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Bear Story is a 2014 animated short film created by Chilean director Gabriel Osorio Vargas. The film tells the story of an old bear who builds a mechanical diorama, which only he has the key to, that tells his life story. The diorama shows the bear’s early life as a circus performer, his time as a political prisoner, and his separation from his family.

The film starts with a banner that reads "Chile, 1973." Viewers are then transported to a city where everything is gray and lifeless. These scenes are interspersed with shots of the old bear in a small house, tinkering with a complex collection of gears and pulleys. The bear sets up the diorama and starts the music box mechanism. The audience is then taken inside the diorama, and the real story begins.

The first act of the diorama shows the bear as a member of a travelling circus act. He is forced to perform for the amusement of audiences, but his longing to be with his family makes him unhappy. The atmosphere is somber and heavy, and the bleakness of the circus is emphasized through its gray and lifeless surroundings.

However, the audience also gets a glimpse of the bear’s early fascination with gears and machines. He is shown experimenting with mechanics and is distraught when his creations break.

The second act of the diorama introduces a more sinister aspect to the story. The bear is shown being thrown into prison, where he is kept in a tiny cell and forced to perform manual labor. A guard chases him with a whip, and other prisoners are also shown being abused. The darkness and danger of the bear’s situation are emphasized through the use of deep shadows and angular shapes. Despite this, the bear's resourcefulness and ingenuity remain. He uses his knowledge of gears to create a small mechanical beetle, which he uses to escape his cell.

The third and final act of the diorama shows the bear, now old and gray, living alone in his small house. The actions of his past still haunt him, and he is deeply lonely. By now, the audience has learned that the diorama is a replication of his life story, and the old bear is seemingly unable to escape his own story. It’s then that the true purpose of the diorama is revealed, as the old bear reveals that it is a gift to his estranged family. The film ends with the diorama being delivered to the bear's family and a closing banner that reads, "Memories keep the ones we love alive."

Despite being only 11 minutes long, Bear Story is a powerful and poignant look at the traumas of the past and the enduring nature of family. The animation style is unique and stylized, particularly in the way that it uses geometric shapes and intricate mechanics to emphasize the bear’s resourcefulness and resilience. While the film may have political undertones, it is ultimately a story about love and the struggle to preserve memories of the ones we love.

Bear Story has received critical acclaim and has won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2016. It highlights the ability of animation to tell complex and moving stories, and is a testament to the power of storytelling to bring people together.

Bear Story is a 2016 animated movie with a runtime of 10 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.7.