The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear (2002)

When a boy child is stolen by bears who raise him as their own, his human parents hunt the bears in despair, and the boy is faced with the dilemma of who and what he is.

Director:

Jannik Hastrup

Writers:

Bent Haller (screenplay), Michel Fessler (supplementary screenplay)

Stars:

Marlon Vilstrup, Joachim Boje Helvang, Otto Brandenburg

12 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Vilstrup	...	Little Bear Boy (voice)
Joachim Boje Helvang	...	Older Bear Boy (voice) (as Joachim Boie Helvang)
Otto Brandenburg	...	Male Bear (voice)
Paprika Steen	...	Female Bear (voice)
Anne Clausen	...	Older Bear Girl (voice)
Tommy Kenter	...	Raven (voice)
Thomas Bo Larsen	...	Man (voice)
Sidse Babett Knudsen	...	Woman (voice)
Carla Docherty	...	Little Girl Bear (voice)
Claus Ryskjær	...	Dog / Wolf (voice)
Jesper Klein	...	Whale / Musk Oxes (voice)
Lisbet Dahl	...	The Northern Wind (voice)
Ellen Hillingsø	...	The Sea / Bear Aunt (voice) (as Ellen Hillingsøe)
Anne-Lise Gabold	...	The Spirit (voice) (as Anne Lise Gabold)
William Tarding	...	Child (voice)

Storyline

To heal the sorrow of his mate after the death of their bear child, a male polar bear steals a newborn child from a nearby man and woman. The bears bring up the boy as their own, and he learns how to live like a bear. But the woman despairs over the loss of her child, and the man hunts down the bear family and brings the boy home. The boy faces the choice between becoming a boy again or learning how to be a bear on his own.

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Plot Keywords:

bear | polar bear | blood | spirit | wolf | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This cartoon became the first cartoon ever to be released in a Greenlandic language version.

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Connections

References Samson and Sally (1984)

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Soundtracks

Inngili Qemertoq
Lyrics and Music by Per Berthelsen

User Reviews

Loved this as a child!

I saw this when I was about six years old (in Danish) and I loved it! I remember that I really wanted to see it at again, but I couldn't remember the title of the movie ("Drengen der ville gøre det umulige"), so I never did. :( Though it's a long time since I saw this, I know it was the best movie I ever saw as a child I truly missed it for years.

I'm sure it's still an amazing movie for children though it never got very well known as so many other children's movies like the Disney-productions, which to me is very sad.

I haven't got a lot more to say about this movie, the whole story is so cute and original. And I must say, though it's not a totally realistic-looking movie like the ones made nowadays, it's very beautiful and simple looking, like a water-color painting.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Denmark]

Country:

Denmark France

Language:

Danish Swedish

Release Date:

18 December 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear

Box Office

Budget:

DKK32,400,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$806,725

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dansk Tegnefilm, Les Armateurs, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1