Review of Brave (2012) by Matthew O — 22 Jun 2016

I got pretty excited for this movie because it wasn't anything like Pixar has ever done before. Everything felt so much different, the designs of the characters, the atmosphere, the tone, right down to the premise. I had no idea what it was going to be about, but that just made me all the more interested. All I knew was that it was something out of a mystical fantasy or legend, something that Pixar hadn't done before.

When I first saw BRAVE, I absolutely loved it. I mean, it wasn't like among my favorite Pixar films, but for what it was, I enjoyed it a lot. I really liked our main characters, especially Merida. I really enjoyed her independent and rebellious nature. I got into the relationship between her and her mother, and her father was very entertaining with his boisterous personality. And the animation was stunning to look at. I didn't really get why people had such mixed feelings about it. Then I saw it a few more times, and I started to see why.

The basic plot of the movie is about a princess who doesn't want to follow the path of a traditional princess like how her mother wants, and she tries to find some way to change her fate, and her desire to change her fate has led to her mother turning into a bear and now has to find a way to get her mother back to normal while having to teach her mother the ways of how she wants to live her life. Most of the story is pretty much a bunch of Disney movies crammed into one. It's like POCAHONTAS meets BROTHER BEAR with a little ALADDIN mixed with some BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. And since there's so many of these plot elements we've already seen before in these Disney films, it doesn't make the film's story all that interesting. Other than the mother-daughter relationship, nothing new is really being added.

Even though I like the bond between Merida and her mother, I think it has way too much focus. I probably wouldn't say that if they didn't try to add in a completely different story about the legend of some prince who also turned into a bear. I wish they would've focused a lot more on that aspect because it was interesting, I wanted to learn more about this legend, it was something that I haven't really seen before. They try to, but the film as a whole just ends up being a mess. So many things about this movie feels so rushed and I'm just left confused. Also, the humor in this movie feels so out of place. A lot of it is slapstick humor and modern day references, and that doesn't fit with the film's tone.

But, like what I mentioned earlier, I still enjoy the main character. I enjoy her energetic personality and I like how independent and defiant she is. Then again, you can relate that to any Disney princess. Again, I thought they handled the relationship between her and her mother very well. And, of course, the animation is absolutely beautiful to look at.

I can see why a lot of people really don't like this movie. There was so much potential here, they could do so much with this concept, and it just ends being like any Disney princess movie. It easily could've been SO much better. Personally, I'm a little more optimistic on some of the good things about it, I don't think it's necessarily a bad movie. But seriously, Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature?! I don't think so.

Grade: C+.