As anyone who watched Yogi Bear or Winnie the Pooh knows, a good chunk of a bear’s life is spent searching for food. A new Disneynature documentary, “Bears,” has an up-close-and-personal look at how real bears hunt for food in the wild, far away from Yogi’s pic-a-nics and Winnie’s honey pots.
Directed by “Planet Earth” wildlife legend Alastair Fothergill (with co-director Keith Scholey), “Bears” is the result of a year long shoot, following mother Sky, and her cubs Scout and Amber as they fight the elements, wolves and a nasty outcast bear named Chinook in a quest for the “bear” necessities of life.
“Bears” integrates story with an educational point of view. Kids will learn about the bear’s migration via beautifully shot film, stunning time-lapse photography. Unfortunately a strangely conceived voice over from John C. Reilly adds a narrative that anthropomorphizes the animals, adding in an unneeded storyline that seeks to humanize these majestic creatures. Shots of the mother bear delicately eating a clam is elegant and primal, it isn’t necessary to add silly narration to give human attributes to the bears.
It’s meant to make the story more relatable, bit feels a little trite—for instance a scene of Sky and Amber ripping a writing salmon apart is described as a mother and daughter’s sushi date—for a movie with such lush wildlife photography.
In short, let the pictures do the talking. Show me, don’t tell me.
Beyond the distracting VO, “Bears” is a welcome addition to Disneynature’s wildlife canon. There is some intense circle of life stuff that may upset young animal lovers, but the bears emerge with their dignity and majesty intact and kids will learn something while being entertained.
Synopsis: Each year on Earth Day Disneynature does their part to increase awareness and build an appreciation of our planet’s natural environment by releasing documentaries. This year, it’s Chimpanzee. These spectacularly photographed movies show us the world in ways we have never seen before. This week the Reel Guys have a look at other movies that celebrate and comment on Earth Day.
Avatar is one of many memorable films that pack an environmental punch.
Richard: Mark, the Disneynature docs are great movies, but I think I’ll kick off our look at Earth Day with an animated movie that packs just as much punch as An Inconvenient Truth and is twice as entertaining. Wall-E is a Pixar movie about a garbage-collecting robot on Earth, a planet made unlivable by waste and pollution. It’s a funny, poignant masterpiece and perfect for the whole family on April 22.
Mark: Wall-E is certainly a masterpiece. But what about Avatar? There’s a film with a strong environmental message. Of course, you can only wonder how big of a carbon footprint is made from a $200 million movie. But the strangest irony, Richard, might be the two of us discussing environmentally friendly flicks when we spend most of our time in darkened rooms!
RC: That’s the way I like it; inside looking out. I save a fortune on sun block as well. Continuing our theme, I thought of some good Earth Day thrillers. Everyone remembers Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich, a legal assistant who uncovers some grave environmental wrongdoing, but how about Frogs? This eco-terror film is about frogs who get revenge on polluters. Or The Day After Tomorrow, Dennis Quaid’s ode to climate change?
MB: Now there’s a movie serious environmentalists never bring up. Too exciting, I suppose. But what about the granddaddy of eco-catastrophe, The China Syndrome? Made in 1977, it’s as relevant today on the anti-nuke issue as it was then. And it stars Jane Fonda in her smokin’-hot-but-with-a-conscience period. Or Silkwood, also about nuclear contamination, starring Cher in her smokin’-hot-but-you’d-never-know-it-in-those-outfits period.
RC: You know another movie serious environmentalists don’t ever watch? Bio-Dome. Back when people went to Paulie Shore movies he made this movie about an environmental experiment, predating Al Gore’s global warming message by years. Could Shore be an Earth Day pioneer?
MB: Maybe! He’s definitely a pioneer of the word “dude.” But when you think about it, environmental themes are everywhere. Aren’t zombie films really about sustainability? And aren’t cannibal movies about the importance of eating fresh, and locally?
As anyone who watched Yogi Bear or Winnie the Pooh knows, a good chunk of a bear’s life is spent searching for food. A new Disneynature documentary, “Bears,” has an up-close-and-personal look at how real bears hunt for food in the wild, far away from Yogi’s pic-a-nics and Winnie’s honey pots. 
