Set in a time when traditions were solid and family was dear; “Brave” tells the tale of a young Scottish princess named Merida (voiced by Kelly MacDonald), who wants to create her own path in life. Everything from the tips of Merida’s wild red hair to her stubborn personality defies all of her family’s expectations, specifically, her mother. In order to not be forced into a conventional arranged marriage, Merida relies on witchcraft to dissuade her adamant mother, with unfortunate results. Having accidentally transformed her mother into a bear, Merida goes on a journey to reverse the spell on her mother.
As usual for films made by Pixar Animated Studios, “Brave” had crisp and complex visuals. Specifically for this movie, Pixar rewrote its entire animation system for the first time in 25 years. Seemingly small details like Merida’s fierce locks or the Scottish landscape were brought to life in beautiful colors and motion. Additionally, not a single character in the film was dull or trite. Merida, despite being the strong-willed heroine, had her faults, which moved the plot in interesting directions. Queen Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), Merida’s mother, was just as stalwart and human as Merida. Their mother-daughter interactions colored the film and emphasized the strength and love in family bonds. Merida’s three younger brothers and her father, King Fergus (voiced by Billy Connolly), served as the comic relief to the movie, but were represented no less strongly than Merida and her mother.
Although “Brave” is Pixar’s first fairy tale movie, it went against the conventional trends of films in its genre. For example, fairy tale princesses usually marry princes or men who save them, have delicate looks, or have mature personalities. Insteand, Merida is portrayed as a tenacious princess, similar to Disney princesses, like Mulan. But her assets, pride, reluctance to admit mistakes, and irresponsibility, eventually lead to the confliicts of the film. However, Merida overcomes her weaknesses and mends her relationship with her mother and family. As another big difference from typical fairy tale princesses, Merida does not have a love interest in her film. These changes to the fairy tale genre of films do not detract from “Brave,” but instead make it much easier to focus on the problems Merida faces with her family.
“Brave” is an entertaining and exquisite animated film. It is great for the whole family, yet seems geared towards mothers and their daughters. The movie teaches a great lesson about humility and the constancy of family.
Hi Tiffany, great review of Brave. I saw the movie too and really enjoyed it. It would have been better if you focus on aspects other than the plot too: setting, features, characters, animations etc. Overall, your review was detailed and analyzed both the pros and cons of this movie. Good job
Thanks! I feel a little awkward because someone else also put up a review xD.
Hi. I really like your movie review and how you included how the plot went and descriptions on what the movie was about. Maybe you could add some quotes next time. But overall it was great. (: