“The salmon are coming!”

BEARS, the fifth venture from Disneynature (you might have seen Monkey Kingdom, Oceans, or African Cats), was not playing at very many theaters in town to my surprise, because the trailer just looked so darn cute I couldn’t understand why this wouldn’t be blowing up everywhere. Whatever the case, the movie is about the entire first year of a momma bear Sky and her two cubs, Scout and Amber.

Filmed through the more than HD views showing endless Alaskan landscapes and narration by comedian John C. Reilly, Bears is also a simultaneous fictional story within to go along with the reality of a bear’s nature. Like: who knew they spent the whole springtime hangin’ in The Golden River just lookin’ for some salmon to munch on?

What amazed me the most about these loving beasts is their switch from being totally normal and cute to “I AM GOING TO &%(* YOU UP IF YOU MESS WITH MY BABIES!”, which, is something of wonder in itself. But I guess that is the price a bear must pay for living free in the wild: dangerous predators like hungry white wolves who too are lookin’ for a bite. A momma has gotta protect her cubs!

At the very end you get a glimpse at what it is actually like filming these bears; seeing directors Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill with their crew in the wilderness was pretty neat and made me crave a little escape to wander around. But hey, seeing Bears is darn near close to your own little mini hour and a half vacation.

If you’re looking for a date night or to take the kids out on a hot afternoon, Bears is visually a pleasure to watch and a lot of fun. However, it is never specified where exactly in Alaska these bears are roaming. Regardless, your heart will skip a beat at points along the family’s first year together (it’s dangerous out there!). And who knows, maybe this movie’s level of cute will bring out a softer side that’s been hiding…