What do you get when you have three talking stackable bears, a psychedelic van with a souped-up... lava lamp + one heck of an adventure? We Bare Bears The Movie, of course!
Believe it or not... this is our first movie review! Shout out to Warner Bros for supplying the movie to be reviewed (the opinions I share are my own).
Before I watched this movie, I set up some seats + snacks + drinks and brought my daughter into the office today... so that we could watch the movie together. She's three (this film is rated TV Y7) but it was safe enough for her little eyes.
Story: Off the bat, the movie began with the first serving of a kinda-sorta reoccurring scene with the Bears on a railroad track. Keep your eye on these scenes because they vary... but they do mean something, and I appreciate the fact that they're used it in an impactful way in the Bare Bears story.
At the same time... the first serving of this reoccurring scene is actually the start to the action-packed intro, which will be a real treat to fans of the show with cameo after cameo of characters from the show. I wouldn't expect a movie to do any less, but the opening didn't feel detached from the start of the film... the seamless transition stood out.
I don't watch a lot of TV, but... even if I don't, the team commentary actually covered every question I may have had (it was quite entertaining). That's how I knew about the cameos, and I think that this movie would be appreciated by fans of the show because (according to the team)... they answered certain questions fans had and incorporated some into the movie. That's pretty cool.
One way fan influence is incorporated into this movie is through the main antagonist, Agent Trout from the Department of Wildlife Control. I wasn't on his side or anything, but... even I was curious about some of the things he pointed out. He came into the movie early on as the Bare Bears antics began to catch up with them. A seemingly good thing mounted up to being a bad bad thing that affected the entire city (in their quest to become internet famous)... and so the Bare Bear hunt began.
There was a trade-off between action and comedy at times, but a good amount of time they remained in lockstep as the film progressed towards the climax that made sense (and made sense of the railroad track sequence). There was plenty of action in climax without being over the top (they put the comedy on the back burner and stuck to the objective here to maintain the tension).
My daughter lost interest a few times (granted she's 3) but for the most part, she was focused and really enjoyed the movie as well. We Bare Bears The Movie... is the franchise's first movie after multiple seasons of the show, so there was plenty to pour into the film to make it interesting.
Visuals: Visually speaking... there were some cool eye-catching scenes in the film, but for the most part the animation team played it safe and maintained the Bare Bears look as seen on tv. It didn't take away from the story at all, and I didn't complain... but it would've been nice to see a bit more visual oomph (I know budget plays a factor). I remember the visual difference between the DuckTales tv show (oo-oo) and the DuckTales Treasure of the Lost Lamp film... but I'm sure the budget was a lot bigger.
Audio + Extras:
Audio was cool... it isn't as flat as it could've been and gave a little oomph. There were some actions here and there that lacked a certain sound effect of what I felt would've been more accurate, but it wasn't anything that took away from the movie (i.e. a scooter landing in the grass with screeching tire sounds). Eric Edelstein (from Shameless), Bobby Moynihan (from SNL), and Demetri Martin (from Important Things with Demetri Martin) return to the mic to represent the vocals of the fuzzy stackable trio.
When it comes to the extras, the funny thing about this movie (outside of the comedy) is the fact that it piqued my interest based on the additions just as much as the movie. In addition to engaging commentary, fans of animation should appreciation other features like Early Sketches + Animatics & Pencil Tests.
Anyone with an interest in how movie pitches are done would appreciate the Movie Pitches section because the movie was greenlit for release... which gives you an idea of how it can be done (5 pitches total). Believe it or not, for those of you with an interest in making your own movies... I think this actually increases the value of the DVD because the insight could go a long way (you get the reactions of the team too... which just gives you a good idea to how they got the green light).
You also get deleted scenes in concept form. I would've preferred seeing them in their full film ready form, but I guess it's something to give you an idea of what was cut from the movie and how the budget was spared. This is an extra, so it's like... whatever, but it was disappointing because you only get an idea of the scene without it being fully fleshed out.
Price: Price-wise, We Bare Beares The Movie comes in at $19.99 MSRP... and it's available on DVD & Digital. I think the pitches boost the value for those interested in seeing what it takes to pitch a movie, but it could also prove to be interesting content for those who simply want to see it.
Story 5
Visuals 3
Audio 3
Price 5
4 out of 5 Cool Points
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