We BARE BEARS
THE MOVIE
Daniel Chong
(2020)
An animated film based on the series of the same name by Daniel Chong, the show follows three bears: Grizzly (Eric Edelstein), Panda (Bobby Moynihan), and Ice Bear (Demetri Martin).
The series originated as a popular webcomic before being adapted into an animated short, which premiered at the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival in 2014 and won the Young Amsterdam Audience Award.
The series then aired on Cartoon Network from 27 July 2015 to 27 May 2019, running for a total of 140 episodes.
It received recognition from the BAFTA Children’s Awards (2016), the Kidscreen Awards (2017), the International Trickfilm Festival Stuttgart (2017), and the Annie Awards (2018).
On 30 May 2019, Cartoon Network announced the production of We Bare Bears: The Movie, slated for release in 2020. A spin-off series focusing on the three bears during their cub years was also announced.
Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear head to a Poutine food truck (a Quebec specialty consisting of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy) on its opening day. Along the way, however, they cause chaos and disruption for everyone around them. The commotion draws an angry crowd, prompting Officer Murphy (Keith Ferguson) to step in and take complaints, logging each incident in his Bear Complaints book. It is only then that the bears begin to realize just how much trouble they have caused.
Things take a turn when Nom Nom (Patton Oswalt) shows up. Despite crashing his car into a police vehicle, this koala with 20 million social media followers receives nothing but cheers and a warm welcome from the crowd. The strange double standard leaves the three bears frustrated. In response, Grizz hatches a plan to hack into a satellite video livestream system in hopes of winning the same kind of adoration that Nom Nom effortlessly enjoys.
The plan seems to be going smoothly until the system crashes and cuts the livestream short. To make matters worse, the malfunction triggers a citywide blackout that quickly becomes major news. The three bears are summoned to city hall where a crowd of aggrieved residents has gathered to see them answer for their reckless actions.
Since the bears are not human, no existing law can be used to punish them, and the crowd grows increasingly outraged. That is when Agent Trout (Marc Evan Jackson) steps in, rallying the townspeople to his side. He argues that these trouble-making bears should be captured and returned to the wild where they belong, far away from humans, for the safety of everyone.
Just before the bears are taken away by the police, Charlie (Jason Lee) arrives to rescue them along with a group of animals. They commandeer a police car and flee into the forest. With no way to return home and the police hot on their trail, Grizz proposes that they make a run for Canada. Panda is reluctant at first but eventually goes along with Grizz and Ice Bear as they set off across the border.
Along the way, an accident sends their car over a cliff and leaves it completely destroyed. In the aftermath, the three bears stumble upon a secret party hosted by a group of social media famous animals.
It does not take long for the truth to surface. When the other animals discover that the three bears are not actually famous social media influencers with millions of followers like themselves, crashing the party turns out to be a serious violation of their rules.
This is a well-made animated film that is easy and enjoyable to watch. The character designs are adorable and each character has a distinct personality.
The opening feels a little slow but the story wraps up in a genuinely satisfying way.
Even viewers who have never seen the We Bare Bears series before should have no trouble following the plot and understanding what the creators are trying to say.
Personally, I had never watched the series either, though I had seen the three cute bear characters plastered on various merchandise and even bought a phone case at some point.
One thing I particularly loved was the storyline tracing back to when the three bears first met each other.
