Upon watching "The Bears And I", one will see just how far the Disney company had gone downhill eight years after Walt Disney's death. To be fair, not all of the movie is bad. It's a rare '70s movie that shows a Vietnam vet to be well-adjusted and not suffering from any post-combat problems. The scenery is nice, the bears are adorable, and Patrick Wayne, though a little stiff, makes a likable character. Also, it's always nice to see Chief Dan George. And speaking of Native Americans, it's interesting that unlike other '70s movies dealing with Native Americans, this movie doesn't always portray them as 100% sympathetic. Though despite positive stuff like this, much of the movie is a chore to sit through. For one thing, there's too much unnecessary narration, when silence would have been enough. There are also too many similar scenes of the bears making mischief - the movie seems to be repeating itself at times. There's also forced slapstick, bad looping done in the editing room, and an unbearable long subplot of the local Native Americans being threatened with eviction - it would have been better if the movie would have stuck with the bears (though at the same time made sure they gave the bear scenes some variety.) If Walt Disney had been alive when this project was proposed, I'm sure he would have wisely killed the project, or at least sent the screenplay back for some serious rewriting - he usually had a good idea as to what kind of projects would attract an audience.
