Customer Reviews

The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The Boy Who Wanted to be a Bear" is one of the most engrossing and magical animated feature-length films of recent memory. It's the story of a wild boy caught between two opposing worlds -- the village of men and the land of animals. In each, there are reasons to stay and reasons to leave, but the power of love helps to lead him toward his ultimate decision.

The soundtrack is marvelous (composed by the artist who scored Winged Migration and Himalaya), and helps to give the film some additional spirit. The animation is simple, yet powerful and rich -- the scenes have the youthful look of magic marker imposed over watercolor backdrops, and yet, because of this, the characters feel more real. The pace of the story is perhaps a bit too brisk at times, but overall this is a masterful film. I think that you and your children will enjoy this as much my the folks in our house did.

A word to the wise: purchase the Collector's Edition so that you'll have the option of the English audio track as well as the beautiful, original French audio track. It's a shame when studios consider original languages to be "extras."

Beautiful film! My 4 and 5 year olds loved it. I loved the cultural aspect to it that is so hard to find. In reference to the violence, it's not any more violent than Disney's Lion King.

Very surreal and dreamy picture about a boy taken from his parents by grief stricken bears who want to raise him as their son. He grows up, his Father reclaims him, and his struggle to become part of the wild again begins. A fantastic film, probably a little better for older children.

This is a dreadfull movie for kids. I am twelve, and when I was little when my mom took me to see this at the movies. I was traumatized and have been furious with my mother ever since!!! I kept thinking that bad things were going to happenn, like that the mother Polar Bear was going to die. She said she wouldn't. Well, she was wrong. The mother is shot with an arrow! Almost everyone at the end of this movie is either sad or traumatized or dead. Please do not let your kids see The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Bear. It is sad and disturbing!

Okay, so Momma polar bear has a stillborn cub at the same time Momma Indigenous Woman has an Indigenous live baby. Momma polar bear is grief-stricken and Papa polar bear is beside himself, because she is in such a great valley of depression. So Papa bear makes a visit to the Indigenous Woman's house and takes Indigenous baby to give to Mama bear.

So the boy gets raised as a polar bear until Papa Indigenous Man hunts down all the polar bears, including Mama Bear (after he leaves Mama bear with the human kid, Papa bear leaves the plot. If he was so concerned about Mama bear, why did he leave?)

Anyway, the boy wants to be a bear, and in the end (SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!) he becomes a bear.

The film never focuses on the fact that the Indigenous mother and father lose their son, and their grief is downplayed. It's all focused on the silly female bear.

In my opinion, it was a poor way for Papa and Mama bear to deal with her grief. But maybe I'm just ignorant on the ways of polar bears.

The animation isn't too happening, either.