Pixar has made a name for themselves
by bringing to the screen some of the greatest animated films of all time
starting with Toy Story in 1995. One
area they have yet to delve into, being a part of Disney, is the realm of the
Disney Princess. With “Brave” they are
introducing to the world their own version of a princess filled with
independence, bravery, and a spirit as fiery as her flowing red hair.
Her name is
Merida, excuse me, Princess Merida, and we meet her as she has become of age to
be married away to the first prince who is good at shooting a bow and
arrow. The problem is that she wants to
be in charge of her own destiny and she can shoot a bow better than any man. In her defiance against the rules of the land
and her mother she makes a deal with a witch to change her fate. And as in all tales of this sort, it does not
go as she expects.
There is one
great sweeping shot after another of the landscapes of Scotland, beautiful
music, and fantastic animation which has come to be expected from Pixar. What was a bit of a letdown was how the story
shifted to an interesting story about your fate and what you choose to be, to a
formulaic Pixar version of a Disney movie.
And Pixar is better than that. Yet
that’s where they go with the story, and it is by no means bad, it’s just not
what I expected from the creators of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, two
films that are truly about what a family is.
In Brave the family story feels basic even amongst the great visuals and
perfect voice acting by Kelly McDonald, Billy Connolly, and Emma Thompson.
I think that
kids, especially young girls of a certain age will really love this movie. If for nothing else, it shows the
consequences of when you’re only thinking of yourself and that your personal
decisions can affect others as well.
That may seem heavy for a children’s film however Pixar manages to pull
it off in the end. And while I don’t
feel that this is a return to form for Pixar after the misstep that was Cars 2,
Brave is a leap back into the right direction, even if their next film up is a
prequel to Monsters Inc.
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