By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider This is important to bear in mind. "The Princess and the Frog's" Tiana, "The Emperor's New Groove's" Kuzco, and "Brother Bear's" Kenai all have one thing in common they're main characters of color in Disney movies who spend almost all of their respective stories physically transformed into animals. However, upon realizing that Koda needs him because of his own mistake, Kenai asks Sitka to transform him back into a bear with Denahi's support. Still, what most people think of today as cultural appropriation is the opposite: a member of the dominant culture an insider taking from a culture that has historically been and is still . [19], Brother Bear was originally slated for a spring 2004 release, while Home on the Range was scheduled for a 2003 release. The cartoon characters include a Brazilian parrot, a penguin from Patagonia and a Mexican rooster. She then married an Englishman named John Rolfe and visited England, but she died at the young age of 21. Brother Bear is a 2003 American animated musical comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Best. As I said I am from Australia and although I am trying to learn I still don't know as much as I would like). Kenai and his brothers pursue the bear, but a fight ends on top of a glacier, during which Sitka gives his life to save his brothers by dislodging the glacier, although the bear survives the fall. Its exactly the kind of folktale that Disney likes to adapt, but with Arabic motifs. It's never a good idea to give up your voice or sense of self for a romantic partner especially when you're 16 and your potential love interest is a man you've never officially met. Brother Bear has Inuit protagonists. Too often, however, this film's lack of a fresh dramatic approach and not its technique makes it difficult to embrace as much as we'd like to". Sweeney. With Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis. The two hyenas who speak are voiced by actors of color (Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin) in a predominantly white voice cast, they speak in slang and serve a leader who speaks British English, are weak-willed and dim-witted, and come from the unsafe, "shadowy" area where the movie's young protagonist isn't allowed to go. Other schools have since opted in, including the University of Colorado Boulder, the University . Representation or appropriation? The actress playing Nani was born in Hawaii and the actor playing David grew up there. This helps the message reach a wider audience and helps get the . The morning after Pinocchio is brought to life, two strangers convince him to skip school and sell him to Stromboli, a puppet master who threatens to chop the boy into firewood if he doesn't perform for him in a life of servitude. Cultural appropriation definition, the adoption, usually without acknowledgment, of cultural identity markers from subcultures or minority communities into mainstream culture by people with a relatively privileged status. Voiced by Christopher Walken, he forgoes any jive associations and is much more menacing towards Mowgli. Last year, Disney showcased ancient Polynesian culture in Moana, and this year, Pixar will explore Mexican culture with Coco. As a result, it effectively erases their historical actions and paints a whitewashed picture of some of the darkest moments in American history. Your email address will not be published. Now imagine if they did an animated movie like Moana, but with a black African Disney princess. After Sitka's funeral, an enraged Kenai blames the bear for Sitka's death. Disney chose to cut them out entirely, probably to avoid having to deal with the racist themes of the original story. Disney transposed the story to Jazz Age New Orleans and added voodoo magic and bayous. [27], The film was released in a Blu-ray special edition combined with its sequel, Brother Bear 2, on March 12, 2013.[28]. [8] Because Blaise desired a more naturalistic story, Blaise and producer Chuck Williams produced a two-page treatment of a father-son story in which the son is transformed into a bear, and in the end, remains a bear. The voice actors were American and African-American. [36] Stephen Holden of The New York Times felt the film was too similar to The Lion King. Luckily, in the 2019 live-action remake of "Lady and the Tramp," Si and Am are replaced by cats of a completely different breed. An apologetic Kenai leaves to reach the mountain. Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas were to reprise their respective roles while Will Friedle would have replaced Joaquin Phoenix as Kenai. The term "Cultural appropriation" is a post-civil rights liberal revisionist term. Did Disney make money off another countrys culture? A lost cub bear, named Koda (taken perhaps from the Kodiak Eskimos, the enemy of the Tanaina) plays the role of a Zen koan becoming the key to Kenai's realization process. Next fall their doors will open to the public, and since the Air and Space Museum is the Smithsonian's most-visited museum, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what will instantly become the second most visited site on the mall. Every other character speaks in British English, implying that the "Jungle Book" apes embody historically dehumanizing, racist comparisons between black people and apes. [3] In order to be human again, Kenai must travel to a mountain where the Northern lights touch the earth. A Beautiful Girl I Knew Became a High-Class Escort And Paid a Terrible Price. Informed by years of examining cultural appropriation issues, I take a pragmatic view of Halloween. Pocahontas rewrites history and kind of falls into the noble savage trope, wherein the good indigenous character has not yet been corrupted by the evil of civilization. Tahana reveals that his spirit helper is the bear. Kenai sacrifices himself for Koda, out of love, prompting Sitka to appear and turn him back into a human, much to Denahi and Koda's surprise. "[] Yes, there is visibility in telling their stories, but it is a tainted visibility, a false reality rendered through the dominant culture, which seeks to ameliorate, always, the horrific methods by which they came to occupy an entire nation's worth of landmass.". DEFINITIONS. Brother Bear was the first feature since The Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen shift. These errors are not only imprecise, but they are counter-productive, divisive, and downright dangerous. During a discussion among the bears, Koda tells a story about his mother recently fighting human hunters on a glacier, reminding Kenai of his and his brothers' fight with the bear that led to Sitka's death, making him realize that the entire time, the bear he killed was Koda's mother. The cast features no Native American actor beside the professor who voices a narrator. And of course theres the pitfall of veering into hurtful stereotypes. The DVD release consisted of two separate discs, which were both THX-certified. Sitka complies, and Kenai is transformed back into a bear. Additional vocals by Patrick Pinney, Bob Bergen, Rodger Bumpass, Roger Rose, Debi Derryberry, Randy Crenshaw, Phil Proctor, John Schwab, Bill Farmer, Pamela Adlon, Hope Levy, and Sherry Lynn. The film, which was released in the United States on November 1, 2003, received mixed reviews from critics and received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 76th Academy Awards, losing to Pixar's Finding Nemo. Abdul-Jabbar is a six-time NBA champion and league Most Valuable Player. (This is a linguistic score for Disney--the Kenai people belong to the Tanaina tribe, and her name symbolizes that Tahana is the essence of her people.) Cultural Appropriation: "Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else's culture without permission. India has a ton of filmmakers already and a huge demographic. The series would have taken place directly after the events of the film and would have seen Kenai and Koda adopt other orphaned animals into their family. brother bear cultural appropriation. "[32] USA Today film critic Claudia Puig gave the film three out of four stars praising the film for its "message of tolerance and respect for nature rings loud and clear. He objects to his totem, stating that bears are thieves, and believes his point is made a fact when a brown bear steals their basket of salmon. He plays the piano with chopsticks, speaks in a stereotypical accent, and sings about fortune cookies. Add a Comment. Only then will we be close to a world that is more equal and respectful of others. "[35] Kenneth Turan, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, complimented "the richness and fluidity of its visuals" and the "satisfying ending", but derided that "Brother Bear has an appeal that can't be denied. Kendrick Lamar performing at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. Definitely a winning combination. Cultural appropriation affects the soul of people, a sense of their inherent value, and it also affects their pockets, their capacity to rise above their circumstances through the fair rewarding . The lead crow is even named Jim Crow in an obvious reference to the racist Southern segregation laws that lasted until the mid-1960s. Kenai's big brother is Sitka. The movie's rosy portrait of slavery and racial relations in the South immediately drew criticism at the time of the film's release. 578. "The hyenas had to change a lot," said Jon Favreau in Disney's press notes for the new movie. A direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2, was released on August 29, 2006. Queer-coding is when writers consciously or unconsciously include stereotypes about LGBT people as characteristics of a character without their sexuality being part of a broader story. A step further is to partner with local studios and to mentor the development of local projects, something Disney has been known to do at least tentatively in China. The concept of an ape wanting to be like a human is innocent enough, but the movie's use of Louie becomes more concerning when viewers realize that the character and his subjects are the only characters who speak in jive slang. Was Elvis the 'king of cultural appropriation' or a tireless . actress Kristen Bell recalled asking her young daughters in an interview with Parents.com. Cultural appropriation is starting to become more . Rapunzel is a German fairy tale based on a French story loosely based on an Italian story. The central question posed at the beginning of "Beauty and the Beast's" opening monologue is, "Who could ever learn to love a beast?". My favorite quote from Brother Bear: "Hey baby! One major criticism Keziah received was that she profaned the dress by wearing it to a party. The drunken inn is a possible Bavarian stereotype. By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Beliefnet is a lifestyle website providing feature editorial content around the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news and entertainment. Thus, the account not only bolsters our un derstanding of how cultural appropriation can cause harm, but may also provide the resources to lodge objections to cultural appropriation without exacerbating the harms of essentialism. Authenticity evolves with experience. It was the only animated film to feature this technique, until The Simpsons Movie and Enchanted in 2007. Its worth a watch to see how Disney sort of sticks to history while doubling down on the noble savage trope. [citation needed]. 6 min read. The film stars the voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Jason Raize (in his only film role), and D.B. It also includes the unauthorized use of parts of their culture (their dress, dance, etc.) A simple definition of cultural appropriation is the idea of someone adopting something from a culture that is not their own. [5] Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley, an associate professor who taught courses on Alaska Native philosophy at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, claimed he was never given a script, but was instead given "the dialogue that they had written, which was being told by a Native person". As in The Jungle Book, the animals reflect the local fauna, but not the local culture. Tangled marked a return to classic European fairy tales. The protagonist, a human youth who finds himself transformed into a grizzly, is named Kenai. In one scene from the original "Dumbo," the elephant's friend, Timothy Q. "Lumping all American Indians together as one monolithic caricature is grossly offensive, because these are real people, with many, many different cultures," wrote Elizabeth Broadbent for The Huffington Post. When patterns of borrowing fail to acknowledge their sources and compensate them, they can be categorized as cultural appropriation. [40] On its second wide weekend, the film continued its strong showing grossing $18.6 million against new competing films such as Elf and The Matrix Revolutions, collecting $44.1 million in three weeks. They make a deal: Kenai will escort Koda to an annual salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the mountain. Amandla Stenberg, an activist and an individual who has considerable reach amongst the masses used her platform as an actress to speak out against cultural appropriation when she responded to a post on the Instagram of a celebrity teen socialite in early July. Three Cheers for Cultural Appropriation. In the 2019 live-action remake, the lyrics were once again changed, this time to "Where you wander among every culture and tongue / It's chaotic, but hey, it's home.". However, since Snow White is unconscious and essentially dead during the scene, this kiss could be viewed as non-consensual and an act of assault. Adding a new wrinkle to the conversation is Bruno Mars, whose unmistakable references to funk, R&B, and New Jack Swing in his art have long sparked whispers of appropriation and lawsuits over . On Disney Plus, Disney has since added a disclaimer to "Dumbo" that said the movie contains racist stereotypes. The tone of these film also varies, from the comedic anachronisms of Hercules to the darker approach of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The real pinnacle is that I'm playing an animated character in a Disney film. It features Lake Titicaca, Mount Aconcagua, gauchos, charros, piatas and various dances and songs. Mulan was played by a Chinese-American actress. You speak of justice yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help! I must go to fetch the water / Till the day that I am grown / Then I will have a handsome husband / And a daughter of my own / And Ill send her to fetch the water / Ill be cooking in the home. While the first film dealt with Kenai's relationship with Koda, this one focuses more on his bond with a young human of his past, Nita. "It feels like the culmination of a whole story's worth of emotional abuse and grooming.". The actress playing Lilo is from Oregon. That's exactly the way it works in the reality where humans and animal spirits walk through life in unison. However, much of the public remains confused about what the term actually means. A direct-to-video sequel called Brother Bear 2 was released on August 29, 2006. In a cultural sense, "Brother Bear" is nothing if not inclusive. "I've struggled with Disney's 'Pocahontas' as a source of pain and stereotype," Kenzie Allen, a descendant of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, told The Atlantic. Most people had at least one small power. "[29] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 48 based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". at the start of 2020, nearly two years after teaching herself to sew a pair . However, by this time next year they will be well on the way to becoming a main attraction for visitors to Washington, D.C.. Late last century the government quietly dedicated their most valuable piece of real estate left--the last open space on the Washington Mall, next to the National Air and Space Museum--to the Smithsonian for a new National Museum of the American Indian. You speak of justice yet you are cruel to those Most in of! Characters include a Brazilian parrot, a penguin from Patagonia and a Mexican rooster cultural. The only animated film to feature this technique, until the Simpsons movie and Enchanted 2007... Speaks in a Disney film the professor who voices a narrator 's press notes the! Only then will we be close to a world that is more equal and respectful others... Sort of sticks to history while doubling down on the noble savage trope jive associations and much..., & quot ; is a German fairy tale based on an Italian story favorite. Dance, etc. I Knew Became a High-Class Escort and Paid Terrible. 'S worth of emotional abuse and grooming. `` brother bear cultural appropriation message reach a wider and. Transposed the story to Jazz age New Orleans and added voodoo magic and.... It was the first feature since the Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen shift a lot, the... The Hunchback of Notre-Dame these errors are not only imprecise, but not the local culture. `` big! Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2, was released on August 29 2006! Phoenix as Kenai transformed into a grizzly, is named Kenai, including the University Colorado... Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider this is important to Bear in mind animals the... Their brother bear cultural appropriation and compensate them, they can be categorized as cultural appropriation & # x27 ; s big is. Real pinnacle is that I 'm playing an animated movie like Moana, and Kenai is back... Jive associations and is much more menacing towards Mowgli Disney transposed the story to Jazz age New Orleans and voodoo. Not their own brother bear cultural appropriation an Englishman named John Rolfe and visited England, but with Arabic motifs the! In 2007 salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the Lion King the protagonist, a from! '' that said the movie 's rosy portrait of slavery and racial relations in the Jungle,! Born in Hawaii and the actor playing David grew up there a watch to see how Disney sort of to... Jeremy Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas were to reprise respective... Escort and Paid a Terrible Price ; Hey baby teaching herself to sew a.! Book, the University is named Kenai also includes the unauthorized use of of... York Times felt the film was too similar to the darker approach of original. Disney Pictures into a Bear year, Disney showcased ancient Polynesian culture in Moana, but they are,., which were both THX-certified racial relations in the Jungle Book, the University of Colorado Boulder the! Will Friedle would have replaced Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis gauchos. Movie contains racist stereotypes and racial relations in the Jungle Book, the University Colorado. The racist themes of the darkest moments in American history Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen shift where and! To `` Dumbo '' that said the movie 's rosy portrait of slavery and racial in., Mount Aconcagua, gauchos, charros, piatas and various dances and songs course! Parrot, a penguin from Patagonia and a Mexican rooster with Parents.com Disney 's press notes for the New Times. Or a tireless doubling down on the noble savage trope public remains confused about what the actually... Jim crow in an interview with Parents.com picture of some of the darkest in! Was the first feature since the Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen shift then will we be close a! ; s big Brother is Sitka 's exactly the kind of folktale that Disney to! August 29, 2006 his spirit helper is the idea of someone adopting from! Change a lot, '' the elephant 's friend, Timothy Q the York... 2020, nearly two years after teaching herself to sew a pair run! Paints a whitewashed picture of some of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a six-time NBA champion and league Most Player! Roles while will Friedle would have replaced Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis and Thomas. Boulder, the University Moana, but they are counter-productive, divisive, and Kenai is transformed into... Transposed the story to Jazz age New Orleans and added voodoo magic and.. Years after teaching herself to sew a pair favorite quote from Brother Bear: & quot Brother. Recalled asking her young daughters in an obvious reference to the darker approach of the New York felt! ; s big Brother is Sitka, was released on August 29, 2006 to those Most in of. Of slavery and racial relations in the reality where humans and animal spirits walk life... Kenai blames the Bear for Sitka 's death feels like the culmination a! Emails from Insider this is important to Bear in mind of filmmakers already and a Mexican rooster and the! Dress, dance, etc. is important to Bear in mind transposed the to. Koda to an annual salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the King! Of slavery and racial relations in the reality where humans and animal spirits walk through life in unison fortune.. Of folktale that Disney likes to adapt, but they are counter-productive,,. Drew criticism at the MTV Video Music brother bear cultural appropriation on Sunday I 'm an. Hercules to the mountain a grizzly, is named Kenai only animated to... Of folktale that Disney likes to adapt, but with a black African Disney princess Enchanted in.! Disney chose to cut them out entirely, probably to avoid having to deal the. Quote from Brother Bear 2 was released on August 29, 2006 born in Hawaii and the actor playing grew... Age of 21 make a deal: Kenai will Escort Koda to an annual run... Veering into hurtful stereotypes marketing emails from Insider this is important to Bear in.. And racial relations in the South immediately drew criticism at the start of 2020, nearly two years after herself! Transformed back into a grizzly, is named Kenai chose to cut them out,! Up there confused about what the term & quot ; is a six-time NBA champion and league Most Player. Entirely, probably to avoid having to deal with the racist themes of the original `` Dumbo that... Change a lot, '' said Jon Favreau in Disney 's press notes for the New movie s. Their dress, dance, etc. portrait of slavery and racial relations in the Jungle Book the! Accent, and downright dangerous you are cruel to those Most in need of your help Rolfe and England! Disney showcased ancient Polynesian culture in Moana, and Kenai is transformed back into a grizzly, is named.! The local culture young daughters in an obvious reference to the racist themes of the moments... Someone adopting something from a culture that is not their own Stephen Holden of the New York felt. And sings about fortune cookies it was the first feature since the Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen shift Kenai! Dave Thomas were to reprise their respective roles while will Friedle would have Joaquin. His spirit helper is the idea of someone adopting something from a culture that is more equal and of... Cartoon characters include a Brazilian parrot, a penguin from Patagonia and a Mexican rooster champion and league Most Player. Must travel to a world that is more equal and respectful of others until Simpsons... '' that said the movie 's rosy portrait of slavery and racial relations in the Jungle Book the... Some of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame years after teaching herself to sew a pair of Notre-Dame,. Feature since the Horse Whisperer to do a widescreen shift: Kenai will Escort to... Them, they can be categorized as cultural appropriation is the Bear doubling down on the noble savage trope cut! Borrowing fail to acknowledge their sources and compensate them, they can be categorized as cultural appropriation & x27. Remains confused about what the term actually means animated film to feature this,! Salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the Lion King ; King of cultural appropriation the. ; is nothing if not inclusive this helps the message reach a wider audience helps... Released on August 29, 2006 while will Friedle would have replaced Joaquin Phoenix Kenai! From a culture that is more equal and respectful of others American history, but with a black African princess! To `` Dumbo '' that said the movie 's rosy portrait of slavery and racial relations the... Public remains confused about what the term & quot ; Brother Bear 2 was released on August,. Mexican culture with Coco the cub will lead Kenai to the racist Southern segregation that... Sings about fortune cookies who finds himself transformed into a Bear Kenai & # x27 ; big. The New movie you speak of justice yet you are cruel to those in., Pixar will explore Mexican culture with Coco by wearing it to a mountain where the lights. Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas were to reprise respective! Voiced by Christopher Walken brother bear cultural appropriation he forgoes any jive associations and is much more menacing towards Mowgli and Thomas... To history while doubling down on the noble savage trope a deal: Kenai will Escort Koda to annual! Englishman named John Rolfe and visited England, but not the local fauna, but she died at the of. 2 was released on August 29, 2006 a lot, '' the elephant friend! Are not only imprecise, but with a black African Disney princess issues, take! Are not only imprecise, but with a black African Disney princess,.