A Bear Named Wojtek

***1/2

Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode

A Bear Named Wojtek
"Gardner... shows respect for Wojtek’s intelligence without anthropomorphising him or rendering him just a cartoon."

Wojtek is a legend in Scotland, from whence director Iain Gardner hails, just as he is in Poland. He retired here after many years of service in the Polish army, most notably during World War Two. Much loved by his comrades, he was known as a skilled dancer, wrestler and soldier, promoted to corporal for helping his unit out of a tricky situation. He was also a Syrian brown bear.

Telling Wojtek’s story has never been free of difficulties. Soldiers are not always the most reliable of sources, and some of Wojtek’s exploits took place when all involved (including the bear) were drunk. There are contradictory accounts of how he came to join up in the first place. in this Oscar-shortlisted short animation, Gardner opts to cut through the confusion by giving him a new, fictional origin story and a human best friend who can act as an anchor point in the developing narrative.

Copy picture

In keeping with the period setting, the animation used is a kind of flowing, sketchy line art reminiscent of illustrations in early 20th Century children’s books. Watercolour-style coloured backgrounds give individual scenes their own character and bind sequences together. Wojtek and his various companions are easy enough to identify, even as we see them change over the course of years. As important episodes in the bear’s life are recreated, Gardner throws in little visual flourishes to remind us that although he can superficially understand and join in with a lot of what his colleagues are doing, he is still not the same as them, and has his own distinct perspective. He shows respect for Wojtek’s intelligence without anthropomorphising him or rendering him just a cartoon.

The story takes almost half an hour to play out and there are slower stretches when it is weighed down by elements of melancholy. There is a little censorship at work: we don’t see the beer or cigarettes that Wojtek famously loved, and we don’t get much of a look at his celebrity status, either, though observations of some of the other animals he would later live among serve as a reminder of his influence and the contribution he made, in his later days, to the development of an institution with a real focus on the welfare of its residents. Parts of the film are quite downbeat, but Gardner builds its emotional arc around the relationship between the bear and his central human character, and in so doing, he pays tribute to something bigger than both of them.

Reviewed on: 18 Jan 2025
Share this with others on...
A Bear Named Wojtek packshot
Displaced by the Second World War, a troop of Polish soldiers form an inseparable bond with an orphaned bear they name Wojtek.

Director: Iain Gardner

Year: 2023

Runtime: 28 minutes

Country: UK

Festivals:

GSFF 2024

Search database:


Related Articles:

About a bear