Bears

Bears would be a 2023 American photorealistic computer-animated road comedy-drama film directed by David Lowery and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Graham Walters would produce the film, while the film's screenplay would be written by Lowery and Andrew Stanton, with the latter also acting as an executive-producer. The film would star the voices of Lupita Nyong'o, Donald Glover, Neel Sethi, Alfre Woodard, and Shameik Moore, while the film's original score would be composed by Pinar Toprak

Disney would announce the film during the D23 2021, with Lowery being announced to be directing and writing the film alongside Stanton shortly after. The film would use the virtual-reality technology previously used on 2019's The Lion King, throught it would be udpated in order to give more facial expressions to the characters. Lower and Stanton would also consult with several psycologists and therapists in order to give the film an appropiate depiction of empty nest syndrome.

The film would be released on July 16, 2023, and would became a critical and commercial success, grossing 832 million dollars over a budget of 220 millions, and being praised for its direction, screenplay, emotional depth, vocal performances, visual effects, and musical score. The film would also have an Academy Award Nomination for Best Visual Effects and an Golden Globe Award for Best Film, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Original Score.

Synopsis
Bears takes audiences to an unknown forest, in which bear mother Mary gives birth to a cub named Jack. This young bear soon becomes very independent, and, as nature says, Mary is forced to reclutantly and sadly leave her son alone in the forest. Years later, a storm causes a deeply-heartborken Mary to get lost in the forest, where she finds a grown-up Jack and his boyfriend Robert. With Jack, alongside Robert, agrees to help his mother go back home, Mary hopes that it will mean her son will go back with her. With the dangers of forest, the internal tumult inside Mary, an the reunion of mother and son, this old bear may discover new things about life and motherhood she never imaginated before.

Voice cast

 * Lupita Nyong'o as Mary, an empty nest synrome-suffering bear who, after having been lost in the forest, reunites with her son.
 * Donald Glover as Jack, a bear who agrees to help his mother find her home after she gets lost.
 * Neel Sethi as a young Jack


 * Alfre Woodard as Jennifer, a humming bird who often gives avices to Mary about motherhood.
 * Shameik Moore as Robert, a bear who is Jack's boyfriend.

Music
Pinar Toprak would compose the film's score. Toprak would say that he aimed to create an score "which could give a forest feel", while still fitting with the film's emotional story. Toprak would make a theme for Mary that could be "very heartbroken, sad, and devasting", with the theme being composed of very few instruments to represent the character's feeling of loneliness. Jack's theme would be "energetic and adventurous" while also focusing on the character's independence. The emotional scenes featuring both Mary and Jack would feature a score which would combine elements of both character's themes.

Critical reception
The film would have an aproval rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The critical consensus would read, "A simple, charming, and emotional tale that is boosted by great visual and vocal works, Bears is a story whose visuals will atract childrens, and whose story will absorb parents." On Metacritc, the film would have an weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Trivia

 * The film would be David Lowery's third film to be produced by Walt Disney Pictures, after Pete's Dragon and Peter Pan and Wendy.
 * The film would be the second live-action film to be written by Andrew Stanton, after John Carter (which he also directed).
 * Bears would be the first David Lowery-directed film to not to be scored by Daniel Hart, with the score instead being composed by Hans Zimmer
 * The film would be the second time Donald Glover and Alfre Woodard work together, after The Lion King (2019).