Valiente

While I must admit that "Brave" is not among my favorite Pixar films, I was totally blown away by the computer graphics. To some extent this is to be expected--as years pass, the CGI is bound to get better and better. But it's more than that--the textures, colors and depth were all incredible and I was in love with the animation throughout.

As far as the story goes, it was a mixed bag. While I was thrilled to see a Pixar film with female leads AND featuring a mother-daughter relationship, the story itself seemed a bit shallow and flat. It wasn't bad, but never hit that emotional spot within that you'd find in "Up" or "Toy Story 3". Now this isn't to say it's bad---it just isn't among the very best of the studio and is STILL well worth seeing. It's especially nice to see a FEMALE protagonist--and one who does NOT need to be rescued by a prince! Incidentally, my daughter and her friend loved the film--and my bet is that girls would generally prefer this film but it's a lot of fun for everyone.

By the way, there is a cute inside joke in the film in which they mention someone being out of town at the "Wicker Man" ceremony! This could be a reference to the wonderful 1970s film (see this one--not the remake) or to the actual ancient ceremony. I actually had no idea that this was a real event until dlwagner sent me an email informing me of this--but I certainly did NOT expect to hear them talking about it in "Brave".

Brave, Pixar's new animated film, doesn't quite match its predecessors for whimsy, emotion, and awesomeness, but it's a pretty fine movie nonetheless. It has its scary parts, like most Disney movies, but the five year old who saw the movie with me wasn't scared one bit, so you probably won't be, either. But I don't know, she's kind of tough.

Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) is the first-born princess in a mythical Scotland kingdom. Unlike most princesses, though, Merida is feisty, passionate, and more willing to shoot a bow and arrow than to be a demure little lady. Sort of the opposite of what her strict mother, Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson) desires.

The feud between headstrong mother and child comes to a head when the former announces there will be a huge party attended by the three other major clans, the head of each bringing along his first-born son to offer to Merida as a husband. It's tradition, of course. That tradition gets upended by Merida's unyielding will, and in her desperate defiance of her mother she encounters a witch (Julie Walters) who grants her a spell that will change Merida's destiny. Not an uncommon theme in these movies; the trouble is that the characters never seem to understand that changing a destiny doesn't mean it's changed for the better. In this case, Merida's destiny - not a spoiler here - is changed in that her mother becomes a bear. Hilarity ensues.

All curses in movies, particularly in animated movies, have some kind of loophole. Here, it's that if Merida can repair a certain bond before two sunrises, she can reverse the spell; otherwise, dear old mum will be a bear forever. For a queen who hardly ever ventures outside her enormous castle, this is quite the fish-out-of-water dilemma.

From an animation standpoint, Brave is elegant without being too flashy. It doesn't try to be overly realistic, with a tremendous attention to detail, like the earlier Pixar films had. Truth be told, the movie has much more of an old-time, traditionally animated Disney film than a new- wave Pixar movie. The movie is presented in 3D and in 2D, and I recommend the latter - if only because there are many dark scenes (in a forest, mostly) that will be rendered indiscernible in 3D, which vacuums light up. Some of the forest scenes are very pretty indeed, specifically those involving the appearance of the will o' the wisp, a spirit that helps Merida find that which she seeks.

The movie is not without its fair share of humor, even slapstick. Merida's father, the King (voice of Billy Connolly) is a rough-and- tumble, huge, no-necked man who's just as soon drink a gallon of ale with you than break your nose. He's also missing a leg, the tale of which he never tires of telling, to the chagrin of his family. Merida also has three little brothers who, being boys, get away with anything they wish, while the poor princess must conform to strict rules of order. Ain't no fun being a princess, apparently.

Brave is a modest movie by Pixar standards, but its plot is a little more enriched than those of its predecessors, with myths, legends, and oral traditions leading the way to, in some cases, more questions. Well, more questions if you're eight years old and want to know more about everyone's intentions. If you are eight years old and are reading this, congratulations - our schools has made you a learny person. In any event, the plot is simple on the surface but contains deeper layers of provocative intrigue, never a bad thing. Kids will either gloss over the details or will find them fascinating.

Everything about Brave is different from the Pixar norm, save the unequaled attention to detail and quality.

The Disney-Pixar animated feature focuses on Princess Merida as she searches for a way to change her fate. In a journey of magic, adventure and family, the fiery Scot is launched into the ranks of the elite Disney princesses.

As odd and understandably foreign as the accents felt watching the early previews for the movie, the voice acting was executed following, creating very real characters that fit their animated molds perfectly. By the end of the movie, what once sounded foreign blended into the scenery and visuals to create a completely immersing environment.

In fact, amid the magic spells and tall tales of times gone by, it's the historical, Scottish feeling that made Marida's journey and transformation (and that of her mother) that much more tangible and familiar.

Underneath the folk-tale storyline lies the same life lessons that ring true for young and old. Though the movie heavily focuses on a mother- daughter relationship, it's not just for girls anymore than Mulan was. Merida is a true Disney princess, with gumption, heart and an uncanny connection with nature, but the story could have been told from a male perspective and rung just as true, making it easy to empathize with Pixar's first female lead.

As has been the case with almost every other one of their movies, the company has reinvented the standard for animated visuals. The environments are based on real Scottish landmarks, adding real depth to the story, and the colors are as bright as they are grounded, creating a wonderfully real world. Such visuals lend credence to the upcoming 3D re-release of Finding Nemo, though not much, but also show just how far the studio has come.

All of the elements put together, Brave is a different sort of movie than many were expecting. More focused on a single pair and their quest together, not to mention darker by far, the story of Merida was a leap of faith for the once small studio.

Many will have their doubts, left wanting another heart wrenching love story from Up or creative take on a beat to death genre like The Incredibles. That was never the purpose. Just as with every one of their award-winning films (Cars 2 notwithstanding), a new movie means a new chapter, new story and new style of film.

Taken for what it is, Brave is a remarkable step into a whole new style of movie, proving the creative teams at Pixar will continue to write their own fate.

There's quite a bit about Brave that has marked it as a departure from Pixar's typical fare. The most memorable trailer was one of the best scenes from the movie, with Merida protesting her marriage by shooting for her own hand. That scene alone showcases the detail and quality of animation we've come to expect from Pixar. No other studio has managed to come near what they do. The motion of the characters is natural. Merida's gorgeous curly red hair is distracting in its details only at the perfect times. And, most impressively, when Merida holds her breath to shoot her last arrow the audience holds its collective breath as we watch her arrow shoot away in slow motion and in a beautiful use of depth of field that reminds us why 2D is still highly preferred to 3D.

That's not to say Brave is quite as visually astonishing as Sully's fur in Monsters Inc., the magical underwater world of Finding Nemo, or a landfill laden Earth in Wall-E. But, in some ways, it's not meant to be. We're dealing with a primarily human cast for once, and ones meant to look very different than the ones in Up.

Beyond the animation, the story is somewhat flat. The trailers do an excellent job of concealing the twists, but the twists are all easy to see well ahead of time. The story revolves around Princess Merida who is continually at odds with her Mother, Elinor. At the center of their arguments: marriage. Merida is to be married to the first born of one of the leaders of the other three clans. She'll have none of it as she'd much rather ride off on her own and perfect her archery skills than sit at home and be a proper Princess. In her more childish qualities, she's like her father: an overgrown warrior child who also happens to be King. It's not a bad story, but it's certainly a little too basic. Most people will most likely find the lack of creativity in the script's details the biggest disappointment in Brave. There's no moments where we marvel "how did these guys come up with this?"

It's a pity because Merida is one of the best protagonists Pixar has been blessed with. She's likable and hate-able in all the right ways. She has quite a bit of bratty teenager in her - as evidenced by the lack of morality she displays in trying to change her mother's mind about her upcoming betrothal - and yet heaps of bravery - as she shows when confronted with what she's done to her Mother. The best part about Merida and the story is that she's the one continually driving it forward and making the choices. That proves vital as the film doesn't really have a villain. This isn't a good vs. evil battle like all their other movies not named Finding Nemo.

Brave falls somewhere in the middle for Pixar. It's great that it's original (especially with Pixar selling out and giving us Monster's Inc. 2 and Toy Story 4 shortly), it's great the protagonist is female and so well rounded, and it's great the animation is somewhat subdued for once. I can't help but feel that Brave lacks some of the magic and creativity that really separate the upper echelon of Pixar's best work from the rest of it. Of course, that'll still probably be enough to make it the best animated movie of the year.

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A true best of both worlds for classic Disney and classic Pixar fans. It had already been many years since the acquisition, but for me this was the first time Disney's buyout felt like a positive direction for the animation pioneers. Filled with possibly Pixar's most attractive environments, character designs (Side note: Merida has my favorite character design of any animated human character. I mean seriously her hair alone is a thing of beauty.), and easily its best score, the studio does a deft send up of classic princess movies while instilling the pure feeling of magic they are known for though Scotland's rich Celtic lore and cryptic mysticism. Brave is a criminally underrated installment in the Pixar cannon that I hope grows in stature over the years. If Wreck It Ralph is Disney doing Pixar, Brave is Pixar doing Disney.