Review of Brave (2012) by Jack F — 02 Sep 2013

I've often said that the best of the Pixar animated films are the ones that attempt to tackle the deeper themes and meanings in life, yet still manage to retain the cartoon appeal for the youngsters. "Up, "Wall-E," "Toy Story 3" and "Monsters University" are the best of the most recent endeavors. While I wouldn't consider last summer's "Brave" to be among the Pixar elite, it's still yet another accomplishment for the studio, and it does have more depth than your standard animated fare. "Change your fate" is the movie's tagline, so right away you can tell the movie has ideals.

The film is set in Scotland during an unspecified time (though we can infer it's some time in the past) and centers around a young princess named Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald). Much to the chagrin of her straight-laced mother, Queen Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), Merida is what one may consider to be a tomboy. She doesn't have much interest in being a "ladylike" princess, preferring to spend her days honing her expert archery skills, climbing mountains, and riding her horse, Angus, through the countryside. Indeed, she really takes more after her father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), with her boisterous attitude and lust for adventure.

You can imagine her anger then when she discovers that her parents have arranged for a tournament between the eldest sons of a few other local clans. The grand prize: Merida's hand in marriage. This intensifies the tension in her already strained relationship with her mother, leading the two of them to say things to each other in anger that neither really mean. Above all, Merida just wants her mother to change her viewpoint on the whole arranged marriage thing, and when she meets a friendly witch (voiced by Julie Walters) out in the woods one day, she gets the opportunity to make that happen. Naturally things go awry, and in order to set things right, both Merida and Elinor are going to have to try and see things from each other's points of view.

In that regard, "Brave" is really kind of a morality tale. Merida and her mother both learn valuable lessons throughout the course of the movie, and in doing so, they are able to set things right. This is really kind of your standard, run-of-the-mill fairy tale fare, which is why "Brave"'s all-ages appeal isn't as strong as some of its other Pixar brethren. Children will definitely enjoy it more than their parents. (Though to be fair, the movie does seem to be aware of this, as they all but acknowledge that this story is a legend that future generations can learn from, much like the story-within-the-story of the selfish prince, whose kingdom is undone by his pride.).

Don't misunderstand me; this is yet another solid outing from Pixar, and parents will still like it. I'm just saying that it's a couple notches below the other entries I mentioned above. And truthfully, that's okay. It's damn near impossible to hit a home run every time, but considering I've still liked every one of their 14 feature film releases (from the original "Toy Story" to this summer's "Monsters University"), the track record of Pixar is still highly impressive.

And "Brave" does get a lot of things just right. The animation is (not surprisingly) breathtaking, from the flowing locks of Merida's blazing red hair to the lush green landscapes of the Scottish countryside. I also loved the soundtrack, filled with beautiful Scottish ballads as well as lively jigs and reels. The original songs (sung by Scottish singer Julie Fowlis) are fantastic, Oscar-worthy in my opinion. And there are quite a few laughs to be had, mostly courtesy of Merida's younger triplet brothers, mischievous scamps with insatiable cravings for sweets.

I also liked the movie's treatment of the witch. In most of these kinds of stories, the witch is evil and one-note, disrupting things due to her own malicious intent. Here, though, the witch is not wicked; she's merely a bit eccentric and forgetful, and it doesn't seem like she intentionally causes problems for Merida. Actually, at one point, it seems like she tries to assist her in setting things right. (Interestingly, she actually initially denies that she is a witch, perhaps because she knows the reputation witches have in fairy tales such as these. Or she knows how they usually end up...).

Additionally, I loved the character of Merida herself. Strong female characters, particularly central protagonists, can sometimes be hard to find in Hollywood cinema. Unfortunately Pixar itself seems to be a victim of this as well, as most of their films--good though they may be--center around male characters while the female ones tend to be cast aside. (Of course, there are exceptions as there were pivotal female roles in "Finding Nemo," "The Incredibles," and even "Wall-E.") This is actually their first film in which the main character is a female, and though it's regrettable that it took this long, at least they created a great one. True, the plot line of a young woman trying to get out of an arranged marriage is old hat, but Merida's fiery, free-spirited will and the lengths she's willing to go to escape it (like entering an archery contest to win "[her] own hand") brings a sense of freshness to the proceedings. And the lively vocal work by the talented Macdonald is a big plus.

Overall, "Brave" is another winner for the Pixar team. It's a bit more child-oriented than some of their other films, but truthfully it's hard to fault them for that since their target-audience is first, and foremost, children. That shouldn't be either a surprise or a detriment; it just goes to show you how good their films are. I've stopped thinking of them as "kids' movies" and see them simply as "movies." That's really something. "Brave" may not reach the highest of Pixar's highs, but it's still a worthy addition to their outstanding catalogue.