Home

Movie Reviews

TV Addict

DVD Extras

Ill-Literate (Book Reviews)

Listen, Hear (Music)

FilmStarrr (Celebrity Interviews)

Stuf ... (Product Reviews)

...and Nonsense (Site News)

Linkage

Hit me up, yo! (Contact)

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow TheDivaReview on Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 © 2006-2022 The Diva Review.com

 

 

 

Photos

(Courtesy of Pixar/Disney)

 

Do Your Bit for

Fabulosity.

Don’t hesitate,

just donate.