Bears
Disneynature | Release Date: April 18, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyAdam MarkovitzApr 17, 2014
There's an elemental appeal to watching these animals hunt and play in the Alaskan wildnerness, and the Disneynature team has mastered the art of capturing it. Read full review
83
The PlaylistDrew TaylorApr 17, 2014
What's amazing about the documentary, though, is that it's oftentimes just as engaging as the Disney bears that play in jug bands or crave ooey-gooey honey. Read full review
80
Village VoiceChris PackhamApr 22, 2014
Sincere and unexpectedly good. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanApr 17, 2014
A three-act story narrated by the affable John C. Reilly is grafted onto one “How’d they get that?” shot after another. Read full review
75
Washington PostSandie Angulo ChenApr 17, 2014
The spectacular cinematography (which took a year to capture), the sometimes silly and sentimental narration, and the alternately cutesy and menacing score are all used to showcase the dramatic lengths the wildlife kingdom’s most famously protective mother will go to provide for her cubs. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigApr 17, 2014
It has lighthearted moments, but is also suspenseful at the right times. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreApr 16, 2014
It’s gorgeous, intimate and beautifully photographed. And it’s cute and kid-friendly, with just enough jokes to balance the drama that comes from any film that flirts with how dangerous and unforgiving The Wild actually is. Read full review
70
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeMay 5, 2014
The Disneynature movies shouldn't be mistaken for traditional documentary, but if they act as a gateway drug for young children to learn more about the animal kingdom — and to open themselves up to more informative non-fiction cinema — then the films are serving a real purpose. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldApr 17, 2014
Despite the bracing beauty of the wilderness, and the respite provided by cubs at play, the movie is primarily a sobering treatise on survival. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelApr 17, 2014
The cuteness, of course, is just the lure. The real payoff is the unforgettable images of nature in its astonishing abundance and awesome austerity. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMartin TsaiApr 17, 2014
Bears has warmth and fuzziness in spades, especially when the lot of them snoozes on logs. Amid its heaping serving of cuddliness, though, the film doesn't sugarcoat the harsh reality and unforgiving elements with which the bears have to contend. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenApr 14, 2014
Disneynature’s Bears combines sweeping vistas and remarkably intimate wildlife photography to typically stirring effect. Read full review
70
VarietyAndrew BarkerApr 14, 2014
Surely some of the film’s various incidents have been creatively stitched together from stray bits and pieces of footage, but its central conflict is an entirely organic one, and rarely is any offscreen string pulling distractingly evident. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyApr 18, 2014
Some of the most striking moments in Bears are during the film’s closing credits, when we see how alarmingly close the camera crew was to the animals. We’re reminded us that while the movie Bears is both sweet and humane, the real bears are neither. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireApr 18, 2014
Bears also features nearly wall-to-wall voiceover, but this time it comes courtesy of John C. Reilly. His inherently likable, goofy sweetness shines through, making the material, um, bearable, if you will. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 17, 2014
The "nature" aspects of Bears are undercut by the need to turn this into a live-action Disney cartoon, complete with cuddly heroes and nasty villains. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoApr 17, 2014
As with all of Disneynature’s features, there’s astonishing documentary work on display in Bears — but a leaner, less conspicuously structured view of the wild might have had even greater impact. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithApr 17, 2014
This is one of those nature documentaries that’s pretty much solely interested in being entertaining, and so is cleverly edited to look like the linear story of a mother (dubbed Sky) and her newborns (Scout and Amber). Read full review
60
The DissolveGenevieve KoskiApr 17, 2014
True to its Disney lineage, Bears is a theme-park version of reality, but one built on sincere understanding of and affection for the natural world and all its creatures—especially the really cute ones. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubApr 18, 2014
The new Disneynature film lacks the fortuitous plot turns found in previous Disney documentaries, resulting in some awkward (and possibly deceptive) editing. But the movie has a strong protagonist and impressive footage, and the educational core is unsullied. Read full review
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