I know my review might be a bit biased as I grew up with this movie, but I think it says something about it that, despite having so many animated classics and exciting movies meant for kids at my disposal as a child, I remember watching this movie constantly. There is so much heart in this film and I always felt for the character Eli.
I knew I was fond of this movie as a child and wanted to rewatch to see if it holds up. Of course, as you get older, you start to be able to nitpick varies things you might never have noticed when younger. The composition and shots were all well done as far as I can tell if not a hint basic. It's sound design was quirky, to the degree that I remember the sound design of the goonies or the older Indiana Jones movies. Though I have become painfully aware how mismatched the repeating audio of the larger kid's jokes were. "I'm hungry" or "I could go for some pie" not even lining up with his closed mouth and evidently reused over and over again was slightly grating. The voice over is charming, if not exactly necessary, but I can see it becoming annoying for some. The soundtrack is well fitted to the genre and the main theme is memorable and moving. The acting wasn't too shabby and most of the adults were relatively believable. The action with Bart the Bear still holds up and had me worried about the bear until I found he was well loved and well treated. The message is kind and I wish there were more kind movies out there.
In conclusion, this is a movie like a well loved teddy bear. I can definitely see the imperfections and not everything is at the highest tier in terms of quality, but that in no way means this is a bad movie. Highly recommend to watch with your kids (after of course reviewing for yourself because it does have alcohol use and violence and plenty of christian themes {not super saturated in those themes but they are still there}) or by you if you just want to sit down for a mellow story that's fairly easy to follow.
I knew I was fond of this movie as a child and wanted to rewatch to see if it holds up. Of course, as you get older, you start to be able to nitpick varies things you might never have noticed when younger. The composition and shots were all well done as far as I can tell if not a hint basic. It's sound design was quirky, to the degree that I remember the sound design of the goonies or the older Indiana Jones movies. Though I have become painfully aware how mismatched the repeating audio of the larger kid's jokes were. "I'm hungry" or "I could go for some pie" not even lining up with his closed mouth and evidently reused over and over again was slightly grating. The voice over is charming, if not exactly necessary, but I can see it becoming annoying for some. The soundtrack is well fitted to the genre and the main theme is memorable and moving. The acting wasn't too shabby and most of the adults were relatively believable. The action with Bart the Bear still holds up and had me worried about the bear until I found he was well loved and well treated. The message is kind and I wish there were more kind movies out there.
In conclusion, this is a movie like a well loved teddy bear. I can definitely see the imperfections and not everything is at the highest tier in terms of quality, but that in no way means this is a bad movie. Highly recommend to watch with your kids (after of course reviewing for yourself because it does have alcohol use and violence and plenty of christian themes {not super saturated in those themes but they are still there}) or by you if you just want to sit down for a mellow story that's fairly easy to follow.