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Review: Brave
Pixar’s Brave is a beautifully-rendered tale about a mother and daughter that has a lot of heart, but then takes a few missteps that keep it from achieving true greatness. The kids will love this film due to an overreliance on slapstick comedy. But I’m not a fan, so a lot of the comedy was just a drag to me. Fortunately, the drama is very well done, as is the emotional story between Princess Merida and her mother the Queen. And along with the depth of character, a wonderful visual style, the cornucopia of Scottish accents, and all around skilled craftsmanship, Brave is another fine addition to Pixar’s library.
Unfortunately, what starts out as a pretty great film suddenly veers into absurdism about a third of the way through. But this change is so integral to the story of Brave that the entire experience suffers. I am willing to accept that everybody else may love what happens, but I found it to be incredibly silly.
Movie rating: 4/5: Good!
There will be SPOILERS in my review, so I don’t want to give away what this change is in this opening segment. But it’s just so ridiculous that I think it detracts from the very point of the film. The plot is about Merida and her mother coming to understand one another, but the story of how they get there actually takes away from the overall film. It’s weird. I feel like the people at Pixar should have been able to do a better job in telling the story. I don’t think expecting greatness from Pixar is out of the question. They’re Pixar, for crying out loud! And there are hints at greatness throughout Brave. As if someone, somewhere wrote an amazing mother/daughter story set in ancient Scotland…only for somebody else to come along to throw a bunch of weirdness and slapstick comedy into the mix.
I would expect this kind of thing from Laika Entertainment, but not from Pixar. That link takes you to the trailer for Paranorman, one that the theater aired before Brave. I can’t remember a more pathetic, unfunny, by-the-numbers movie trailer. They wish they were as good as Pixar.
Also, I saw the film (reluctantly) in 3D. It neither adds nor detracts from the overall experience. Another pointless use of the gimmick.
New Brave Trailer Fills Me With a Little More Hope
I have not been blown away by the previews for the next Pixar film Brave. It looks a little too slapstick for my tastes, a little too zany. Plus all we’ve seen of the plot is the cliched story of a young girl in medieval times fighting against society’s expected role for her. But this trailer has a tiny bit more oomph to it, at least at the end. Nothing will win me over faster than a slow, melodic song filled with soul and destiny. But what do you guys think of Brave so far?
New Brave Trailer Does Not Reassure Me
I wasn’t impressed with the first official trailer for the next Pixar film, Brave. It seemed a little too heavy on slapstick humor for a Pixar movie. Not to mention the age-old story of a boisterous girl in medieval times bucking trend of having to get married. It’s such a played out story. There’s a new trailer out, but it does not fill me with confidence.
Though there is no doubting that the animation looks beyond brilliant!
Here’s a description of the movie:
Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.
Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.
Brave? More Like Lame, amiright, Folks?
Now that I’ve made peace with the death of my favorite comic book character, let’s move on to some other kinds of posts. The full trailer for Pixar’s next movie Brave came out while I was grieving. I was excited, because I liked the teaser trailer, but this full trailer leaves a lot to be desired. Take a look:
I gotta say, I’m disappointed. Not by the visuals, of course, they look stunning, but by the proposed story. Pixar is supposed to make these great, wonderful and creative films. A world of talking cars. Robot love in the future. Toys that come to life. But what’s this story? Strong, independent woman overcome’s society’s restrictions? We’ve seen that story a million times before! Women are always proving themselves in these types of movies. I think it’s a pretty safe guess that Brave, or whatever her name is, will easily rise above her society’s unfair gender laws and win the day. Possibly killing a monster bear in the process.
So I’m just not as impressed as I’d hoped to be with the Brave trailer. There’s a little too much slapstick comedy.
Frankly, I’m pretty sure the men and women at Pixar started with the poofy red hair and worked their way backwards.
That's some pretty computer-rendered hair
Henchman-4-Hire 