Python Hyena Bears (2014): Dir: Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey / Narrator: John C. Reilly: One of the very best of Disney Nature documentary films. Since the release of the very entertaining Earth, Disney has released such engaging films as Oceans, African Cats and Chimpanzee. These are all educational films with effective narrations to engage younger audiences on wildlife issues. Now we are given a glimpse of one of North Americas most prized species in grizzly bears. It begins in the snowy mountains where a mother bear awakens from hibernation with two cubs. They begin a long journey down the mountain to the meadows where other bears roam about. While the cubs look about with great curiosity they are unaware of the dangers around them. For one there is two massive male bears in a heated battle for food and territory. One of them even pursues the two cubs, which pits mother bear and a brutal battle to defend them. Another problem arises when a gray wolf stalks from a distance but mother bear isn't long running it off. It becomes apparent as summer stretches on that she needs salmon so to store up enough fat to feed her cubs for the next winter. John C. Reilly narrates and seems to have fun while directors Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey give viewers awesome scenery and wildlife footage. The scene at the golden pond features a bear's paradise as several bears gather for an easy fill of salmon. What viewers are left with is a vision of bears that emphases the struggles of raising cubs and preparing for another hibernation in the mountains. Score: 10 / 10

Alex Landry Great little story that shows the hardships of motherhood in nature. The animals have names and there is a slight narrative thread with some of the recurring bears and other predators.The movie features plenty of beautiful shots of nature be it the breathtaking Alaskan Alps or the beauty and colours of a meadow. You will also see breathtaking sights like the best avalanche ever filmed and some intense bear fights and close calls. There's also an amazing scene with an eagle being a dick to a falcon. The movie also features a slew of different animals like Wolves, Foxes, Ravens, Eagles, Falcons, Rock Eels, etc. The movie does have 2 major flaws. First is John C. Reilly. He never really seems all that into it and almost every attempt at humor falls flat. Also his monotone voice when explaining things gets pretty dull and boring. Secondly a lot of the film seems to be at 0.5 speed. Not slo-mo but very close and most times it's just unneeded and it detract from what's happening.This has been a green review.

Matt Greene Disney has been putting out a nature documentary on Earth Day for the past several years in order to raise awareness and funds for wildlife conservation. It's an extremely noble ambition, creating docs that are appropriate for children to help raise a generation of environmentally conscious people. Unfortunately in their latest, what we get is the Disney-fication of natural science. Instead of just giving us stunning visuals and fascinating facts, we're force fed a personified, half-hearted narrative, leaving Bears to be neither entertaining nor informative. Bears follows a mother and her two newborn cubs as they live out their first year, looking for food and trying to survive the dangers of the world. This mostly amounts to walking around. Animals strolling along beautiful scenery can be nice for a 30 minute TV episode or short doc, but not for a full length movie. The movie is somewhat aware of this and tries to construct a story to fill the space, but it's syrupy in its sweetness. While Reilly does a decent and mildly funny job with the voice-over, the script is too on-the-nose and corny. Worst of all, I'm not sure it's wise to personify animals by making them heroes (bears) or villains (wolves/bad bears) when their natural state is engaging enough. As a fan of Earth and Oceans, I think I expected more from Bears. Our world is a wondrous and complex place, and we get that in Bears with some awe-inspiring cinematography and some engaging natural moments. Nonetheless, while Bears is undeniably gorgeous, unfortunately it's also undeniably dull.

rochelle-rochelle I was surprised how tame and dull this movie was, even for Disney. I get it's a G-rated film, but nothing dramatic, thrilling or suspenseful happens in the entire 77 minutes of the film. Disney is known for killing off a parent in their films or something horrific, bad or sad usually happens to make us adults tear up when watching the film, but not in this one - unless you are a vegetarian. We see salmon, mussels, clams and eels killed off like they feel no pain, but nothing major happens to any of the bears in the film. They act like something horrible is about to happen, but cut to more scenery shots then back to the bears and it was all much ado about nothing.John C. Reilly's narration is very cute, but also very over-the-top. He narrates things that aren't even happening or he over-narrates quite obvious things we are watching on screen. The bear cubs, Amber and Scout are adorable. They describe this film as a fast-paced thrill ride, but it's nothing close to that. It's very slow moving with heavy narration.Disney normally has some adult humor for adults watching the films that go above the kids heads, but not in this film. What you see is what you get in this film. Safe for kids of any age. Expect a sequel.