The story of a young princess set in what seems like 10th century Scotland, who is frustrated with the traditions and customs of being a princess that her mother has been teaching her. Merida is more of a free spirit and when she learns that she is about to be betrothed to be married against her will, it is the last straw. She sets out to change her fate with the help of the magical Will-O-the-Wisps and a reluctant witch. But when the spell turns out to have unforeseen consequences, she must try to figure out how to undo the spell and set things back on course.
Cast
Who will like this
Pixar and Disney fans will be able to enjoy this although it is less in line with what Pixar has done in the past and more like the Classic Disney animated features. It is a fairy tale in the Hans Christian Anderson and even Brothers Grimm genre. Parents of very young children should be aware that it gets a bit more scary and dark than Pixar films thus far, but not anymore than a "Sleeping Beauty" for instance. This is also a good movie for Mothers and 'tweens, especially daughters.
Phantom Thoughts
Brave is the first feature-length film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. It was only in 14 of the 4,164 theaters, which is a record-high for Pixar. I was lucky enough to be able to experience it in a Dolby Atmos theater and it was amazing! If you are able to see it in one of these theaters, I highly recommend it. Visually it was a huge step forward as well, as Pixar seems like it has finally gotten the hang of animating hair, which plagued early movies like the original "Toy Story". The 3D was pretty impressive as well, giving the submersive look without having to resort to the "Hey, it's 3D! Look we're throwing things in your face" gimmick. (Although the 3D preview for "Despicable Me 2 that they showed before the movie had this effect and actually worked)
This is the first "Disney Princess" movie Pixar has done, and it should be the example for any of those type of characters going forward. Merida is is a great new female lead who is strong and independent, yet makes mistakes. The message of communication between parents and children is not a new one, but it is brought to light in a very unique way. When seeing the commercials and trailers for "Brave", I was not expecting the quest for Merida to change her fate to turn out as it did. I was debating putting what that was in the movie description, but it's kind of a major spoiler, so I will put it here:
SPOILER: The way the spell that Merida gets from the witch to change her fate is to turn her mother into a bear. Which is enough of a problem in itself, but the fact that her father lost his leg to a bear when she was a little girl just adds to the dilemma. Both Mother and daughter now need to work together to lift the curse before it's too late and in the process learn to communicate with each other better and see each others point of view a little more clearly.
This is a great success for Pixar and a film I enjoyed seeing it. I do think that parents of very young children should use their own discretion about taking their kids to see this, but other than that, it is a fun movie for everyone.
Until next time, see you in the center seat.
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