Pixar's Brave (2012)

Walt Disney Pictures & Pixar

People in Disney movies should know by now to never, ever go into a cabin in a dark forest alone, and especially avoid witches. Just take for example Mad Madame Mim. She could turn you into a newt or a germ in a split second. Though if Disney characters avoided witches, then their movies would be rather short.

The trailer for Brave featured a young girl who was to be betrothed to one of 3 “warriors” who represent their clans, yet she showed them up with her skills in archery. That happens very early in the movie and only serves to get the ball rolling. From there, Brave tells a much more personal and touching story about that girl and her mother. It’s also not without funny moments and I got the biggest kick out of Merida’s (the main character of Brave) younger brothers who are a mischievous trio. They are too young to talk but that doesn’t keep them from cutting mustaches, stealing treats, and scaring the maid who lives in their castle.

 

It’s refreshing to have a Pixar movie with a lead character who is a female, since their main characters are almost entirely males, from Buzz Lightyear to Wall*E to Lightning McQueen. The animated Disney movies from my youth were dominated by female leads, like Ariel, Belle, and Cinderella. My sister loved them but I just rolled my eyes and preferred The Sword in the Stone. Maybe I enjoyed Brave so much because it’s slightly similar to that, without giving too much of the plot away. I wonder if Pixar got the idea for Brave because they wanted to make their own version of a Disney Princess; perhaps the anti-Princess. However they came about the idea for Brave, it’s a satisfying movie that reminds me of the Disney movies from my childhood, even more than 2009’s Up. Pixar always outdoes their work with each new film and the world created in Brave is full of spooky forests, waterfalls, and mountains that look stunning. The characters, with their swords and spears, are a goofy contrast to the excellent scenery but that’s the point. Their cartoonish appearances are done for laughs, so sit back and enjoy the movie. It’s one of the best of 2012.