Bears

Posted on April 17, 2014 at 6:00 pm

This year’s Disney Nature release for Earth Day is “Bears,” the story of an Alaskan bear named Sky and her twin cubs, Scout and Amber, their trek from the den where they’ve hibernated all winter to a place where they can find enough food to sustain themselves through the summer and the next year’s hibernation. John C. Reilly is the genial narrator in a highly relatable story that has adventure, humor, peril, discovery, and some very powerful maternal love. There’s a reason that we call our toughest human mothers mama bears.

As in the previous entries in this series, the footage is stunning, both the breathtaking grand vistas of snow and mountains in the five million acre national parkland on the Alaskan peninsula to the tiny faces of the brand-new cubs. And it is filled with “how did they get that” moments, with no indication until the final credit sequence of any human presence. The water sequences are especially thrilling.

The narration is less intrusively anthropomorphic than some of the previous entries in this series. While there are many dangers and some animal battles and predators, it is also less sad and scary than African Cats. Parents of younger children should know that it appears at one moment that one of the cubs has been killed, but it turns out that he is fine.

Sky and her tiny cubs wake up in the den she prepared for giving birth and dozing through the winter. She is depleted and the tiny cubs are not quite ready for the week-long trek through the snow to find a place where the salmon are running, and Sky can have access to the 90 pounds of protein a day she will need to survive the next hibernation. The trio face many threats. They reach a pack of other bears (the cubs’ are very excited to find others of their species), but Magnus, the over-1000 pound alpha male, is capable of eating the cubs if no other food is available. An outcast from the pack is also after them. The hunt for salmon takes them to the shore, where there are clams to eat, but it is also dangerous when the tide comes in.

The devotion and persistence of these animals is a powerful reminder that family connections link all species. With this peek into their world, we are more aware of our own.

Parents should know that this movie includes some peril and animal fighting. It appears at one point that one of the main characters has been killed but he turns out to be fine.

Family discussion: Why was Chinook an outcast? How does Sky teach the cubs what they need to know? Who is your role model and why is it important to have one? How would the story be different if it was from the point of view of one of the other animals or the salmon?

If you like this, try: “Chimpanzee” and “African Cats”

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Chimpanzee

Posted on April 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Sad offscreen death of a parent, non-explicit discussions of attacks and turf battles
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	April 20, 2012
Date Released to DVD:	August 20, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	1423153022

DisneyNature’s fourth in its series of nature documentaries released for Earth Day is gorgeously photographed, heartwarming, inspiring, and adorable. It combines astonishingly vivid and intimate footage of animal life with narration that sometimes crosses the line between accessible and intrusive. And this G-rated saga has a “Bambi” problem. The primatologists who appear at the end of the film are excited about sharing the unexpected and undeniably sweet story of an orphaned baby chimp who is adopted by an unrelated male. But that means the cute baby has to lose his mother first. It is handled discreetly, but we have seen how tenderly she cares for her son and how much he depends on her, so sensitive viewers of any age may find her loss and the baby’s abandonment by the other adults disturbing.

Narrator Tim Allen introduces us to newborn Oscar, whose tiny, wizened face is utterly captivating as he begins to explore the world around him. His mother Isha cuddles him, feeds him, and patiently teaches him how to survive in the jungle. They are part of a tribe led by alpha male Freddy, who provides protection and helps search for food. “The jungle itself is a living, healthy thing that does not want to be eaten,” Allen tells us. Nuts are hard to open and honey is guarded by bees.

As the area is cut into by development, food becomes harder to find. The chimps are threatened by an invasion from a nearby group of hungry chimps with “a formidable leader named Scar.” The choice of names and framing of the story unhesitatingly directs our loyalties. Scar “steals” but Freddy and his tribe bravely forage for food.

Like Sharks and Jets, the two groups have deadly battles over turf. Oscar is left alone. He is still too young to fend for himself and at first, he cannot find anyone to take care of him. Freddy becomes his adoptive father, but soon faces the work/life balance problem that is all too familiar. He is so enthralled with his new son that he begins to neglect his job of protecting the group. And Scar is waiting for his chance to return.

Allen’s commentary is sometimes corny and distractingly over-anthropomorphized. But director Mark Linfield and his crew were able to use the latest technology to bring us closer into the lives of these beautiful animals than even the scientists who study them have been able to get before. The breathtaking visuals and the brave and affectionate hearts of these beautiful creatures continue to draw us back in to the story. We see how the chimpanzees communicate and cooperate, how they use tools and teach each other survival skills, and how they use grooming to build community and define their hierarchy. Deep within the grand sweep of the African rainforest, illuminated by the gentle glow of bioluminescent fungi, Oscar and Freddy teach us that “humanity” is too narrow a term to encompass the love, courage, and compassion these chimps so clearly understand.

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