WE BARE BEARS: THE MOVIE:
ICE BEAR APPROVES THIS MOVIE!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
CARTOON NETWORK
A trio of talking bears leave their cave and embark on the adventure of a lifetime in We Bare Bears: The Movie, the latest in Cartoon Network’s long-running series of films based on their shows. This movie takes the Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Big Picture Show approach as a feature film conclusion to the series, We Bare Bears which revolves around three bears that frequently interact with both nature and human society, often getting into all kinds of shenanigans along the way.
If you remember my review of Steven Universe: The Movie (Another movie based on a Cartoon Network show) then you know that I grew up on the early Cartoon Network shows like Ed, Edd n Eddy, The Powerpuff Girls, and Samurai Jack, and haven’t really been keeping up with their recent shows with some exceptions (Adventure Time, Regular Show, the previously mentioned Steven Universe, Sonic Boom, etc.). I’ve seen a handful of episodes of We Bare Bears before and while it doesn’t quite grab me as much as some of CN’s other recent shows or the ones I grew up with, it’s a mostly harmless series for kids with a decent sense of humor, some surprisingly clever social commentary, and some genuinely heartfelt moments.
Now, the bears follow in the footsteps of Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Ed, Edd n Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Johnny Bravo, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Steven Universe, Regular Show, and many others by getting the movie treatment with We Bare Bears: The Movie. The film is directed by the series’ creator Daniel Chong (Bolt, Cars 2, Inside Out) and was released digitally on June 30, 2020 serving as an epilogue to the series.
So, how does this movie hold up for someone who did not watch the show that often? It’s not half bad, though I’ve seen better movies from Cartoon Network before. There isn’t much in here for someone not already familiar with the source material, but for a film squarely aimed at kids and fans of the show, it’ll probably give you what you’re looking for, a fun, upbeat adventure with talking bears.
After their antics make the San Francisco Bay Area residents turn against them and become targets of the Department of National Wildlife Control, the trio of bears consisting of Grizzly (voiced by Eric Edelstein-American Dad, Monsters VS Aliens (TV series), Clarence), Panda (voiced by Bobby Moynihan-Monsters University, The Secret Life of Pets 1 and 2, DuckTales (2017)), and Ice Bear (voiced by Demetri Martin-The Daily Show, Taking Woodstock, Important Things with Demetri Martin) are forced to leave their home in the wilderness and go on a road trip to the greatest place for a bear to live ever…Canada in search of a better life. Along the way, they crash a party for internet celebrity animals, have close calls with the Wildlife Control, and come face to face with the sadistic, bear-hating leader of the Wildlife Control, Agent Trout (voiced by Marc Evan Jackson-Parks and Recreation, 22 Jump Street, The Good Place) who plots to capture them and put them in a wildlife preserve (with an electric fence and cages I might add), among other hardships they endure while staying true to the promise they made as cubs of being “bros for life” (But not Thunder Buddies!).
The film also features the voices of Keith Ferguson (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Wander Over Yonder, Batman VS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Officer Murphy, Jason Lee (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, My Name is Earl, Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise) as Charlie the Bigfoot, Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens, Kim Possible, Ratatouille) as Nom Nom, Charlyne Yi (House, Steven Universe, Trolls World Tour) as Chloe Park, Mel Rodriguez (Getting On, The Last Man on Earth, Better Call Saul) as Darrell Saragosa, Cameron Esposito (Adventure Time, Maron, Take My Wife) as Ranger Dana Tabes, Ellie Kemper (The Office, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Lego Batman Movie) as Lucy, Josh Cooley (Inside Out, Riley’s First Date?, Toy Story 4) as Painting Elephant, Amber Liu (Invincible Youth 2, Real Men, Entourage (South Korean TV series)) as Jojo Raccoon, and Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Space Force) as Joey Raccoon.
Overall, We Bare Bears: The Movie is an enjoyable animated adventure (As far as Cartoon Network movies go) and hopefully a worthy conclusion to the TV series. As I mentioned before, I did not watch the show very often so I can’t really speak for the fans, but for the episodes I have seen I think this is an appropriate sendoff for the bears.
The plot is an average buddy-buddy road trip movie (Often a very popular genre for various films based on animated shows) that hits all the familiar beats of films like A Goofy Movie, The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, The Simpsons Movie, and as previously mentioned, Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Big Picture Show. Come to think of it, the premise of We Bare Bears: The Movie reminds me a lot of Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Big Picture Show right down to having the main characters leave their home and many of their friends and neighbors now wanting them dead for something they’ve done except replace the Eds with bears and Eddy’s Brother’s place with Canada.
However, the film really shines with its social commentary, it’s like an allegory about living as a minority in America and explores a lot of timely themes about acceptance, family separation, and racial discrimination. The fact that this is all happening to a bunch of talking bears interacting with humans is not only funny but also extremely clever and it never goes too far with the subject matter, it works in a similar way to the relationship between humans and toons from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
One can view it simply as a cute animated adventure with talking bears and another can view it as an allegory for racism and discrimination. I really commend the film for the way it handles and depicts its mature subject matter and making it understandable to children.
If you’re a fan of the series, then We Bare Bears: The Movie is a road trip you’ll definitely want to take. It’s a funny and heartfelt final adventure with Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear you’ll never forget.
And Now For My Bear Jokes!
Clip from The Wicker Man (2006) (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Clip from The Country Bears (c) Disney
Clip from Care Bears Movie II (c) Columbia Pictures
From the blog www.moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com
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