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 Pixar’s latest feature, Brave, makes great use of the rich legends and
beautiful scenery of the Scottish Highlands to set a story full of
mysticism and courage around, Merida, its very first lead female
character.
In the
Scottish wilds, a bucolic peace reigns for the moment, and King Fergus,
his Queen, Elinor, and their tiny daughter, Merida, a tiny moppet that
looks entirely made of her untamed red curls, enjoy the beauty of their
lands. The little princess takes more after Fergus in nearly every way
and his present of an archer’s bow is the best thing the small girl
could ask for. Her father’s first lessons create a lifelong devotion in
Merida to perfect her skills and she spends any time she can steal
outdoors on her horse doing very unprincess-like activities. This is no
boon to Queen Elinor, who must train Merida to take her place as a
future queen, wife and mother, and her strict demands and corrections
over every aspect of Merida’s life put the mother and daughter
constantly at odds. All Merida wants is to have the freedom that any
boy in her land has and that her three impish little brothers will have
when they are grown. The tension between mother and child is ratcheted
way up by the ensuing gathering of the clans. Merida has become of an
age when she must become betrothed to the firstborn heir of one of King
Fergus’ allies. That young man will be chosen in a test of skill as
selected by Merida, who naturally opts for archery. Merida defiantly
outclasses every one of her potential suitors and her action causes an
uproar that could lead to war with the allies, who were promised a
marriage and a step closer to the throne. Queen Elinor is furious with
her stubborn, rebellious child and her anger sends Merida out of the
castle and into the forest mists. Merida’s horse seems to know what his
rider doesn’t as he shies away from passing into a stone circle, which
when crossed; a stream of ethereal, blue floating lights reveals another
scene entirely. The mysterious occupant of a tiny hut is quickly sussed
out by Merida, who recalls her mother’s stories of myth and mystics, to
indeed be a witch. The girl makes a desperate deal to change her fate,
unfortunately Merida isn’t as specific in her request as she should have
been and the result of her pact with the witch brings about unexpected
and terrible results.
The
first half of Brave is a thing of joy and Pixar wonderfulness. The lush
Scottish landscapes that make one doubt they’re made of pixels, the
adorable design of baby Merida, the warmth of their family ties and the
raucous comedy of the King and his brutish fellows all fall into the
winning formula that Pixar is supreme at conjuring. Even more appealing
is the strong, feisty character Merida’s given and the unusualness of
her story. As main parts of the plot involve her demurring at getting
married and then facing danger after making the witch’s deal, I kept
expecting some stableboy or someone to come along and be her pal and
later saviour and romantic interest. Happily, there’s no Prince
Charming for our heroine, which is a bold move in this age of
boy-pleasing movie demographics. Thankfully, neither is Merida a bratty
or whiny girl, just one who doesn’t understand why the rules must be
different for her than males. Watching her scale the side of a mountain
barehanded and zip through the forest in full gallop, hitting bullseyes
with her bow is thrilling. We enjoy her freedom as much as she does.
Her mother’s frustration is understandable and viewers can sympathise
with each of the ladies’ exasperation with the other. The clan’s humour
is both subversive and slapstick-silly; with one chief’s fashionable son
gathering a crowd of screaming groupies, another’s son’s brogue is so
thick no one can understand him, while one’s boy’s father takes no issue
with proving what Scotsmen don’t wear under their kilts, mooning his
rivals at will. All good stuff.
Then
something weird happens: After Merida is lured to the witches hut, the
dynamic and even some of the design changes. The witch looks to be a
whole different make to everyone else and her movements are odd and
jarring; more suited for a Disney 2D animation than the fullness of a
Pixar 3-Dimensional film. The spell she casts is just plain bizarre.
It’s alluded to when you see the witch hut’s décor, but it turns the
plot into something unexpected and not necessarily pleasant. The focus
come way off Merida and all the lovely background we’ve got about her
and the expectation that her excellent skills will come to some exciting
use is pretty much dashed. It feels like the boldness of placing a
female character at the crux of the story finally gave way to fear
behind the scenes; so a more standard and lesser plot was thrown in, one
that Disney has used before. It’s very disappointing. It’s also
downright silly trying to watch the filmmakers take the plot device they
chose and fit their warm-hearted family story around it. Even so,
Merida’s brothers create a lot of the laughs from that point, which
helps one get past the frustration with the direction of the plot. We
still get a feel for Merida’s courage, but not quite in the way one
hoped.
I
can’t hate Brave because there’s so many bits of goodness in it,
including the excellent voice cast, featuring Kelly MacDonald as our
heroine, Merida, and Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor. Billy Connolly is
perfect as King Fergus, who accepts his daughter and her hoydenish ways,
no matter what; a pussycat despite being the fiercest man in the land.
As to be expected from Pixar, the artistic quality of the film is
remarkable: The backgrounds are stunning as with the mountainous land
and seascapes, the gleaming fur on the animals and the feathers on the
witch’s raven. The textures are gorgeous; Merida’s wild mass of titian
curls is a marvel that will make women want to throw away their flat
irons forever. Add to that that the movie can be awfully funny. I
only wish Pixar had itself been Brave enough to keep its eye on its
wonderful heroine and not be compromised by its lack-of-faith decision
to switch gears mid-plot to a tired, silly device that’s unworthy of
everything that came before it.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
June
21st, 2012
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