Brave

2012 • 93 minutes

About this movie

Pixar Animation Studios, the creator of Toy Story 3, whisks you away on an astonishing adventure to an ancient land full of mystery and tradition. Bursting with heart, unforgettable characters and Pixar's signature humor, Brave is incredible entertainment for the whole family. Take a heroic journey with Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land. When Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos in the kingdom, she must harness all of her skills and resources including her clever and mischievous triplet brothers to undo a beastly curse before it's too late, and discover the meaning of true bravery.

Ratings and reviews

I cannot believe that Katherine Sarafian (the producer of "The Incredibles"), decided to make a PIXAR movie like this, and I have no idea why the company behind PIXAR made this movie. What I meant to say was, it's not right. The whole movie is heavily uninspired; "Brave" is a simplistic PIXAR movie about a princess (traditional Disney, not PIXAR) who competes in sports like archery ("Cars" has a protagonist who competes in sports too, like racing), who disobeys her parent/her mother named Elinor ("Finding Nemo" has a son who disobeys his father), who has to marry someone ("Aladdin" from 1992), and wanted her mom to change so she gave her mother a cake that actually hides a sinister curse where after eating the cake, Elinor transforms into a bear ("Brother Bear"). By the way there is a line reference to brother bear as well: "I don't speak bear." This film from PIXAR has embraced the traditional sense of regular Disney and has a princess themed story that we have seen a lot from Disney. That is not right, and just like "Cars," There is nothing groundbreaking about this PIXAR movie at all, but there are some redeemable qualities to appreciate here: The movie does have positive messages about cherishing your family and traditions, communication, and of course: courage. There is a very relatable theme about family relationships. Visually, it's striking; The craftsmanship here is quite impressive with close-up shots that are thorough, effective slow motion, and a moving screenplay. I am especially impressed where Merida finds out the backstory and the truth about this ominous curse. The animation is beautiful, especially that Princess Merida's hair looks lifelike and so realistic with human-like precision in terms of detail and movement. The Celtic orchestral hybrid music score by Patrick Doyle is majestic. The cast is first-rate; Kelly Macdonald is pitch-perfect for Merida because she truly sounds like a dramatic drama queen that is young and valiant. Billy Connolly was amusing as King Fergus (Merida's father), Steve Purcell is also quite funny as the talking crow. And I recognize the voice actor who voices Lord Macintosh: Craig Ferguson. The humor sharp because of how quick these moments have escalated and how manipulated they are, but unfortunately, most of the humor happened in the first act of the movie and most of it is just empty filler. There are also some moments of minor nudity and butts that was used for jokes or humor. Why should they put that in a children's film? The trio of mischievous boys are not that funny either, although the mischief for these three boys are smartly written. In conclusion: In terms of it's formula and the choices for the most part, "Brave" is the black sheep of PIXAR (the quality is a tad bit lower than "Cars"), but with it's themes, messages, and craftsmanship, this is an "okay" film.

Why Disney’s BRAVE is a Great Movie for Adolescent Children This is a coming of age movie, but it is also about change for not only a girl who just happened to be a princess, but wanted to be something far beyond that but also for the mother Elinor. This is a movie about accepting change and all its forms. For Merida she must grow from a child into a woman/princess and figure out what that means and for Elinor who must recognize that she has fulfilled her role as a parent and must now be just a mother and figure out what that means. In many ways it is a movie about growth and learning to let go and face the next steps in life. Merida is a warrior who can shoot arrows with so much accuracy that if there was a war she could do more than sit on the thrown and command an army. She is Joan of Arch in flaming IRISH/Scottish Heritage. She is strong and confident and was not yet understanding that growth requires something more than strength and accuracy. Merida’s journey as well as her mother’s was about change. She was no longer a child and her mother/queen was not to control every move of her offspring. The test of good parenting is how well you’ve taught your offspring to understand the world and to recognize that as they make those transitions that you have to let them make their own mistakes and use the tools you’ve given them. Merida and Elinor are both bound by the same forces of change and the arguments build up in time because although Merida has been basically a good obedient daughter with some spirit, she is tired of being MOLDED into a likeness not her own choosing. When she has reached marriageable age her mother fails to discuss this part of role with her therefore pushes too much. Merida is younger and the world she desires revolves around another option. It is the future but in Merida’s frustration to have her voice heard she strikes a split in the threads that symbolically bind them (the family tapestry sewn with her mother’s loving hands). Her mother (Elinor) in turn places Merida’s most treasured possession (her father’s gifted bow) into the fire which turns out to be a mistake made in anguish and Elinor rescues it once she has calmed her own fury but by that time Merida is gone and angry still. Merida meets a witch and demands a spell that can change her fate, not realizing the gravity of what she is asking. Her wish is granted and now both Elinor and Merida must join forces to figure out the antidote to the spell or both their fates will change but for the better. When Elinor has to give up her Queenly garbs and stand naked in the world as a bear she is brought back to a point where she is now the student because she has to learn to procure food as a bear without servants. Merida teaches her these skills and other less necessary skills not becoming a princess it but very important. Elinor gets to experience the world from Merida’s point of view while trying fight off some other based instincts tied to the conversion of being a bear. When Merida finally figures out that she must mend the tear in her mom’s tapestry the training comes full circle. Merida is now honoring some of the arts she tried so hard to avoid when Elinor was teaching her. The end of the movie is about how generations CHANGE, and though parents want to fight this nature and time when and acceptance brings peace between Elinor and Merida. 0

Brave has all the good elements of being a wonderful pixar movie. it has the plot development, plot twist, moral dilemmas, good vs evil, and key messages. I think all kids can learn something from this movie. watch it the kids if you can, it'll make you hold your children the whole time. the only thing i wasn't too keen on was the length of the plot development till the climax... nonetheless, it was enjoyable