Pixar's BRAVE

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 11:28am

I had a lot of fun with some friends watching this. The formula is more Disney than Pixar, but in my eyes, both are fantastic formulas, so this worked well.




My only complaint, is that I personally prefer a tad less slapstick than is here. It seems Pixar got too nervous to let the movie focus on it's intense content and didn't want to frighten the kiddies or bore the ADD crowd, so gags were flying left and right and 100 miles a minute.

I LOVED the Scottish accents throughout. Usually in these types of films, the villains, and or the parents have native accents, but the children/heroes all sound like they are from southern California. Kelly McDonald is absolutely endearing as the voice of Merida.

The Music: Patrick Doyle has created a great Celtic score. Bagpipes, flutes, it's all here. And even though the movie is not a musical, there are a few original songs that play as Merida is going through character development, 2 by Scottish singer Julie Fowlis, and the closing song "Learn Me Right" performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons. All three are very folksy and Celtic. There is even a short Gaelic piece sung beautifully by Emma Thompson as the Queen.

The Animation: Regardless of anyone's opinion of the story or characters, there is no denying that Pixar has outdone themselves in the visual department. Merida's hair is a thing of beauty and detail that gives Rapunzel's hair a run for it's money. Also, the expressive acting of all the characters feels very fluid, which is often an obstacle for CGI rendered animation. And last but not least, the backgrounds are just great. You really get the sense that you are riding through a deep canvas painting of Scotland with Merida.

The Story: (SPOILER WARNING, BTW) The plot is where I have heard most of the criticism coming from. The movie starts about a Queen, Elinor, trying to raise her tomboy daughter, Merida, as a proper Princess. Merida will have none of it though, and both clash like Titans when Elinor holds a tournament for the first born of neighboring clans to compete for the hand of the Princess, After a huge fight between the two, Merida (like Ariel) runs away and stumbles upon a witch. THIS is where the entire mood of the film changes. The first part is family drama (with lots of slapstick comedy), and after this it becomes more of a typical Disney fantasy (with LOTS more slapstick comedy). I can see where people buying into the sophisticated aspects would feel let down when the film changes direction, BUT what's here is still really good, if not original. After Merida meets the witch, she gets a spell to "change" her Mum, so that she won't have to be forced to marry. The spell ends up turning Elinor into a bear (Think "Mother Bear" instead of "Brother Bear") and since King Fergus likes to kill and stuff bears, Merida and her (now goofy acting) Mum Bear are off into the woods to try and find the witch to reverse the spell. I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the plot, more or less from there. I did get teary eyed close to the end...nothing as traumatic as the end of Toy Story 3, mind you but still it will tug at the heartstrings as all good Disney and Pixar movies do at some point, regardless of predictability. And if people don't like the emotional goods, did I mention there is plenty of slapstick humor?

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give BRAVE an 8. Not perfect, but still great in many aspects.





Updated On: 6/22/12 at 11:28 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 12:02pm

I liked the film, but it's not up to the extremely high quality of most of Pixar's offerings (Cars 2 being the exception...awful film). Like you said, more Disney than Pixar, which is somewhat disappointing. I love Disney films, but I've come to expect something different from the folks at Pixar. An enjoyable 90 minutes, but not up to the lofty standards of a studio that's give us stuff like Up, Toy Story 3, and Wall-E in the past.

Still, 90 minutes of "Pixar Lite" is better than a lot of other studios' best offerings these days.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 12:56pm

I promised myself I wouldn't read about the surprising turn the movie takes, but of course I just had to.

I have to say that it's not what I was expecting, but with only Madagascar 3 out for an animation offering I'm sure I'll see this.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 2:34pm

I honestly have no interest in this whatsoever. The previews did nothing for me, and after Cars 2 I have not been to keen on seeing anything from Pixar. (I'm not a big Pixar fan to begin with though)

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 3:50pm

Then you might actually like it bwayphreak234. The main complaints seem to be from Pixar's biggest fans, because the movie feels more like a traditional Disney fairy tale then the usual style of Pixar... unless you don't care for Disney's style either, in which case, yeah stay away from it.

In the end, I see this movie being loved and embraced by a smaller fanbase than the more universally popular titles that go on to win big awards and what-not (though right now, "Learn Me Right" is at the top of my list for Best Song). I predict Brave to become a VERY popular cult classic, even if doesn't bring in the same box office as the usual Pixar fair.



Updated On: 6/22/12 at 03:50 PM

[LALALand]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 5:11pm

It wasn't great, but had its moments. The entire time I was watching it, I just couldn't stop thinking that it would've been better in live action.

[kec]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 10:21pm

Funny ad for the film:
Disney's "Brave" fake kilt ad

[jasonf]

Posted: 6/23/12 at 11:50pm

We just saw it - we thought it was pretty good. Yeah, the plot was very "Disney," but we love Disney, so there's not really too much wrong with that. We were actually

SPOILER ALERT

surprised that neither of the parents were killed off. Both my wife and I were expecting one of them to die - it was a pleasant surprise that neither did.

It wasn't the best Pixar movie, but it was certainly better than the Cars series or Monsters Inc.

If nothing else the animation was superb. The fight between the bears was absolutely incredibly well done.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 6/24/12 at 11:39am

I have not read this article yet nor I have seen the film. I also have not read Jason's spoilers. But I came across this on Entertainment Weekly.




Could the heroine of Pixar's 'Brave' be gay? (Warning: Spoilers!)

[Kad]

Posted: 6/24/12 at 11:43am

It's a pointless article. It basically says, "No one has said she's gay, but gee, she isn't following traditional gender roles and doesn't want to marry a man!"

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 6/26/12 at 1:34am

That EW article is stupid. Haven't we gotten past having to grab at characters who's sexuality isn't directly addressed in fictional media and try to claim them as gay role models? Merida looks to be about 14 or 15 (tops). We don't need to behave that desperately anymore. The "author" of it even states in the end, their article doesn't matter. EW is just trying to stir up stupid controversy in getting people to bicker. As one person commented though, it's "yellow journalism at it's finest", sheesh.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:20pm

We just saw it tonight and yes, I think the Disney partnership is proving to be detrimental to Pixar but

SPOILER ALERT


it's important to note that the instigating conflict in "Brave" is resolved by the CHANGING OF THE TRADITIONAL DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.

Updated On: 6/27/12 at 11:20 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:25pm

I saw it this afternoon and enjoyed it. I found it strange she sang one song in the beginning and never sang again. Did she not like the sound of her voice?

I took my 5 year old niece and afterwards she asked me if I ever see bears back home in NYC. I told her I hunt them every Friday night which greatly confused her.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:28pm

One song glory.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:39pm

Disney/Pixar's RENT coming Christmas, 2014.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 1:21am

Aaaand 10 points to Jordan for that bear hunting comment lol

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 1:34am

LOL. There were two songs that were sung in Merida's head. The opening "Touch the Sky" when she's shooting arrows all over the place, and "Into the Open Air" sung while she's (SPOILER) teaching Mum Bear how to catch fish (Ok, maybe she IS a lesbian).

It being Pixar and all, I'm surprised we got ANY music aside from the closing credits song.



Updated On: 6/28/12 at 01:34 AM

[wicked1492]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 1:44am

"It being Pixar and all, I'm surprised we got ANY music aside from the closing credits song."

Ummm...
"You've Got A Friend in Me" Toy Story
"When She Loved Me" Toy Story 2
"Real Gone" Cars
"Our Town" Cars
"If I Didn't Have You" Monsters Inc.
"We Belong Together" Toy Story 3
"Down To Earth" WALL-E

Pixar is sorta known for great songs that aren't sung by characters, but provide an inner monologue or over-arching theme.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 12:14am

I saw the film today and I really enjoyed it. It was visually stunning and the voice acting in it was terrific. I also found the story fascinating.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 12:23am

"It being Pixar and all, I'm surprised we got ANY music aside from the closing credits song."


Maybe that should have been - "It being Pixar and all, I'm surprised we got ANY music not sung by Randy Newman that sounds just like every other Randy Newman sung song Randy Newman has ever sung before"

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 4:22am

I like that Randy keeps recycling 'Short People'.