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Feasting on the first berries of spring preoccupies Kenai and his adopted younger brother, Koda, who are off to Cranberry Ridge in this direct-to-video
Disney sequel to the 2003 theatrical release
Brother Bear. Kenai, the young Inuit hunter who transformed into a bear in the original, now speaks with the voice of Patrick Dempsey (
Grey's Anatomy) rather than Joaquin Phoenix. And it rings true to hear TV’s "Dr. McDreamy" in this spring fever-themed tale, as the increasingly mature seven-foot grizzly Kenai meets the young Inuit woman Nita (Mandy Moore), whom he’d pledged lifelong friendship to as a human child. The spirits have put the skids on Nita’s arranged marriage, and the shaman Innoko explains that the only way for her to get on with her life is by traveling with Kenai to Hokani Falls and burning the amulet that binds the two together. The pair only have three days to reach their destination, but en route, former feelings resurface, and Koda becomes worried that his big brother will choose to become human again to be with Nita. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis reprise their scene-stealing roles as the Mackenzie-esque moose brothers, Tuke and Rutt, and in a welcome casting coup, they are joined by fellow SCTV cast members Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara as the "moosettes" they try awkwardly to impress. Some of the anachronistic dialogue smacks of pandering and the maxims are somewhat clichéd, but
Brother Bear 2 is something of a benchmark for
Disney—a sequel that doesn't play like the pilot to a proposed TV series, boasting often-stunning theatrical quality animation. Beauty, eh? Recommended.
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