#SteveBencich

[wherever-i-look-blog]

The Monkey King (2023) - Review and Summary https://tinyurl.com/2cn55pg4

[adamwatchesmovies]

Brother Bear (2003)

I don’t consider Brother Bear a bad movie. I foresee many liking it. Ccall my rating harsh but before you do, hear me out.

After killing a bear in an act of revenge, a young tribesman named Kenai (voiced by Joaquin Phoenix) is transformed into a bear by the outraged spirits. With the help of a chatty cub named Koda (voiced by Jeremy Suarez) Kenai searches for a way to return to his human form.

This is a good-looking movie. The animation is fluid, the characters have weight, the colours are bright, everyone is distinct, the backgrounds are lush. We even get some neat tricks with the aspect ratio and there are some particularly impressive scenes involving the world's spirits. The issues come when examining the story and character designs.

When the story begins, we see a bear through the eyes of a regular person. It looks like a real bear, complete with saggy bottom lip, its distinct cadence, and animal eyes. Once Kenai is transformed, the animals' designs are altered to make them friendly and human. It's kind of a cheap trick.

This movie is about a man on a journey who discovers himself. We see the beauty of nature, but that's all we see. There are no nuances, nature is never shown as tough (like in Bambi for example). All the animals speak the same language, which raises a bunch of questions about how carnivores operate. Or it would if Brother Bear wanted you to believe anything besides  "all grizzlies do all day is play in the woods while eating berries and salmon". So much of what gives these animals their identity has been washed away to give us this cute road movie.

There isn't much depth, which makes the plot and story predictable. Directors Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker mix it up a bit at the end but only a bit. As soon as Kenai and Koda get acquainted, you know how things will go. Obviously, Kenai won’t like the little bear at first. How could he? Koda’s funny, helpful, and adorable but he's also chatty. The story with Kenai and the bear he killed during the beginning also has an obvious conclusion.

The less-beaten path is clear and Brother Bear never chooses it. When there's a powerful moment between the protagonists on the horizon, it's pushed aside by the Phil Collins soundtrack. Typical of the Disney films of the 2000s, the songs feel tacked on. Instead of speeding us through character development and communicating crucial information about the world these animals/people live in or how they feel, it's there to continue the tradition.

Want to watch a Disney animated film with a talking bear. You’d be better off watching The Jungle Book. A story where someone gets turned into a bear? Watch Brave instead. How about a comedy where someone gets transformed into an animal? Choose The Emperor’s New Groove. This movie could've opened our eyes to nature. Instead, it goes for the easy way out every single time.

Despite my middle-of-the-road rating of 2.5/5, I’d encourage you to watch Brother Bear with your kids. The humor works more than it doesn't - the duo of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as quarreling moose is particularly amusing. The visuals were nice, as is the overall message. It won't resonate with adults but kids won't be as discriminating. (On Blu-ray, August 13, 2015)

[adamwatchesmovies]

Chicken Little (2005)

Many call Chicken Little the worst Disney animated film. I disagree. I’d rather watch this over Mulan 2 or The Wild. That's not to say this film is good. There’s not much going on story-wise, it’s never funny and the soundtrack alternates between dated and irritating.

You know the story of Chicken Little right? About the dumb bird who sat beneath a tree, felt an acorn fall onto its head, and, thinking it was a piece of the sky, got all of the other animals of the barnyard riled up for nothing? This film picks up after the embarrassing incident. Chicken Little (Zach Braff) is constantly ridiculed for his mistake. But what if he didn’t make a mistake? What if a piece of the sky DID fall on his head... because the sky is teeming with flying saucers equipped with advanced chameleon-like technology?!

This film's stretching it big time. This 81-minute plot could've been resolved in a standard episode of a television series. Before Chicken Little and his friends Runt of the Litter (Steve Zahn), Fish out of Water (Da Molina), and The Ugly Duckling (Joan Cusack) discover the aliens we have to sit through 45 minutes of nothing. Chicken Little dodges bullies, introduces us to his acquaintances and then the extraterrestrial business comes out of nowhere. There’s no buildup or clues. It’s like the pilot of a television series, and then a random episode where Martians show up.

At first, your hopes are raised. Chicken Little is resourceful and clever, and you feel for him. These characteristics do not lead to anything. Although the aliens look pretty cool (they're stand-ins for the “War of the Worlds” tripods) they're not interesting either. Nothing but standard invaders who show up and start tearing up the place. Considering the ending, their actions make no sense.

When you have a weak story and a hero the audience will be disappointed with, you need to up your game, give us something extra. This is where things start tumbling out of the sky. We get two characters who speak entirely in catchphrases and only appear to produce “funny” reaction shots. Other characters like The Runt of the Litter provides exactly one joke repeated over and over (he’s fat! He likes to eat! We get it).

You'll find a few clever gags here and there. A magazine called “Cowsmoopolitan” or a background sight gag if you look hard. The stuff front and center? It'll make you wince. Almost as much as the soundtrack. You could fill your entire “2000’s music BINGO” card watching Chicken Little. Barenaked Ladies, Five for Fighting, R.E.M., and a host of other hits that haven't been hits since 1977. Needless to say, it culminates in a scene in which everyone dances to a pop song. It worked in "Shrek" and then hardly ever since.

Chicken Little looks great and initially, it'll have you interested. The longer it goes, the thinner your patience gets. The constant references to better films (Men in Black, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Signs, Alien and several other sci-fi alien flicks) won't amuse you. None of the jokes will. Combined with the weak story and numerous plot points that it seemed no one put any thought into (the "love plot" with The Runt of the Litter, for example), you've got a movie that would've been dismissed upon release and then completely forgotten soon after... if it didn't have the Disney name attached to it. (On DVD, April 28, 2015)