Brother Bear 2 : 3 of 5

I finally took the time to watch this DVD sequel, which I rented since I like to test out direct-to-DVD releases before deciding to buy them, and it was definitely a lot of fun to get acquainted with these characters again! I really enjoyed the original Brother Bear on many levels, and for the most part it's obvious they tried to capture the same spirit with this sequel (using painterly backgrounds, similar music, and so on). Actually, the story is really good, involving Nita, Kenai's childhood sweetheart (while he was still human, of course), and they must make a journey together to break their bond (represented by an amulet) so Nita can get married. Of course, they remember they love each other, which quickly makes little Koda jealous for attention. It took awhile for me to get emotionally worked-up, but there are a couple of scenes (where Nita loses the power of bear speech, and when Kenai pantomimes his feelings for her) that definitely got the tears going. The songs by Melissa Etheridge are actually great, but unfortunately they only last a verse or so, since DVD sequels barely make it over the one hour mark. My biggest complaint is that Kenai's voice is not Joaquin Phoenix from the original, and that they stooped to using Wanda Sykes as the shaman character, who sounds completely terrible and out of place (thank goodness it's a small role). Finally, Rutt and Tuke are still funny, but they're even better on the bonus trivia game on the DVD!