The Bear (1998)

Excellent but underrated film

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

THE BEAR, an enchanting 30-minute animation about a young girl's relationship with a polar bear that escapes from the local zoo, is very much a spiritual follow-up to that timeless Raymond Briggs classic, THE SNOWMAN. The two productions look and feel very similar to each other and, while THE SNOWMAN has the edge, THE BEAR comes close to reaching the same level of quality.As usual, there's far more going on than meets the eye, something that makes these Briggs stories suitable for adult viewers as well as the kids. On the face of it, it's simply a humorous tale about an unlikely relationship, but underneath it's all about friendship, being comfortable in your own skin, the tribulations of finding one's place in society, mysticism and nature versus technology and progress.Needless to say it's also touching, thought-provoking and magical, with expert, hand-drawn animation and beautifully realised characters.

The Bear and the other animated Raymond Briggs (based on his books), The Snowman, are examples of how drawings and music, without dialog, can give a sublime narrative experience. This film is romantic and fantastic, about imaginative power. Anyone with young kids knows it is rare to find a movie equally enjoyable for adults 6-year-olds and 2-year-olds, but these films are as close to universal as it gets. The music is wonderful -- it reminds me of George Enescu's Octet.The drawings are simple in style, but the animation is actually sophisticated and quite beautiful - although I've only seen it on VHS with its low quality. I"m sure that on film these films look even better.

THE BEAR, huge and gentle - which makes its way from the London Zoo into the bedroom of a lonely little girl - takes her on a magical journey across the Wintertime landscape.Haunting & evocative, this lovely little animated film - told entirely without narration or dialogue, is a most fitting successor to author Raymond Briggs' earlier triumph The Snowman, to which, at one point, it pays subtle homage. After enjoying the broad comedy of the Polar Visitor trying to hide in the proper English home, the viewer is swept into the Northern sojourn which fulfills the Bear's quest.Howard Blake's score propels the fanciful images onward; the final song is sung by Charlotte Church.

An Animated tale in the style of Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman" and "Father Christmas", This tale is about a girl named tilly who visits the zoo and accidentally drops her teddy bear into the polar bear exhibit. Crying herself to sleep she wakes to find the polar bear in her room with he teddy bear. Tilly cares for the polar bear and hides it from her parents, which is no small feet. But he call of the wild bear constallation takes her on an adventure accross the night sky.This is a must have Briggs' movie, all the charm and warmth of the first two animations are contained inside. Children and adults watch spellbound through another half hour of music and storytelling.My best to the author and producers, please make more.