Brother Bear

Another watchable, old-fashioned, uninspired Disney animation. Kenai is a headstrong young Native American. When his older brother is killed by a bear, Kenai (who had imperilled them both) exacts vengeance - only to be transformed into a bear himself. This rather knocks the stuffing out of him. Unaware of this unexpected turn of events, middle brother Denahi tracks down the bear he believes killed both his brothers.

The North American landscapes are animated with due competence, but the character work is somewhat ugly and the comedy-relief moose had this viewer reaching for his hunting rifle. There's not much to say about the story, which approximates the tone of ancient fable, but soon proves both repetitive and routinely evocative of previous Disney hits. There are way too many plunges from mountain crevices into torrid rivers - and five unremarkable new Phil Collins songs on the soundtrack.