While I don’t think this was one of Pixar’s strongest films, it was still a pretty enjoyable one.  I’m glad that this year it seems like we’re doing better on the animation front—I know I’m definitely looking forward to Despicable Me 2, Monster University, and Rise of the Guardians among others.  (And while I’m on that note, looks like I might be due for one of my movie trailer entries.  I’ll see if I can get around to that either tomorrow or sometime later this week.)  By the way, before I go on, I just want to say hello and thanks to all the new faces that have subscribed to this blog and have commented on my entries.  Look forward to seeing you around more in the future!  And of course to all of my regulars, thanks so much for continuing to drop by!

The story isn’t necessarily something you haven’t seen before, but it’s definitely fun for the family.  Be sure to get there early if you plan to watch it in theaters because there’s a cute short film at the beginning, and also be sure to stick around for after the end credits.  Apparently there’s a secret ending scene after the credits roll; I actually missed it because I didn’t realize it had one.  If anyone sees what happens in the secret scene, be sure to drop me a line here about it if you remember as I’m somewhat curious what I missed.

I think the story was entertaining enough, not to mention I think it has a good message for both kids and parents, kind of teaching us all that sometimes it’s less about right and wrong and more about listening and trying to understand one another.  (Also to learn from the past/not let the negative aspects of history repeat itself.)

I found all the characters to be pretty likable, and I read somewhere that this is the first Pixar movie with a female protagonist, so I thought that was pretty cool.  There also wasn’t an extreme super villain in this either, which was kind of interesting and a nice change.

**MINI SPOILER ALERT**  For the first few minutes I didn’t think there was really going to be a bigger connection between the bear at the beginning and the bear legend, but well before the halfway point of the movie I was able to quickly piece it all together and so I wasn’t too surprised by the time the evil bear made its reappearance.  To be honest, I wish I had been slower on the uptake this time just because I think I would have enjoyed the movie that much more, but I still had a good time regardless.

FINAL VERDICT: B+

I can see a sequel being a possibility for this film (for all I know that’s what the secret ending may have been alluding too), and I don’t think I’d complain all that much.  Regardless, it’s a nice change to see that we’ve got this animation and others coming up that aren’t already a sequel to something.