In case you're wondering, I gave the original 3.5. I thought it was Disney's last really good 2D movie. I'm afraid I can't repeat the trick with the sequel. It's not bad at all, but it's nowhere in the same league as the first. Maybe it's because I've just seen two animated films within 24 hours which both have Wanda Sykes in them (she was much better in the other one, BTW).

I'll assume you know the story of BBI (why would you watch the sequel first?). In many ways this is similar in feel, but not as emotionally compelling. The animation and backgrounds look very good indeed for a DTV, but I'm starting to get used to the idea that good looking DTV sequels aren't that rare anymore, so all I can really do is not subtract points for that. But for anyone who gave up on DTVs around the time of 'Return of Jafar', this will be a bit of a revelation.

Well, the plot is outlined below, so let me just go back to the thing that really hit me about the first one (again I'm assuming you've seen it. If not, the next paragraph is a major spoiler.)

Basically Kenai is turned from a human into a bear. There is an old Roman* tradition called Saturnalia, where things are turned upside down, but then turned back to normal at the end. I was expecting this. It didn't happen. I thought, 'Wow!'

*actually all Roman traditions are old. (end spoiler)

What gave me the heebee jeebies about this film was I could see that reversal coming in the sequel.

Oh, hell, here's another

*spoiler*

...and it didn't come. Though I'd kind of guessed it wouldn't, it took about two thirds of the movie.

*end spoiler*

And that pushed it into 2.5 stars for me.

So, the good: the plot isn't entirely predictable (I figured there were three possible endings, but didn't figure out the right one till fairly well into the movie). It looks damn good for a DTV. It reinforces the human-animal 'brotherhood' of the first film. The voice acting is adequate.

The bad: after being treated to Ben Fold's invigorating music in 'Over the Hedge' last night, I'm plunged back into the standard, production line schamtlzy, drippy Disney Ballads (several of them) here - courtesy of Melissa Etheridge.

Nita - the female (human) lead. I can't decide if she looks more like Mulan or Pocahontas. Suffice to say, seen there, done that.

The moose(s?) are still fairly pointless and annoying, but no more than the first time around, and since the first film was better, I suppose that makes them less annoying this time.

Extreme overdose of Aurora Borealis.

But look, the original was damn fine, and this one doesn't let it down as badly as a lot of sequels do. If you loved the first one, certainly give it a look. If you hated the first one, don't bother.

Pretty solid 2.5.

Well, I just finished watching it, and I will admit it: it's not that bad, but it's a beautifully-told story. (Although the basic plot sounds like a simple, cheesy story that a "Brother Bear" fan wrote . . . IMO)

Here's a simply-put description of BB2's plot: Springtime Kenai reunites with a childhood friend of his, Nita. She and Kenai (and Koda, Kenai's "brother") travel to a sacred place in order to fix something done in their childhood, but somehow discover their differences and their memories of thier pasts. And of course, Rutt and Tuke are up to their usual shenandigans - this time, they attempt to woo a couple of lonely females with their moosely (?) charms.

The actual meat of the story was the part that sort of surprised me, but it led to an ending that was a tad-bit surprising, but very nicely done. (I won't give it away!) The humor from the Canadian moose was somewhat dry, unlike the original film (in which I thought their humor was a good touch that mixed well with the serious situations), but the relationships of the characters was one of the true strong points.

The music (this time featuring songs by Melissa Elteridge) was beautifully entertwines with the emotions and aura that the story and the settings helped to create. One song was rather powerful, and will almost bring you to tears when you watch the second time around, but the music and score combined was truly the strength of the film.

However, the rest of the film, in all of its 73 minute running time (too short? It felt that way to me!), was not exactly what I hoped for. The voices were almost all new (with exception of Koda, Rutt and Tuke), but somehow worked well (I really didn't like Kenai's new voice as much as the original - to me, he just wasn't Kenai . . . *sigh*). The "sha-woman" Innoko was a bit of a laugh, but other than that, the human characters weren't as interesting as the animals.

Even after I watched the film, I still was a bit confused and had a couple of questions: How did Nita know that Kenai had been changed into a bear (especially since it seemed that Nita's village was much different from Kenai's.)? How much time had passed since the events of the first film (it couldn't have been much, since Koda looked like he hadn't aged a bit . . . oh no, why does this remind me of LBT?)?

So other than those points, this was an enjoyable sequel (that really was a sequel for once! Wow . . .). The animation was smooth and almost like the original style. The backgrounds were, again like "Brother Bear," breathtakingly amazing (for a low-budget DTV project), and the characters really seemed to flow well with the quick pace of the story. Plus add the touching music and the craptastic humor . . . well, to me, it all balanced out! Wow . . .

I say, check it out! Sure, it's not Disney's best DTV sequel to date, but it does remain true to the original and captures the beauty and majesty that Disney animation seems to emit from its many frames. It's worth at least a couple of views, so I give it three point five stars.

Brother Bear two spews so many movie rip offs and cheese it hurts the mind. I seriously could not sit through more three minutes without laughing at something.

The plot is cheesy and overused, like normal with dtvs, and the songs are bland.
The only reason I give it two stars is because the animation was nice, I really like the style, and the voice acting was pretty good.

This movie is one to skip unless you want something to poke fun of. And although I didn't really care for the first movie a lot, this film does not do the original justice.