Brother Bear (2003)

The three years separating this film from The Emperor’s New Groove feels like an eternity. Other than the mildly entertaining Lilo & Stitch, Disney seems to have lost its magic. Had Pixar been a rival to Disney rather than a business partner during this time frame, the House of Mouse would have been on life support. While Brother Bear seems to check off some of the surefire ingredients that served Disney well over the years, the end result feels more like a misfire.

In a prehistoric time, a young man named Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix) is displeased with the sacred totem (a bear) bestowed upon him by his tribe. Seeming to confirm his disapproval of bears, a wild bear steals food from the tribe during the ceremony. When Kenai and his older brothers hunt the bear down, the eldest brother, Sitka (D. B. Sweeney), gives his life to save his brothers. Kenai kills the bear but the Spirits the tribe worship transform him into a bear. To regain his human form and achieve manhood in his tribe, Kenai must learn from his mistakes and help a young bear cub find his way through the wild.

I do have to give this film some credit for a little bit of trickery. When the film begins, it is presented in one aspect ratio and the art direction portrays the animals and environments very realistically. After Kenai is turned into a bear, the aspect ratio is wider and the environments and animals have a more cartoonish look. It’s not exactly Dorothy walking out into a Technicolor Munchkinland but it’s a clever trick involving a change of perspective, which Kenai needs to appreciate his totem.

Other than that, this film is forgettable. In the time that has passed since I saw Brother Bear, I completely forgot that this film even has songs in it. That’s a cardinal sing for Disney movies that use songs. My lapse in memory is probably in part because most of the songs were used during montage segments, rather than having the characters sing them movie-musical style. More often than not, this musical direction choice hasn’t worked out well for Disney.

When you have a fairly simple story, as in this film, it helps to have complex characters to make up for it. I was not engaged by any of the characters in Brother Bear. Kenai and Koda are too paint-by-numbers and the plot twist that befalls them is predictable from early on. The filmmakers even bring back the goofiness of Bob and Doug McKenzie by way of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas voicing two sarcastic moose. This is an obvious throwaway joke for parents when the film came out but probably half the people my age don’t even remember that comedy act. Those not in the know just assume they’re a pair of stereotypical Canadian moose. I like Bob and Doug but I did not care for the moose bit.

The prehistoric setting probably helped prevent Native Americans, anthropologists, and history buffs from getting upset when this film was released. Pocahontas certainly irked a number of people but that’s because it butchered a true story. Brother Bear is fiction and I doubt it will elicit a strong response from very many people. It’s cute and colorful but it’s also low-quality Disney. That doesn’t mean it’s bad but being boring is usually worse.

RATING: 2.75 out of 5

Parenthood (1989)

I can’t speak for everyone out there but I think that most of you will be able to feel better about your family life after seeing this film. Featuring almost every potential parental conundrum of the 1980s, Parenthood is an interesting pill to swallow. Director Ron Howard delivers a kind of flipside to the John Hughes 80s teen coming-of-age flick with a look at the parents of the 80s- those poor souls who grew up in the idyllic 60s and 70s that must now deal with their Hughesian archetypal children and the insanity of the 80s.

What happens to Baby Boomers who grow up hating their parents, determined to never turn out like them? Why, they become just like them of course! This is the dilemma facing Gil Buckman (Steve Martin), a sales executive who is slowly coming to terms with the fact that he is every bit as distant and detached from his son as his own father was from him. But Gil’s not the only member of the Buckman clan with issues. His sister Helen (Dianne West) is single mother of two forced to deal with her daughter’s pregnancy and her son’s emotional issues. His other sister, Susan (Harley Kozak) is married to a control freak (Rick Moranis) who’s trying to force prodigious ability from their young daughter. Then there is Larry (Tom Hulce), the black sheep of the family who only comes back home when he needs help paying back gambling debts and business deals gone wrong.

Talk about your family reunions from hell, right? To be fair, there is at least one rational-minded member of the Buckman family. Susan is perfectly normal; she just married a guy with issues. Unfortunately, she gets very little of the focus in this film. Her contributions do help balance things out as a sort of voice of reason, but the rest of the film whips you around from one face-palming scenario to another. Maybe some families out there are really like this. I know my fair share of eccentric clans but this one hits a few too many crisis points for me to fully swallow it.

Maybe all the drama pumped into this film was over the top when it hit theaters. Maybe my skepticism is a byproduct of growing up in a post-Hughes film world. Whatever the cause, I, and I’m sure others, doubt the likelihood of so many issues plaguing one family. Kudos to the writers for doing their best to maintain a sense of balance amidst all of the characters in this film. Major props also go their way for keeping each character consistent throughout the film but also finding room for (almost) everyone to grow.

There is also some very solid acting in this film. Keanu Reeves plays the same kind of character he portrays in all his films up until The Matrix, but just about everyone else does a good job of coming off as authentic as possible. Savvy viewers will note a young Joaquin Phoenix in the mix, doing a fine job as a troubled child of divorce. The adults and children alike are all on top of their game. The only trouble is that Parenthood is fine when broken down into individual performance but, as a sum of its parts, it feels overloaded.

Steve Martin fans might come away feeling underwhelmed by this film. It ranks among his blandest offerings in the 80s. He still puts on a little pop and sizzle where it counts though, generating the most non-situational humor Parenthood has to offer. This is a film that does its best to cover everything at once while trying to be as inoffensive as possible. None other than Ron Howard could have pulled off that feat.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Spaceballs (1987)

Mel Brooks’ spoof on all things Sci-Fi is a cult classic. While it shows its age through several of the pop-culture jokes and references, the lampooning of the numerous clichés and coincidences inherent to the science-fiction genre are spot on.

The only hindrance to this film’s success is the fact that it is being pitched to a specific audience. Films like Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein were more widely humorous because clichés are very often shared throughout the Western and Mad Scientist genres. You have to really know your sci-fi to appreciate all the jokes in Spaceballs. Otherwise, stretches of this movie will seem boring to you. I am a big science-fiction nerd, so I got nearly all of the jokes.

The fact that sci-fi flicks try hard to stand out from one another presents a problem for Brooks & company. Trying to cover all the widely different styles of sci-fi and wrap all the jokes around a cohesive story is a daunting task. Brooks does a good job, but it certainly alienates the casual viewer.

Despite the odds stacked so high against it, Spaceballs has entered the cultural lexicon (at least for the older portion of my generation and the one prior to it) with phrases like “Ludicrous Speed;” “May the Schwartz be with you;” and being able to identify Yogurt as something other than a snack food.

The best part about Spaceballs is that Brooks really goes all out. He not only pegs the goofy plots and groan-worthy dialog, but he also triumphs in the visual areas as well. The sets, props, and even the music all work in favor of Mel’s comedic purposes. He also covers more than just Star Wars and Star Trek (more spoofing of the former than the latter though)- he hits major films like Planet of the Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Certainly not for everyone, but I recommend it if you have a love for sci-fi and an appreciation for satire.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

I hadn’t seen this movie in quite a while- it took babysitting my younger cousins for me to break it out and give it a review, and I’m glad I did. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was one of my favorite movies as a child and after seeing it I would wonder what certain things would look like if I were very tiny. I would also look for people in my Froot Loops and Cheerios, but that’s just because I’m a nerd.

Combining some pretty good special effects and a seriously devoted art department, this movie has some really impressive scenery. Sure, some of it looks kind of fake, but for the most part they did a really good job. You actually believe that these kids have been shrunk because their surroundings are so convincing. This is most certainly the essential component to making a film like this work.

A wacky scientist creates a machine capable of shrinking things, but it doesn’t work right very often. The few times that it does work, it shrinks his children and the neighbor kids, who end up having to hike back to the house through the back yard after accidentally being swept up and taken out with the trash.

Targeted for kids but also enjoyable for adults, you’re able to suspend your disbelief at some of the absurdities that would have been more stinging had this movie not meant to be a funny romp in the back yard. Kids will enjoy the adventure and parents will get the message about spending time with your kids. While not perfect, this fun piece of nostalgia is certainly an in-the-park home run.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5