Examples Of Animism In Brother Bear

Brother Bear is a Disney children's movie that was released in 2003. Although it is a movie that was made for children, it does contain parts of animistic religion. Animism is the belief that there is no separation between the spiritual and physical world. It also contains the belief that spirits are present in the natural environment. Throughout this essay, I will explain the links to Animism that are portrayed in Brother Bear. Disney shows the primal animism in many different ways throughout the movie, some of it is less subtle than others but nonetheless it reflects the culture and animistic religion of the first nations people. The movie follows the story of a young man Kenai, who is transformed into a bear by the spirits of his …show more content…
The most outstanding change would have to be how they show that “everyone is a brother” . Initially, Kenai had two brothers, but as the movie progressed he started to adopt Koda as his own brother. He also learned the value of loving others all through a journey that Kenai found other bears to associate with, and that animals could talk. The fact that they made animals able to talk, takes the edge off of the animism while still giving the “circle of life” vibe. It also enabled Kenai to gain the ability to connect with all of the animals. Disney also gives comic relief, in the form of the two meese (moose?). They sort of narrate the story, while telling jokes and embodying the stereotypical Canadian culture. They also help to get to the resolution after they have a falling out in front of Kenai, which then motivates him to go after Koda. In order to win back his brother one of the meese starts to list off things that he has been there for his brother for and it makes the other moose realize that through everything, they are still brothers. This helps to round the movie off and promote the underlying message of the