Stunning Animation and Tender Relationships Make Brother Bear 2 a Worthy Sequel

Back when Brother Bear came out, I was wowed by the beauty of the previews and figured it would be the most visually appealing Disney movie since Pocahontas. The sweeping panoramas of unspoiled wilderness certainly didn't disappoint, but I wondered if such care would be taken with Brother Bear 2.

This sequel may have been direct-to-video, but I found it just about as enthralling as the original. If you can get past the premise of a guy turning into a bear, it's a fun, romantic romp with breathtaking scenery and well-written songs. While the story is largely about Kenai (Patrick Dempsey) and his "adopted" kid brother Koda (Jeremy Suarez), the primary focus is on Nita (Mandy Moore), Kenai's childhood sweetheart.

After Kenai saved her from drowning when they were children, he gave her an amulet to represent the depth of their friendship. Unsurprisingly, the two lost touch when he became a bear, and now he's a distant memory to her, but a reunion becomes a necessity when her attempt to enter into an arranged marriage is unsuccessful because the powers that be consider her already committed because of the necklace. Her task? Find Kenai, and go with him to the spot where the amulet was given so that they can destroy it together during the Vernal Equinox.

Nita is aided in her mission by the temporarily bestowed gift of being able to communicate with animals. With the speech barrier gone, other challenges separating her from her old friend seem much more surmountable. The real issue is that once Nita and Kenai reunite and begin to fall into their old rhythm, it's clear that affection between these two runs very deep. Is breaking that bond really the best course of action?

There are plenty of adventurous scenes to keep youngsters entertained, including a thrilling pursuit through a racing river and a treetop battle with a troop of raccoons that recalls Jane's troubles with monkeys in Tarzan. There's also plenty of comic relief from moose pals Rutt (Rick Moranis) and Tuke (Dave Thomas), who are fixated on securing the admiration of a pair of female moose who couldn't be less interested. Back in the village, Nita's squabbling aunts also provide a few laughs, and spirited Koda feels a bit like wise-cracking Donkey, with Kenai and Nita as Shrek and Fiona.

But the movie is more about heart than humor, from the sensitive songs by Melissa Etheridge to the dynamics among the main trio and Nita's relationship with her tender, widowed father (Jim Cummings). As Kenai finds himself torn between his self-appointed duty as caretaker to Koda and his desire to return to his former life with Nita, it becomes fairly easy to guess at the unconventional ending, but that doesn't prevent it from being a touching conclusion to a sequel that was obviously handled with great care.