot;No Way Outu0026quot; was for me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eClosing 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 donu0026#39;t accept it as a sequel up to the standards of the original Brother Bear, by its own merits, itu0026#39;s a decent movie. I do think itu0026#39;s worth buying, but Iu0026#39;d have no problem recommending it as a rental (especially if youu0026#39;re a fan of the original). Just donu0026#39;t go in expecting too much, and you wonu0026#39;t be disappointed.”