The Bears and I

I haven't seen "The Bears and I" in many, many years. Shame on me. Wow, this movie really hit the spot. The story, acting and animals are all great. The standout of this movie is the location photography. It's truly beautiful. I remember I had the book when I was a kid. I wish I could read it now. "The Bears and I" is that good.

The live-action movies from Walt Disney Pictures in the 70s (and for different reasons those of the 80s) are some of my favourites of the studio, when it's searching for a way, after Disney's death, to continue with their style and at the same time adapt to the modern cinema that is exploding everywhere. This film is a good example of a story that feels like one of their classic "True-Life Adventures", but mixed with more contemporary problems of colonialism and human-wildlife conflicts. Unfortunately, the best way (quality wise) to watch the movie today is on Disney +, but the version there is quite censored.

This is one of those tattered movies you pick up from the Family 50 cent racks. Surprisingly good movie. Music by John Denver and good performance from Chief Dan George. Also serves as a gentle introduction to concerns about the environment and native issues for younger folks. Strength of the movie is the story-line.

Patrick Wayne heads out to an Indian settlement to speak to Chief Dan George; Wayne had been a buddy of the Chief's son, killed in Vietnam. Wayne wants time to think about his life, so he holes up in a cabin. There he succors three orphaned bear cubs and gets in the middle of a squabble between the US Parks Department and the Indians. The Parks Department wants the land for a national park, and the Indians look on it as their home.

It's a good movie in terms of story and camerawork. The area around Chiko Lake in British Columbia, standing in for US wilderness, is beautiful, and the performers -- including the three bears -- are good-looking and move well. Where the film falls down is in the dialogue direction. Wayne drones, and the voice-over he performs, written by Jack Speirs, is annoyingly cute. The story movies which voice-over narration improves are very rare. Usually they are a kludge to fix a problem that should not exist. In this one, with its year-long story, the narration helps tighten the movie. Even so, there's too much of it and poorly performed.

Much like the films of the 1960s, The Bears and I has that same nostalgia feeling. Later films wouldn't feel the same. The narration adds to the value in my opinion. Very similar to Charlie the Lonesome Cougar in a few ways. Patrick Wayne was great as Bob Leslie, the man who fosters the bears.

I suppose you have to be a fan of the Disney narrative to truly enjoy this picture. Only a true loyal fan can see that this isn't a bad movie. It's what we've come to expect from Disney of the time period, family oriented stories with a touch of class and heart.