Disney•Pixar's Brave is about a
Scottish princess named Merida (Kelly Macdonald), who prefers bows over
boys. When she has to choose a proper groom to betroth, Merida suggests
that they should do archery. During mid-game, Merida interrupts and
shoots her own bow. Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), Merida's mother, gets
enraged by this, and Merida runs away into the forest crying. She meets a
witch and asks her to change her fate, but instead, turns Elinor into a
bear. Now she and Merida have to find a way to return Elinor back to
normal before Elinor remains a bear permanently.
I am aware that this is considered Pixar's black sheep, but I have respect for Brave for three reasons.
1.
The film was co-directed by Brenda Chapman. This is the lady who
co-directed The Prince of Egypt, one of my favorite animated movies of
all time. She was also an excellent storyboard artist for Disney movies
like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The
Hunchback of Notre Dame, just to name a few. This explains why Brave has
so many similarities to animated Disney movies like Aladdin, Mulan, and
Brother Bear.
2. Merida is a character many teenagers can
relate to. There have been plenty of times when a teenager had problems
with their parents, and Merida's is no exception.
3. This
movie was dedicated to Steve Jobs. Along with John Lasseter and Ed
Catmull, he is one of the co-founders of Pixar, arguably one of the best
animation studios in the world. Jobs also founded the
multibillion-dollar company Apple, which many people around the world
use. In fact, I type almost all my reviews and stories on my iPod Touch,
including this review.
I am aware that Brave doesn't feel
like a Pixar film, being sometimes predictable with more potty humor
that usual, but maybe some fans were getting tired of 'the Pixar
formula'. You don't have to like this movie, but just tell me with a
straight face: Of the following four animated features released in 2012,
would you rather watch Brave, The Lorax, Ice Age 4, or Foodfight?
Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.
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