Review: We Bare Bears “Bearz II Men”

“Bearz II Men, ABC-BBD”

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

The episode is set in 80s-early 90’s with the Bears still being young and they attempt to sneak into a movie theatre to see an R-rated Kung-Fu movie despite being underaged. They fail miserably but come across a street performer named Nate (voiced by Gallant) who ends up showing the performer his dancing skills which is one of the most entertaining parts of this episode. This leads Nate to later reveal that they have potential to partake in a talent show where the grand prize is a large sum of money and a record deal but are at a disadvantage when the rules require parental supervision. Since Nate has a disapproving father he knows wouldn’t help him, young bears disguise themselves once more to help him get in but face resistance with a bouncer who takes his job a little too seriously after figuring out the three Bears are only in disguise and not one grown adult.

When they get to the talent, the bears decide to distract the bouncer in a comedic sequence while encouraging Nate to perform a beautifully done R&B solo song that screams early 90’s but just when you think it’s game over for Nate as the Bouncer reveals to the talent host, Teddy Sunshine, that he’s without supervision, out of sheer dumb luck, Nate’s Dad was not only in the audience but is moved by his son’s performance and now supports his new career. And thanks to the efforts of the Bears who went as far as to track him down using a phone book. The episode ends on a comedic note when the Bears get to see their film using the prize money Nate gave them as his way of saying thanks.

Our Take

This was a pretty short yet fun episode that moved at a brisk pace yet kept me entertained. For only two songs, the music was quite catchy and this is coming from someone who normally doesn’t like R&B and Hip-Hop music in general. It also excelled in terms of nostalgic references to early 90’s music along with an all-girl group that felt like a mix between TLC and Salt-N-Pepa but the ending is where I had the most laughs.

While we don’t know what’s become of Nate long after his record deal, perhaps we’ll see him in a future episode with the Bears as adults.