An exciting and at times heart wrenching tale, DisneyNature’s Bears chronicles the journey of two grizzly cubs and their mother through their first year of life. Directed by Alastair Fothergill (Earth, African Cats, Chimpanzee) and Keith Scholey (African Cats), Bears is a stunning film shot against the incredibly beautiful but harsh landscape of the Alaskan wilderness. True to the struggle for survival that wild grizzlies face with the change of the season, the film successful retains educational value while being entertaining for children.

While the depiction of the new mother Sky and cubs Amber and Scout, is child friendly, the film is not without it’s tense moments. At times I found myself with bated breath and a furrowed brow, wishing an easy escape from danger or a sudden turn of good fortune on the fuzzy family. A narrative personification (John C. Reilly) of the bears makes the hardships all the more gut wrenching to watch. Light humor helps to dilute the severity of the film’s message without compromising its integrity; survival at any cost is the rule of nature. Easy to swallow from a comfortable chair, but difficult to see even as an adult. Less than 50% of bear cubs survive their first year of life. Considering this harsh reality when following not one but two bear cubs makes scenes of near loss all the more dramatic.

Bears is ultimately a success. A departure from the bland and lackluster traditional methods of nature education, this film is a surefire way to captivate and inform a young audience.