Unfortunately, the new documentary “Bears” is not an exposé on the lives of large, hairy gay men who frequent the Eagle. But it is the next best thing — an emotional journey following a mama brown bear for a year as she raises her two cubs in Alaska. “Bears” is the latest in a line of animal documentaries from Disneynature such as “Chimpanzee” and “African Cats,” and like its predecessors, “Bears” brings the cute to epic levels. Before the film hits theaters Friday, meet the cuddly (and not so cuddly) cast of characters:
Sky
Sky puts the “mama bear” in “mama bear.” She’s given birth to two cubs, and priority No. 1 is getting them food ASAP. “She’s a first-year mom with an incredibly difficult learning curve,” says director Keith Scholey. “For the first time in her life, she’s got the added responsibility of protection.”
The filmmakers knew they had their star in Sky about three weeks into filming last year. “She’s just a very, very calm bear and happy to be close to people,” says Scholey. “I guess you should say she picked us rather than we picked her.”
Amber
Of the two cubs, Amber is definitely the more likely to grow up to be a loser in high school. She’s not very social, and she pretty much spends all her time on her mom’s back. “Any bear we’ve ever seen who has two cubs, there’s always one that stays close to Mom and one that goes far from Mom,” explains Scholey. “Amber stays close. She looks very carefully and learns from her mom.”
Scout
That makes Scout the adventurous half of the pack, with tendencies toward activities that could get him eaten real quick. “Scout explores a lot, which has the disadvantage of danger,” says Scholey.
Magnus
Magnus is the alpha male of the bears’ favorite meadow, weighing in at more than 1,000 pounds and serving as the dominant bear for the area. “All other bears are nervous around him, but these dominant bears actually don’t tend to be the most dangerous bears to mothers and cubs because they can always optimize where they feed,” Scholey explains.
Chinook
Chinook is a grown male outcast who skulks around the edge of the meadow, and he is basically the worst. He’s so hungry, he’ll turn anything into food. “The guides [in Alaska] call them the cub killers,” says Scholey.
To keep bears like Chinook away from her cubs, Sky came up with a clever plan. Once she realized the filmmakers were following her, she started dropping off the babies near the cameras while she hunted for fish. Nothing like a free baby sitter!
Tikaani
Starving, bitter bears aren’t the only animals trying to prey on the adorableness that is Amber and Scout. Tikaani is a gray wolf that’s as sneaky as he is agile. “We witness Sky being harassed by Tikaani. He’s always looking for an opportunity [to snatch away a baby],” says Scholey. “They probe, they probe, they probe.”
Scholey also cites his interaction with Tikaani as some of the most memorable moments of filming. “Tikaani would often come within 4 or 5 feet from you, and then go and have a sleep like 10 feet from you,” he says. “But he’s not really having a snooze, he’s just waiting.”