Hello guys and welcome to my latest Pixar review! As you may remember last time we looked an often maligned movie of theirs in Cars 2 (which I am a big defender of) and now we will now be looking at one of the more divisive works in their output. Now when it comes to Brave it was a movie that did have a lot of anticipation in it’s favor at the time as the marketing promised something different from any other movie the studio had a done, a female led fantasy adventure that promised to have tinges of darkness to it. Then when it finally came out it was not the movie many were expecting and it became really polarizing with some really liking it and some finding it to be one of Pixar’s worst movies. It was also a movie that was plagued with production troubles as former director Brenda Chapman was replaced by Andrew Chapman and the story had to be retooled significantly. So with all of that said. What is may take on it? Well it is my least favorite Pixar movie… yet I still really like it. Now let’s go back all the way to ancient Scotland and witness a story filled with action, emotion, and a lot of bears.
Taking place in medieval Scotland we begin with a prologue introducing us to the main character, Merida, who is a princess of the Clan Dunbroch, and her parent, King Fergus and Queen Elinor. After an attack involving a demon bear known as Mor’du, ten years go by and Merida is now a teenager with three identical triplet brothers and is currently training to become a princess under the guidance of her mother who is very strict when it comes to these matters as she wants Merida to become the most proper and best ruler she can be, yet Merida herself would rather go out and experience the world around her instead. Tensions further arise when Merida is supposed to be betrothed to one of the sons of one of the ally clans in order to maintain peace between the kingdoms. However Merida would rather not merry a suitor and competes in the Highland games for her own hand much to the dismay of her mother and it leads to a huge falling out between the two. Desperate to fix things, Merida accidently stumbles upon a witch who gives her something that will change her mother completely… though not quite in the way she expects as Elinor get turned into a bear. Now they must work together to break the spell before the second sunrise before it becomes permanent.
I might as well start by saying this is not quite the epic adventure that some of the marketing may have led some to believe as it a somewhat smaller scale affair that is focused on character and story which is not a bad thing at all. Now I will admit it can be pretty uneven in terms of pacing at points throughout the story, mainly in the beginning. There are times where it rushes through things a little too quickly and I do wish it took the time to develop some of it’s ideas and world building on display as things like the wil’o the wisps are interesting on paper and tie into the themes nicely but are not looked too much in the movie itself. That and there are some tonal inconsistencies here and there with some of the humor undercutting a bit of the drama at hand. Still once the film finds it’s footing it really works as it becomes an often beautiful mother daughter story where we get to see their bond develop through the most unexpected of ways and it has a lot of heart to it leading to some satisfying emotional pay offs in the climax. I even like the messages it has regarding bravery (fitting given the title) and how it is important in fighting for what you believe in, and having the courage to face your mistakes and strive to improve which is shown through how Merida learns the importance of becoming a good leader and it provides Elinor with a solid motivation for wanting her daughter to become that kind of princess. Also once the stakes kick in as Merida has to find a way to turn her mother back to normal that’s when things become even more exciting and once becomes invested in seeing how they will resolve the situation. And even though I mentioned some of the humor can distract from the drama the comedy that is there is really funny with a lot of fast paced physical comedy and a lot of laughs stem from when Elinor becomes a bear yet her personality still shines through. Plus some of the mythology shown is really intriguing even if like I said the it’s not the focus of the movie. On the whole it’s a fun adventure story that may not always hit it’s mark but when it does it is absolutely one worth going on.
Whenever Pixar decides to explore different cultures in places around the world they usually do an incredible job of capturing them onscreen with their animation and Brave is no exception. Scotland is such a beautiful place and I think the animators did a great job of bringing the highlands to life as the environments and backgrounds can feel vast with nature everywhere and some of the shots of the landscapes are quite stunning. It is also neat seeing how the team did their research on the culture itself and how they would get everything down right from the clothing (the kilts are used for some of the funniest moments throughout) to the traditions, to the different games, and so much more and even the score composed by Patrick Doyle captures this as well with it’s use of instruments popular to country such as the bag pipes, and it helps in capturing the vibe of the proceedings nicely (same goes for some of the songs in the soundtrack such as “Touch the Sky” sung by Julie Fowlis). But back to the animation, the other aspects of it work nicely as well. The designs work really well and I think each one does a great job in capturing each character’s respective personality plus I can’t help but be impressed with how they were able to get Merida’s hair done perfectly (I’m no expert on the process but I’m sure it must not have been easy). As for the character animation that was also well done especially when it came to Elinor in her bear form as the animators behind her did a fantastic job of capturing the character’s mannerisms and personality with the body of a bear and it was just a lot of fun seeing what they did with that character as she in the bear form was a highlight of the movie. Adding to all of it is Andrew’s direction which is able to bring the needed excitement and tension to the action sequences, a good amount of atmosphere to the more character driven moments, and some fun energy to the scenes of comedy like when Merida has to get her mom out of the castle and Fergus and the other clans are hunting for the bear. So even if it’s not my favorite Pixar movie absolutely does not mean it succeeds in ways others have and continue to even now.
As for the characters well I think they do work as well for the most part. I personally think that Merida is a solid protagonist, whose motivations of wanting to be free in her life and live her own life are relatable and she does come to grow over the movie as she discovers the importance of learning to be a good leader. Some may find her whiny at the beginning, but it was never too over bearing for me and well she is a teenager so her rebellious nature is not unexpected given the pressure she feels from her mother and it helps that Kelly Macdonald does really well in the role and conveys the personality in a way so she isn’t annoying. Speaking of her mother I also felt Elinor was a nicely developed character as well as she too goes through an arc and is also relatable in that she cares for her daughter and is hard on her because she wants her to succeed the way she feels she could though she comes to truly understand Merida over the course of the feature. I really like Emma Thompson’s performance as she does a good job of playing strict authority figures, yet you can also buy her as a mother who just wants the best from her daughter. The two form a compelling relationship as they both learn from each other and grow throughout the movie. While this type of relationship has been done before I like how it was done here as there were parts that did subvert my expectations and I think both characters have understandable feelings and work in their own right. The focus is mainly on them for the most part, as King Fergus is used more as a source of (often very funny) comedy for most of his screen time, although once we head into the third act he does get significantly more to do as he tries to hunt Elinor due to a misunderstanding and Billy Connolly gives in a really fun and hearty performance. Then there are the Triplets who serve as wonderful comic relief whenever they appear as they love to cause trouble whenever they can (much to the hilarious dismay of the castle maid, Maude), while the three clan leaders Lords Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane), MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), and Macintosh (Craig Ferguson) have their moments and the arguments they would have as well as the personalities of their respective sons do get some of the biggest laughs. I also have not mentioned much about the Witch who gives the curse to Merida, and who would much rather be known as a wood carver, played with much kookiness by Julie Walters and she is a fun presence (her talking crow voiced by Steve Purcell is entertaining as well) even if we only get a small glimpse at the magic she can do and she pretty much disappears after her second onscreen “appearance”, although I did like the pay off in the end credits scene regarding her wood carvings. Finally there is the villain (or rather periodic obstacle) of the movie Mor’du, who is certainly an intimidating threat when he appears and the movie briefly touches upon his interesting backstory that serves to show the implications that Merida’s recklessness may cause. Still though he only periodically shows up and is mainly used as an obstacle for the characters to fight but I do like him in a conceptual sense even if further exploring could have been used execution wise, but I cannot deny that the movie has it’s large share of strong character work on the whole.
All in all Brave comes to show how even my least favorite Pixar movie still has a lot to offer. It may be uneven in the beginning, it can rush through certain things, the tone get also be a little uneven, and there are certain concepts and ideas that would have benefitted from more attention, but once it finds it’s footing it improves greatly as it goes along. It get’s more engrossing as it goes on, the comedy is mostly on point, the emotion lands, the animation is striking, I like how the movie captures Scottish culture, and the mother-daughter relationship between Merida and Elinor really worked and was heartfelt. I definitely can see people’s frustrations with the movie and not going to lie I am curious as to what Brenda Chapman had planned before she got kicked off the project, but that does not mean I am dissatisfied with the final product at all as I do really like it and enjoy watching it whenever the opportunity presents itself. Heck it makes me appreciative Pixar more as there are not too many animation studios where I can say I really like to love all of their movies (no shade intended towards all of the other wonderful studios out there). Now that just about wraps up my thoughts on Brave. Please join me next time around where we will be heading back to the monster world but instead of going to work, we will be heading to college!
Rating: B+
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