--- title: "The Bear" year: 1988 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-bear" fi1m_id: "the-bear" imdb_id: "tt0095800" tmdb_id: 2383 wikidata_id: "Q379460" fi1m_score: 78 critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 4 published: "2026-10-04T20:31:01.763589+00:00" updated: "2026-10-04T20:31:02.299499+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Bear (1988) Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud · 1h 37m · MPA PG · Adventure, Drama, Family ## Identity The Bear - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-bear - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-bear - **IMDb ID:** tt0095800 - **TMDB ID:** 2383 - **Wikidata ID:** Q379460 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095800/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/2383, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q379460 **Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 76 (early) from 4 reviews *In a sentence:* A small bear does most of the emotional work; the music would still like some credit > Jean-Jacques Annaud’s animal adventure earns our affection, then sometimes presses too hard for it. The bears are absorbing company, and Philippe Rousselot’s location photography makes this worth an evening if the genre appeals. ## Synopsis Youk the Bear Cub (Douce the Bear) is orphaned and has to survive without his mother. The Kodiak Bear (Bart the Bear) also figures in an adventure involving Tom (Tchéky Karyo), Bill (Jack Wallace) and The Dog Hunter (André Lacombe). For the cub, the journey is a matter of staying alive before he can look after himself. The story follows the bears, with the humans sharing a world that the cub has barely begun to learn. ## Review [*The Bear*](https://film.one/tv/the-bear-2022) is a good animal adventure, although it sometimes insists on feelings the bears have already earned. Jean-Jacques Annaud builds his film around an orphaned cub’s struggle to survive, trusting animals to hold our interest where another director might hurry back to the people. The danger with that premise is easy sentiment. For much of its 97 minutes, the bears need little help keeping us interested. Douce the Bear, credited as Youk the Bear Cub, gives the film its most immediate appeal. We were moved by the cub’s vulnerability: the effort simply to survive makes his smallness matter more than his charm. Bart the Bear, as The Kodiak Bear, has a quite different physical authority, and the two animals give us plenty to watch. Their expressive presence does more for the film than its occasional insistence on how we should respond. Philippe Rousselot’s location photography is a substantial pleasure, though beauty on its own would soon turn this into a rather long diversion. What works is the attention he gives the bears within their surroundings: they command our interest without making everything around them irrelevant. The landscape looks worth spending time in, but the animals remain the reason to look. There is enough visual interest here to support the director’s confidence in telling the story through them. Noëlle Boisson’s editing has the less conspicuous task of making animal behaviour carry a dramatic sequence, and it largely succeeds. We can follow the feeling without having every response put into words. Yet there are moments when the arrangement of those responses feels too tidy, as though a bear has been assigned precisely the emotion the scene requires. The wish to make the animals understandable occasionally leaves too little room for them to be animals. Philippe Sarde’s music has the same problem at times. Its warmth suits the film, but the emphasis on tenderness can feel unnecessary when the cub already has our sympathy. Gérard Brach’s screenplay, drawing on a novel by James Oliver Curwood, is strongest when survival is enough to hold the attention. A little less encouragement from the score would have helped, especially when the animals are already doing the work. As a family adventure, the film asks for more patience than a string of animal tricks, and rewards it. It takes the cub’s survival seriously, which is the right reason to make an audience care about him. The family label should not suggest that an orphaned animal’s predicament is merely decorative. We would be guided by a child’s response to that premise rather than assuming that a bear cub guarantees a comfortable evening. At 97 minutes, *The Bear* gives this simple adventure a sensible amount of space, even if the emotional prompting occasionally becomes tiresome. Its bears are expressive enough to justify the attention they receive, and the photography deserves a large screen. We recommend it to anyone content to spend an evening watching animals. Enjoy the bears, and forgive the occasional nudge from the score. *Fi1m score 78, published 4 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is The Bear worth watching?** *The Bear* is worth watching if patient animal adventures appeal to you; we score it 78 out of 100. The bears hold our attention and Philippe Rousselot’s location photography is a substantial pleasure, though the music sometimes presses for sympathy the orphaned cub has already earned. **How long is The Bear, and what is it rated?** *The Bear* runs 1h 37m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is an adventure and drama film. **Where can I watch The Bear in the US?** *The Bear* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi and The Roku Channel in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $2.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does The Bear compare to Babe?** *The Bear* is the better choice for a patient survival adventure, while we recommend [*Babe*](https://film.one/film/babe) for a funnier family evening with more talkative animals. Both take small, vulnerable lives seriously, but *The Bear* relies more on animal behaviour and landscape, with occasional musical nudges towards feelings that need little encouragement. **Is The Bear based on a true story or a book?** *The Bear* is adapted from a novel by James Oliver Curwood, with a screenplay by Gérard Brach, rather than presented as a true story. Its straightforward account of an orphaned cub’s struggle to survive needs no prior knowledge of the book; we find it strongest when that struggle alone holds our attention. **What should I watch after The Bear?** After *The Bear*, try [*Babe*](https://film.one/film/babe) (1995, Fi1m 88): More talkative animals, but the same serious concern for small, vulnerable lives. Then [*The Red Turtle*](https://film.one/film/the-red-turtle) (2016, Fi1m 84): For more storytelling through movement, with even less need for spoken explanation. ### Reviews we read (4) - **Empire**, Phil Thomas (95/100, inferred): The critic calls the film astonishing and breathtaking, placing it in a league of its own among animal movies. He singles out the bears’ remarkable performances and the beautiful location photography. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/bear-review/) - **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (80/100, inferred): The review is broadly appreciative of Annaud’s film and its visual storytelling. It singles out the bears’ expressive presence as a strength. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/25/movies/review-film-two-bears-who-are-just-plain-folks.html) - **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint are unavailable. No review text or rating was visible to verify. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-bear-1989) - **Time Out**, GA (64/100, inferred): The available page text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also does not provide enough detail to identify what the review singles out for praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-bear) ## Details - **Director:** Jean-Jacques Annaud - **Director:** Jean-Jacques Annaud - **Screenplay:** Gérard Brach - **Novel:** James Oliver Curwood - **Cinematography:** Philippe Rousselot - **Editor:** Noëlle Boisson - **Music:** Philippe Sarde - **Costume design:** Françoise Disle, Corinne Jorry - **Producer:** Claude Berri - **Cast:** Tchéky Karyo as Tom; Bart the Bear as The Kodiak Bear; Douce the Bear as Youk the Bear Cub; Jack Wallace as Bill; André Lacombe as The Dog Hunter; Bozo the Bear as The Mama Bear (uncredited) - **Runtime:** 1h 37m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG - **Release (the US):** 27 October 1989 - **Genres:** Adventure, Drama, Family - **Budget:** $25 million - **Box office:** $138 million ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: streaming - Tubi: free, hd - The Roku Channel: free, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, sd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $8.99, sd *Checked 2026-10-04.* Also available in: BR, CA, ES, FR, MX, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1990: Best Film Editing (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Black Stallion* (1979): Another animal adventure that earns its feeling through patient, attentive looking. - *Babe* (1995), Fi1m 88: More talkative animals, but the same serious concern for small, vulnerable lives. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/babe.md) - *The Red Turtle* (2016), Fi1m 84: For more storytelling through movement, with even less need for spoken explanation. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-red-turtle.md) - *EO* (2022): For adults: another animal’s journey, with considerably less comfort about human behaviour. - *The Wild Child* (1970): A sterner account of dependence, learning and the difficult business of care. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-bear