Brave

Brave
Directed by: Brenda Chapman
Cast: Kelly Macdonald as Merida
          Billy Connoley as Fergus
          Emma Thompson as Elinor
Rated PG
Seen June 23


*The following may contain spoilers*
Pixar has long been the forerunner in computer animation. Their dynamic visuals and creative stories have won them countless awards and broken many records. From Toy Story to Finding Nemo to Monsters, Inc., Pixar has always delivered a great movie with a lot of heart. Brave is no different, providing Pixar's unique take on the classic princess story. A Scottish princess named Merida hopes to change her fate to avoid being forced into marriage by her over controlling mother. But, after dealing with an incompetent witch, the spell goes awry and provides the story with the heart of Pixar we all know and love.


What I Liked
As I said, this is Pixar's take on the classic princess story and I really like what they did with it. The focus on the mother-daughter relationship opposed to the standard father-daughter dynamic was a nice change and allowed for a lot more natural story progression and growth than usually comes from princess movies. It was also nice to see an independent princess, not one caught up in a whirlwind romance, the conflict coming from her family instead.

What I Didn't Like
Although what Pixar did with the story was good, I feel like there was a lot more they could have done, mainly in breaking the princess stereotype further. I've come to expect a lot from Pixar and I feel that Brave was more of backslide than a step forward. The focus felt more on animation than story and they seemed to be deliberately making a "Pixar-princess-movie", sacrificing creativity so that they could hit the cliche story marks.

Final Thoughts
Brave is not a bad movie, but it's also not a great movie. Beautifully animated with a lot of heart, i feel that the only thing it's missing is Pixar's signature creativity. This lack of creative storytelling is made up for with heart and humor however, making it worth a watch if you're in the mood for something fun.


When Should You See It?
At this point, just wait until DVD.

Personal Rating: 7 of 10
Plot: 5 of 10
Characters: 8 of 10