The Bear (DVD, 1999)

I heard about this movie many years ago when it first was released, but never saw it. I'm happy to say that, I was not disappointed and was pleasantly surprised with the setting, the story line, the action, and the sound. The movie is set in British Columbia, circa late 1800's, in the outback. Gorgeous mountains and sky shots. When I say real animals doing real acting, don't confuse other movies where the lead characters are animals that talk, like Babe or Dr. Doolittle. No talking animals here. I was surprised to see that Jim Hansen had a hand in creating some of the visual effects, which I couldn't tell. As I mentioned the action takes place in the outback of British Columbia. The movie follows a cub bear as he stumbles through the country side finding a protector and friend in a bigger bear, who is being pursued by several seasoned hunters. My real treat was the dolby digital 5.1 soundtrack, which sounded fantastic on my system. During one scene, I thought my room was filled was bees and other flying insects. Although Disney style entertainment, the hunters, dog chasing, and one shooting scene may scare real young children. The movie does disclose that no real animals were harmed. Thumbs up.