For anyone who loves the fact that all of these animated classics keep getting rebooted, we have great news for you. Following the massive financial success of Disney’s most recent live-action remakes, the studio is hoping to continue developing plenty more well into the future. In fact, according to our sources – the same ones who told us an Aladdin sequel was happening before it was confirmed a few weeks later – the House of Mouse is currently hoping to revamp the 2003 feature Brother Bear some time soon. Just like with Dumbo, the human characters in the movie will likely be real people, while the animals will be animated.
For those unfamiliar with the source material, the Academy Award-nominated film follows the story of a young Inuit named Kenai. The boy vengefully hunts a bear who he holds responsible for his brother’s death and ends up killing the animal, but in the process, angers the spirits who change Kenai into a bear as punishment for this act of senseless violence. To become human again, the protagonist has to embark on a journey to a mountain where the Northern lights touch the earth. Along the way, he’s reluctantly guided by a young bear cub who he soon grows very close to.
Brother Bear is known for being the third and final Disney animated feature that was produced mostly by the ill-fated Feature Animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. The short-lived studio shut down in March 2004, just a few months after the release of the movie, in favor of the rapidly developing medium of computer animated features.
Details on the live-action remake are still scarce right now, as we’re being told that the project is but one of many on a long list of films that Disney hopes to eventually remake over the next several years, but it’s likely that big names will be brought onboard to anchor the cast. The original Brother Bear featured the voice acting of Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix and comedian Rick Moranis, as well as music from legends Phil Collins and Tina Turner. Hopefully, Disney will be able to lock down even more talent this time around and deliver another financially and critically successful remake.