'Two Brothers' more than a 'Bear' retread

All things considered, "Two Brothers" is a fine movie. It's a bit cheesy and unbelievable, but heartwarming nonetheless. The mix of CGI and live animals is brilliantly shot. French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud, who made "The Bear," is back with a very similar movie, albeit one with more dialogue, making the film run together better. \nThe movie is set in the jungles of Cambodia, in or around 1920. Shock of shocks, it's about two brothers, though, these bretheren are of the animal variety. A family of four tigers dwells around sacred temples. The natives are afraid of them, for the tigers kill livestock and villagers. When artifact/tiger hunter, Aidan McRory (Guy Pearce), arrives he is praised for having killed the mother of the two tiger cubs. He finds one of the cubs and takes it with him. The cub is dubbed Kumal.\nMcRory is then arrested for illegally taking a statue from a temple. Upon being released from jail, he discovers his cub has become property of a circus. The administrator of the town's son, Raoul (Freddie Highmore), then obtains the second cub while his dad attempts to kill the father tiger. The second cub, named Sangha, grows too old to be in the possession of the administrator's son. The movie then flashes forward one year -- the cubs are fully grown but each (separately) loathes captivity and longs to escape. \nThere is a major flaw with this movie. It's for kids, and in order to really appreciate it, you have to have a long attention span. With minimal dialogue, the film might get slightly boring for the young'uns. Then again, the flick does have a Walt Disney feel to it, so kids will relate on that level. \nThere's an underlying meaning to the movie. It's obvious that animals are mistreated and tigers are becoming endangered. I appreciated the fact that they depict the tigers' mistreatment without an abundance of vileness. Pearce remains a good actor. His role shifts from ivory hunter antagonist to the animal lover protagonist, and he pulls both off. The film is shot in DV, and you can tell slightly in some scenes, but it's not too bothering.\nLots of things happen in the movie that couldn't happen in reality. However, in this kid's movie it's not far-fetched to the point where adults can't stand it. In all likelihood, this is a testament to the live animals being beautifully shot through the patience of the film crew and animal trainers.\nThe movie may not win Academy Awards like "The Bear" did. Still, it's a good film with a suitable plot, solid acting and stellar cinematography. This is a great flick to take your kids to if they're old enough to watch a two-hour movie, but not too old to think it's childish.