I live near a used DVD store, and I purchase many of my DVDs there due to their closeness and great selection. King of the Grizzlies was there and it drew my attention for being an old Disney movie.
My Grandma/guardian and I love old Disney movies like Swiss Family Robinson, Third Man on the Mountain, and The Ugly Dachshund, and she loves animal movies, so for that, and the $4 cost, I picked it up.
My Grandma and I just watched it, and it wasn't what we expected. It wasn't bad, keep that in mind, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again, but it was quite unusual for a Disney film.
King of the Grizzlies follows a grizzly bear with 2 cubs. We see them grow up, and then befriend an Indian man named Moki who considers the male cub to be a brother.
King of the Grizzlies has many cute moments with the bear cubs, and the human parts make for watchable drama.
There were also some funny moments. In one part, the narrator tells us that male bears find a female to mate, and then abandon them after she gets pregnant. My Grandma and I were both like: "Human males aren't much different!"
However, the film did have some flaws. For one thing, there is way too much narration. The movie's cover made the movie look more like a drama, but it turns out it was more of a documentary. Comparing Disney movies, it felt more like Earth, and we were expecting something like Rascal.
And when I say "too much narration", I mean about 97% of this movie's dialouge was narration. The other 3% is about a man the bears meet and some friends of his. I'm not saying there should have been NO narration (witness the mating part), but it was overkill for a movie that was supposed to entertain families.
Unless you don't mind a Disney movie being a documentary, this is fine. I like the DisneyNature movies, like Earth, but this one was unexpected as a documentary and dull at times. King of the Grizzlies is sure to bore the target Disney audience as a result, but older Disney fans should give this a watch.
Like I said, King of the Grizzlies isn't bad, it just wasn't what I thought it would be. With different expectations in mind, I might like it more upon a second viewing. I don't usually recommend 7/10s, but for those who want to see cute bears and don't mind the narration, King of the Grizzlies is worth the 93 minutes of your time.
At best, this is better for a Science Nature class rather than family movie night.
