Family

DVD Review: The Great Bear

An 11 year old boy embarks on an adventure in the Great Forest to find and rescue his young sister, who has befriended a giant bear and disappeared.

Two siblings, 11 year old Jonathan and his kid sister Sophie, travel to the mountains to stay with their grandad but when young Sophie goes missing, her older brother has to brave the Great Forest to find her. There he discovers that she’s befriended a giant bear, the size of a prehistoric dinosaur, and it’s but one of the strange and delightful creatures that populate this magical new world.

At first fearful of the bear, Jonathan is rescued by a hunter, only to discover the hunter wants to kill the bear and has little respect for the creatures that dwell in the forest.

The Great Bear is a 2011 animated Danish film dubbed in English with British accents. It’s Director Esben Toft Jacobsen’s feature film debut and his lack of experience shows in the pacing of the story. He co-wrote it with Jannik Tai Mosholt, offering few variations to the action, with all the exciting bits failing to stand out from the exposition.

The computer animation is rustic and interesting but lacks the detailed quality of most modern Hollywood animated films, particularly in facial expressions and general movement. That’s not to say it’s bad by any means. In one sense it adds to the charm of the movie, but it does also give the film a feel of outdated computer animation techniques. If the style is deliberate, it adds very little to the viewing experience.

It’s difficult to know the age group this animated feature film is aimed at. Running just over 70 minutes, its pace is most likely too slow for older kids and the violence – which includes young Jonathan being injured when he falls into an animal trap, and the loveable giant bear being set alight and shot – is graphic enough to raise concerns for parents of younger children. The story itself, and the central child characters, suggest it’s not targeted at adults either.

There will be many who will enjoy this unique little tale but parental discretion is most definitely advised.

Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet

Rating out of 10:  5

The Great Bear will be released on DVD on 17 February 2016.

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