Review of Brave (2012) by Henry P — 04 Sep 2015

9/5/15.

After a falling-out with their audience, thanks to Cars 2, Disney-Pixar begins the healing that ended with Inside Out with Brave, which, coincidentally, depicts a mending of a relationship, specifically between main character Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) and her mother Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) as we are introduced to the seeds of their falling out on Merida's birthday when her father King Fergus (Billy Connolly) defends the women in his life from an evil bear known as Mor'du. Fast forward 10 or so years, Merida now has three little brothers and a whole lot of tension with her mother, because she's in charge of every (Most of) day of her life, and the fire reaches the powder keg when the other three tribes compete for Merida's hand in marriage, exploding into a deal with a witch, and a journey of healing. The royal family of Dunbroch (The kingdom Fergus is king of) is very likable, and relatable, because let's be honest: Everyone has one parent that is fun, and another that is serious, and every family tree has their share of fruit and nuts. Every girl, even from time to time feels like their mother becomes overbearing, but guys may find this harder to relate to, except for fathers with Fergus, otherwise, a likable family. The animation is stunning, being closer to a visual you could feel and touch. However, what is shocking is Pixar's use of low-brow humor, mostly in nudity. It's funny at first, but you later realize how immature it was, and with Pixar, it feels out of place, like Dreamworks sent animators in to bring Pixar down to their level (Nothing against Dreamworks, just saying it felt out of place with Pixar and with the more serious storyline). Patrick Doyle does a great job with the soundtrack, creating a mystical feel when we have magic coming into play, and creating a grand feel with the score for the palace, and he's aided by original songs by artists like Mumford and Sons. Brave was a brave move by Pixar in their own right: Their first princess movie, set in the distant past, and feels more like a Disney animated movie than a Pixar one. It was also brave of them to try some dirtier humor (Hence their third PG rating), which felt funny at first, but at the same time, out of place in a Pixar film, and in a princess film. The first step in their healing process with the audience for Cars 2, Brave will be remembered as their brave attempt to be more like their parent company's other animation studio, but ultimately triumphs enough to be enjoyable.

6/22/12.

Disney/Pixar's latest film, Brave, is an excellent movie, but feels a lot like other Disney FairyTales. You've got your princess who hates her lifestyle, with little brights spots here and there where she actually has fun. Then you've got your witch, who gives the princess a spell, and it gives the princess what she wants, but then something goes wrong with the spell, causing a disaster for Merida. In this case, her mother's turned into a bear. This proves 2 things: Don't make deals with witches, and the only way to kill a bear is to crush it with a giant rock. At the end, Brave is still a heartwarming tale, with a mild amount of more crude humor than you'd expect from Disney/Pixar.