Review: Disney/Pixar’s BRAVE

Yeah, I get it. This movie is nine years old but, I don’t think it gets enough credit. It was both ahead of and behind its time. Let’s talk a little bit about it.

Merida is a young princess whose character is best symbolized by her hair. You can’t tell in promotional material, but girl’s hair is wild. It’s thick in parts, thinner in others. It curls around itself and outward. It’s a tangled mess of wildfire, and I love it. More impressive though is the fact that it’s animated in 2012. This movie is beautiful. But…more on that in a bit.

Merida, being a princess, has certain responsibilities that she must adhere to, but, like all kids/teens they want to find their own path, be who they were meant to be. In Merida’s case freedom to choose her life is pretty central, and her mother Queen Elinor, voiced wonderfully by Emma Thompson, has been preparing her her entire life for the role of Queen at the expense of getting to know her daughter. On the flip side, just as stubborn as her mother, Merida hates all her royalty training and just wants to ride in the highlands of Scotland on her horse and practice her archery and you know…do nothing and just be free. Like we all do.

Then of course is King Fergus, voice by Billy Connolly whom I love and miss in movies and TV and standup. He is — the King and he tries his best to keep the two warring women in his life, at least happy with him. Plus he wants to kill this demon-bear that took his leg like a decade before, so, he’s got his own problems. These are exasperated by Merida’s refusal to choose a suitor from the other three clans. The clan leaders (and the small host of soldiers each clan brought) fight amongst themselves and with King Fergus about who should be King, what’s wrong with Merida etc etc all eventually coming to true Disney/Pixar fights. Weapons thrown and stuck in wooden tables. Exaggerated punches, you know. All for comedic effect, and it works.

Meanwhile, Merida stumbles upon a witches hut and convinces the witch to grant her a spell that will “change” her mom, so she would see Merida’s side. Of course, the spell goes terribly wrong and Queen Elinor is transformed into a Brown Bear — with the brain and soul/spark/energy of a human. The comedy here is more for kids but it’s cute and entertaining enough for an adult to be, “haha that bear is acting like a human!” it works.

In the end it all works out and everything is fine. But here are the reasons why, I think, if you haven’t seen it, you should, if you have kids, especially daughters, I think it’s a great movie.

Firstly, I love that this story is Merida and Elinor’s. Two very strong female characters. Merida is incredible with a bow and on horseback. She’s smart, funny, and strong willed. Her mother is calculating and strong willed but these are masks she uses to hide her love and softer side that she felt would be of no use to Merida as she grew up. Everything that happens to them though is through their own agency. What I mean is, everything they do is not because of a man. They aren’t doing something on behalf of a man. They aren’t doing anything at the behest of a man. It is a mother/daughter story with two strong capable women doing their own thing while dad tries to keep the kingdom together.

Another reason you need to see this movie, the animation is spectacular. From Merida’s hair to Mor’du the demon-bear’s armour like skin and scarred face, to probably my favourite shot in the whole film; Merida notches an arrow in her bow and the camera switches to a front view and slowed down. In crystal clear detail you see the force of the bow string on the arrow shaft. It looses, and bobbles and waves and is just…wonderful.

I know reviews for the movie are positive, but at the time and since then, I never thought Brave got the credit it deserved. It is a refreshing story from Disney/Pixar about women. Strong women, doing things without (much) male interference.

Highly Recommend