Brother Bear

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Its been a while since Mark Mancina made a mark in the business, but he's back with a Disney animation and a Disney fantasy ride. The second is The Haunted Mansion, the first Brother Bear. I don't know what the film tries to accomplish but goodbye are the days humans ruled the animation (Atlantis and Treasure Planet) and that computer animation (Dinosaur) made the exception. Its back to the cuddly factor of The Lion King and the wilderness of Tarzan, bringing back song writer Phil Collins and composer Mark Mancina from that last title. Sadly, neither bring back the better side of that score Tarzan since it all feels a bit lesser in every compartment. Of course, as score I'm enjoying it a bit more then the actual songs, but together it feels a bit flat in impression. Its all normal and not much stands proud among the rest. The songs are a bit in the vein as I encountered them in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and while Bryan Adams hit a few good, Collins does it lesser with the more it continues. Of all the songs, only several stand out as being enjoyable, and these for just several reasons. 'Look Through my Eyes' is probably as all albums the first and perhaps you like it more since the rest doesn't match or eclipse the rest. 'No Way Out' is enjoyable because it mixes some choral background singing near the end and 'Transformation' (the version of Phil Collins) is the best because it uses the musical score of Mancina with light choral accompaniment. This piece is actually used more since it appears first in 'Transformation' (track 5 on the album) in the format with choir that later would appear also in the score of Mancina, namely 'Wilderness of Danger and Beauty'. But I will come back at that later.

The rest of the songs are nothing special, 'On my Way' is a bit more bouncy with the guitar, harmonica and whistling (and basically because it listens a bit differently from all the rest) and 'Great Spirits' at least leans a bit close to the music because it was arranged by Mancina and Collins. But they don't stick out. Sadly, the music overall of Mancina doesn't too, or at least not much. Some 20 minutes in 3 track is what Mancina receives, and I'm a bit sure that they mixed pieces together (like they did in Tarzan). But Mancina doesn't stun us, something I hoped he would do because it was such long ago we heard great stuff from him. 'Three Brothers' has native instruments bringing the world to life and some better burst of good music around 1.48, occasionally even receiving some light choir. Its not much and simply that people say that Collins co composed material, while his only credit is bringing some vocal effects after 5.45 is typically pathetic overall. Nonetheless, Mancina incorporates the song themes very briefly sometimes in the score, which makes the transition from song to score at least recommendable. 'Awakes as A Bear' has a bit of action music but its nothing big or exciting (more the usual animation scoring), further an appearance of the song theme "no way out" appears before the transformation theme does it lightly with choir. Its not much but its a start nonetheless. And 'Wilderness of Danger and Beauty' mixes some short action material with percussion and the blast of the transformation theme, just as heard like in track 5, finishing off the score. Together, the lack of truly inspiring music is what makes Brother Bear a bit of a disappointment. Its nothing horrible but the fact we could have heard better songs (like Tarzan and The Road to El Dorado obviously have) with a thrilling score by Mancina is sadly not what we got. Still, its music that does something and the fact I'm disappointed over Mancina's score was simply of having too high hopes in the begin. Brother Bear is acceptable but for Disney enthusiasts only, because I recommend others first.

Score: **1/2
Songs: **1/2

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Look Through My Eyes: Phil Collins (4.00)

2. Great Spirits: Tina Turner (3.23)

3. Welcome: Phil Collins (3.37)

4. No Way Out (Theme from Brother Bear): Phil Collins (4.17)

5. Transformation + (2.28)

6. On My Way: Phil Collins (3.40)

7. Welcome: The Blind Boys of Alabama & Phil Collins (3.13)

8. No Way Out (Theme from Brother Bear): Phil Collins (2.37)

9. Transformation: Phil Collins (2.25)

10. Three Brothers * (6.44)

11. Awakes As A Bear * (6.48)

12. Wilderness Of Danger And Beauty * (5.30)

* Soundtrack by Mark Mancina

+ Performed by The Bulgarian Women's Choir

Total Length: 48.50

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Mark Mancina ===