This document discusses how animated films often portray bears in stereotypical and inaccurate ways that can negatively impact children's perceptions of real bears. Common bear depictions in animation include vicious killers that attack unprovoked or lazy gluttons. However, real bears usually avoid conflict and prefer natural foods to human sources. The document argues that because children learn from media like animation, inaccurate portrayals can influence adult opinions and policies in ways that harm bear populations. More positive representations of bear intelligence, family structures, and actual predatory behavior could help close the gap between human perceptions and bear reality.

1. Animation: Bad News for Bears?
JB Pitts
Art and Animals Junior Seminar, Stetson University
Dr. Mary Pollock

2. Ask any child what their favorite movie is, and there’s a fairly high chance that the
one they name is an animated one. Animation theoretically opens an infinite number of
creative avenues for the way that the world around us can be depicted, including our
ability to personify animals. But with children generally being the target audience of
animated films, what are the consequences of portraying other organisms in a way that
may differ from their actual behavior? With humans being most impressionable as
children, it is possible and even probable that the images we show children play a crucial
role in forming their opinions as adults. These opinions are vital in determining our policy
decisions regarding our interactions with other species. We often carelessly show species
such as bears in a poor light, and this creates a misunderstanding of their behavior that
negatively impacts our handling of them.
The word animation is derived from the Latin word animare, which means, “to
instill with life.” It shares the root word anima, meaning “breath,” with the word animal.
Of course, there is no need to “instill life” into an already breathing organism – in its
current sense, animation is the manipulation of images to create the illusion of
movement when the images are shown in a successive sequence. Animation techniques
have existed since at least the 1600s, and the first animated film was released in 1900.
Animated films really began to take off in popularity around 1928 when Walt Disney
Studios began releasing films, first with sound and later with color. Particularly in the
United States, Disney continues to play a large role in the lives of a majority of children,
with at least one Disney animated film being one of the ten highest grossing movies every
year from 2011-2015, reaching as high as the third highest grossing production in two of
those years. Animation is a popular recording technique around the world as well, such
as in Japan, which not only has successful animation studios such as Disney-collaborator
Studio Ghibli, but also has created entire animated genres of television like anime.
Albert Bandura published his social learning theory in 1963, positing that
everything humans do is learned through imitation. When encountering something with
which we are unfamiliar, humans will first imitate what they see others doing; only later
on deciding whether they view this action as positive or negative. Even this emotional

3. reaction is influence by watching others – Bandura tested his theory with the Bobo doll
experiment, where children watching adults “beat up” a doll learned that it was okay to
do so, and so began beating the doll up when they were interacting with it as well. This
shows that not only do we learn how to do something by watching others, but also that
we learn what behavior is expected in certain situations from watching others’ reactions
to similar situations.
This is why it potentially becomes problematic from the very outset when we
misrepresent animals such as bears in the animated films that children are watching. For
most of them, media such as these films will be the first place they encounter such
animals. When we see them stealing from or viciously attacking humans in a film, this is
what we learn to expect from them, and then we react accordingly when we see them
out in their natural habitat, despite this almost never being in the bear’s intentions. Once
this image of the bear as dangerous is formed, it leads to reactions such as excessive
warnings in bear habitat or blown up news stories on the rare occasion when a bear does
engage in those behaviors, further spreading the fear of bears. This teaches us to believe
that policies such as killing bears are the best possible management solution.
An argument can be made that animated films are simply a form of
entertainment, and that there will be many more opportunities for the children watching
them to pick up m ore educational material later on. While in a sense this is true, it is not
that simple. For one, these types of materials are not as readily available, or as easily
consumed as are animated films. Not only is it more difficult and time-consuming to sift
through all of that material on just one subject, there are also no widespread
advertisements on behavioral documentaries or the results of animal research, and by
the time children are really able to understand this type of material, it may already be too
late anyway – they may be uninterested in learning about bears because they are afraid
of them, or they will interpret in a biased manner because of what they’ve already been
exposed to.
While learning can occur at any stage of life, humans go through “critical periods”
of learning in childhood that is crucial in emotional development. While imprinting is not

4. as extreme in humans as in some other species, evidence suggests that our earlier
experiences are more important when considering how we view the world around us.
There are simply fewer experiences for a child to draw upon, and therefore it is easier for
them to absorb new material. For example, if an adult that had never heard of a bear
suddenly came across one, they may infer based on their knowledge of other animals
that it should be avoided due to its large size and sharp claws. For a child with very few
experiences with nonhuman creatures however, they may not be aware that these traits
should be avoided. Instead, they may focus on the bear’s fur like that of a stuffed toy and
think that it is something they can play with. This method of building on our previous
experiences means that the ideas and beliefs we form in childhood will inform many of
the decisions that we make throughout the rest of our lives, and is a key reason why it is
so difficult to unlearn what we have already been taught.
Many people argue that movies and television as a medium are harmful to
children, inducing among many things laziness or hyperactivity, either of which inhibits
learning ability. This implies, however, that there is something about the way these
mediums present information that is harmful, not just the content that is being
presented. On the contrary, many studies have shown that these kinds of multimedia can
improve a child’s ability to learn. There is a large field of evidence suggesting that, when
paired with traditional forms of learning, animation and cartoons help children to better
remember what they have learned, as well as improve their social activity and their
residual attitudes towards what they are learning. Children are better able to relate to
cartoons than to adults, in part because animation engages their imaginations in a way
that most teachers simply are not able to.
The way that humans learn, in addition to the success of animation as a teaching
tool, suggests that the way characters in animated films are portrayed can have a
significant effect on the way that the subjects of those characters are perceived in real
life. For characters that are not based on real-life subjects, such as mythical creatures or
even humans due to our understanding of the differences that occur within the human
species, this effect is less apparent, if it exists at all. For other nonhuman species that we

5. are not as familiar with, however, this effect can damage their reputation in the mind of
viewers in comparison to the scientific understanding we have of them, and this damage
can be difficult to repair.
In the case of bears, two main stereotypes arise in their depictions within
animated films. I was surprised to find that they are not as commonly characterized as
the vicious killers that their physical profile suggests that they are capable of being. When
they are shown in this way, it is usually in a minor role. However, the way they are placed
into this role is still troubling. In these types of roles, the bears are pictured
disproportionate to their surroundings, dwarfing even the scenery around them. They
are often shown with glowing eyes, bared teeth, and pronounced claws, and usually
attack unprovoked while vocalizing ferocious roars. Equally troubling is that, while
animated movies featuring animals almost always give the animals human-like
characteristics in order to make them more relatable to the viewer, bears in this role are
dehumanized even further by not also personifying their character. In the films Balto and
The Fox and the Hound, for example, bears are the only animals depicted that do not
speak in human language. More recently, while the film Brave does not show any talking
creatures, the girl’s mother who has been turned into a bear can only protect her
daughter, who is being attacked by a monster bear, when she lets go of her “human” side
and embraces the bear she has become.
While bears certainly possess some of these physical characteristics, they are
largely exaggerated when used in film. While bears are very largeanimals, maxing out at
over 2,000 pounds in weight, even the largest bears only reach about five feet tall, not
even enough to dwarf most humans, much less trees. Second, while they do posses some
large, sharp teeth, as omnivores they do not have the large mouthfuls of canines they are
frequently depicted with. Most troubling, however, is the type of behavior they engage in
when shown in this way. In general, bears are opportunistic feeders. Although polar
bears, panda bears, and sloth bears have diets specialized to their environments, most
bears’ diets are mainly made up of foods such as berries, roots, tubers, insects, small
rodents, fish, and meat scavenged from other predators. In general, predatory behavior

6. towards larger animals and especially humans is a last resort. Despite there being
750,000 to 950,000 black bears in North America, only 63 human deaths were recorded
on the continent between 1900 and 2009, the majority of which occurred in food scarce
regions of Canada and Alaska where bears had come to see humans as a potential food
source. Similarly, while over 100 million humans visited Yellowstone National Park from
1980 to 2014, there were only 45 bear attacks over the same timespan, despite having a
population of up to 1,200 combined black and grizzly bears. Only five of those attacks
resulted in death.
The other common bear stereotype seen in animated films is that of the lazy,
mooching oaf. When the bear Baloo is introduced in The Jungle Book, it is immediately
pointed out that he is a “lazy jungle bum,” and he proceeds to eat most of the food in the
vicinity. Winnie the Pooh, although resembling a teddy bear more than the real thing,
arouses fear in the other animals whenever he comes around because they are afraid he
will eat all of their honey. Finally, Boog, a grizzly in the film Open Season, is so reliant
upon humans for survival that he has become domesticated.
Again, there is some truth behind this stereotype – however, it is twisted to suit
the purpose of the film. Being such enormous animals that rely on small sources of food
such as berries and insects, bears are constantly in search of food. However, they are not
exactly lazy in their methods of obtaining it – black bears generally have a home range of
between 15 and 80 miles that they will travel in search of food, and grizzlies have been
observed with even larger ranges up to 125 miles. Bears have also been known to come
into human civilizations and search for food there, including digging through trash. This is
in large part why bears have developed a reputation as “nuisance” animals. However, this
is not the preferred life for a bear. For one thing, as mentioned earlier, bears try to avoid
contact with other large predators, particularly humans, who are their only true threat.
But mostly, this is just not the type of meal that they desire. Bear biologist Lynn Rogers,
famous for his unconventional hands-on approach to studying bears, conducted studies
of bears using diversionary feeding tactics, setting up food stations outside of cities to
draw bears away. These studies, which occurred during a time period that included a

7. year with the scarcest food and highest bear complaint rates on record nationwide, saw
an 88% success rate in keeping “problem” bears out of the cities, with 100% amongst
bears that were able to find the stations. Rogers also said that in years of food
abundance, bears ignored even the feeding stations, meaning that bears prefer food
from their natural habitat to anything that humans can offer them.
There are many other traits found in real life bears that are not prevalent in
animated bears, despite being crucial to our understanding of their behavior. For one,
bears are very intelligent creatures. They have been observed using tools in a variety of
contexts, including play and obtaining food. They have been observed trying to pick a lock
using a single claw, and have been known to drop rocks in bear traps to set them off
without injury and eat the food inside. In the first scientific study conducted on bear tool
use, their abilities rivaled that of primates; one bear even began attempting to stack
objects in an attempt to reach food placed out of reach. Bears are also known to have
excellent memories and navigation abilities – studies done by Rogers found that even
when taking indirect routes to new food sources, bears are able to take direct routes to
return home, and “nuisance” bears that have been relocated have been observed
traveling up to 168 miles to return home. Finally, because essentially all of bear behavior
is learned, they are very family-oriented. Cubs will stay with their mothers for one and a
half to two years, learning to search for food by watching her. Cubs also cry when
separated from their mother, sometimes crying for weeks at a time in cases when the
mother has been killed. Bears are some of the most playful animals that have been
observed, along with other animals that must learn behavior such as dogs and primates.
While play is most frequently seen in cubs and their mothers, bears will often form play
groups as adults, periodically joining up with these groups in times of food abundance.
There is a wide gap in the way that humans perceive bears and the actual
behavior of bears that has been observed. When paired with misconceptions shown in
popular media, one of the most likely reasons for this divide is the physical stature of
bears. Only one species of bear, the sun bear, maxes out below 300 pounds, with grizzlies
weighing well upwards of 1,000 pounds. Even the herbivorous panda bear possesses

8. large paws with claws constantly on display due to being nonretractile. The most
common species, the black bear and the grizzly bear, are physically capable of killing a
human by two years of age, and on top of their appearance they are able to run up to 40
miles per hour. Simply put, it is easy to believe the common stories about bears when we
come across one lumbering through the forest, or even worse, through our backyards,
and think that these animals pose a threat to our safety.
But not only are these ideas about how bears will act towards us largely over
exaggerated, it is also not particularly difficult to identify and avoid the type of behavior
that leads up to a bear attack by being aware of their body language. In a predatory
attack, previously mentioned as being most commonly seen from black bears living in
food scarce environments, a bear will quietly follow whatever it views as prey unless
deterred by actions such as loud noises and aggressive defensive actions, including the
throwing of rocks or other sharp objects. In a defensive attack, which is more common in
grizzlies that are unable to climb trees like smaller bears, the bear will act aggressively by
making lots of noise, swatting at the ground, and making mock charges. In this case, it is
best to seem non-threatening by making slow movements, staying quiet, and moving
away from the bear. In a worst-case scenario when a bear does attack, bear spray has
proven to be a highly successful deterrent – in a study done in Alaska, 98% of close-range
encounters where bear spray was deployed ended without injury, while only minor
injuries were sustained in the remaining cases.
As both human and bear populations continue to rise, there will continue to be
less room for bears. With bears needing wide ranges of space to search for food, it is
almost certain that the number of bear encounters, both in bear and in human territory,
will continue to rise. As this happens, it is vital that humans learn to coexist with bears in
order to ensure the safety of both. Currently this is not the case. Despite attacks being
uncommon, bears that attack humans are almost always killed for doing so, even in cases
where the actions of the human that was attacked are questionable. Additionally,
although bear sightings within human communities are increasing due to the loss of
bears' habitat coupled with human expansion, bears have still been labeled as nuisances,

9. with contentious policies commonly being put in place in order to deal with the situation.
In the state of Florida, for example, where the Florida black bear population has only 18%
of the roaming space that was once available and is projected by the Florida Wildlife
Commission to lose 2.3 million more acres by 2060, the bear was removed from the
endangered species list and a hunting season was subsequently put into place to
"control" bear population, with almost 300 bears being killed over the course of two days
- this in spite of the fact that there were only 14 injuries inflicted by Florida black bears
from 1976 to 2015, and that 61% of the state was against the policy. Even less violent
methods, such as bear-proof garbage bins, only prevent bears from getting to food, not
from venturing into human areas when they are out of room in their own.
In order to improve our treatment of bears, however, we must first change the
way we think about bears. One of the most effective ways of doing so would be to
change the way we show bears in the media, particularly to children who have not yet
developed assumptions on what bears are like. Fortunately, there is already an example
among animated films of how this can be done. In the film Brother Bear, a young boy
named Kenai watches his brother die while protecting him from a grizzly bear, who
happened to be a mother protecting her cub. Vowing revenge, Kenai hunts down and
kills the bear, only to be turned into a bear himself. Now a grizzly, he befriends Koda, the
cub whose mother he killed, and gets a look at the relationship between humans and
bears from the bears' point of view.
Not only is Brother Bear accurate in its portrayal of bear behavior - Koda often
copies the older Kenai and is extremely playful with the other bears, and despite catching
Kenai off guard the bear that Kenai killed ran away when it first scented him - putting
Kenai's human mind into a bear's point of view provokes strong thought on what it's like
to be a bear living in a human world, particularly when considering that the film is set
long before the current population boom. While viewing a cave drawing of a monstrous
looking bear facing off with a spear-wielding human, Kenai is startled when Koda calls the
human a "scary monster." Later, after a hunter confronts them, Kenai at first sides with
the human, stating, "bears are killers," to which Koda replies by pointing out that the

10. human was the one who attacked them. Finally, after uniting with a larger group of bears
at a salmon run and realizing that they are like a big family, Kenai comes to the realization
that he killed Koda's mom and decides that he wants to remain a bear to be with Koda,
who he has come to view as a brother. It's quite possible that, like Kenai, any human
would change the way they look at bears if they were to hear a bear cub crying for its
dead mother.
Being human representations of real life, it would be impossible to ever be
completely accurate when depicting bears through film. Even in Brother Bear, not every
aspect of the film is accurate, or even totally plausible (bears, of course, do not speak
English). But with Brother Bear grossing $85 million dollars and being popular enough to
warrant a sequel, this film goes to show that a successful film can be created without
nitpicking and over exaggerating specific traits to twist the image of bears to fit a
storyline.
In early civilizations, bears were often symbols of strength, power, and love. If we
are ever going to live peacefully alongside each other in modern society, we must again
learn to respect bears for their intelligence, their sense of family, their playfulness, and
their impressive physical prowess rather than fear them based on misguided media
portrayals. Used in the right way, this is the beauty of animation, an art form consumed
by children and their parents all over the world - rather than marginalizing bears for easy
entertainment, we can use the creative flexibility it provides to open up their world and
try to gain insight into their lives through our own unique perspective.

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