Brave

It must be hell being Pixar sometimes. Due to their largely stellar track record, audiences (and even most critics) seem to expect a new masterpiece each and every time. It's kind of like the straight-A student in school, under the watchful eye of their strict parents, They are expected to perform at the top of their level every time. But what happens when that student delivers a B-paper? It's still good, but since it's not up to the standards expected, the parents sometime overreact.

Brave is a B-effort from the usually straight-A Pixar. That's certainly not a bad thing, unless you frequent some of the movie message boards that I have seen, where certain people seem to be acting like the movie is an abomination simply because it doesn't hold the weight of the Toy Story films, Finding Nemo, or Up. Yes, Brave is not up to those classics, but it still has a lot to recommend, starting with the look of the film. The studio apparently got to use some new advanced computer animation technology with this film, and the attention to detail and fluid animation this new program allows really shows. Look beyond the animation, and you get a simple, but likable fairy tale that deals with the relationships between mothers and daughters. As long as you don't walk in expecting a life-changing experience, or a grand, sweeping animated adventure, I can't imagine anyone being too disappointed with this.

The story centers on Merida (voice by Kelly Macdonald), a medieval Scottish princess with flowing fire-red hair who is skilled with a bow and arrow. Her main goal in life is to ride across the Highlands on her horse, and see the world. It is a dream that her father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), can certainly understand and sympathize with. Her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), is another matter. Elinor has been training her daughter to be a proper lady, building up to the day where she will marry a fitting suitor from one of the allied kingdoms. Naturally, her mother's plan does not mesh with Merida's dreams of freedom. Now that Merida has come of age to be wed, the Queen is becoming stricter than ever, and is almost trying to force her daughter into taking on the image of what a proper Princess and future Queen should be.

During the ceremony in which Merida must pick her future husband, things do not go as planned, and mother and daughter have a particularly nasty falling out afterward. Merida rides off into the surrounding forest in tears, only to meet some mystical will-o-wisps who lead her to the cottage of a batty old witch (Julie Walters) who, not unexpectedly, has a spell that just might help her change her fate. Breaking somewhat with Disney animated tradition, the witch is not even the villain of the story. She even tries to convince Merida not to try to solve her problems with magic, but the strong-willed girl will not listen. As for the results of the spell, I will have to tiptoe here to avoid spoilers. Let's just say it has unexpected results for both Merida and Elinor, and that the two will have to put aside their differences and work together under strange circumstances in order to see the spell reversed.

The story in Brave is quite simple, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't take some unexpected turns here and there. Heck, the fact that the lead heroine has a loving mother and father is almost surprising in itself, as it's usually a tradition in Disney animated films for the lead character to have at least one dead or missing parent. That said, the themes at the heart of the story should be familiar to anyone who has watched an animated film. It's ultimately a story about communication, and how the daughter and mother must strengthen their bond in order to be happy as they once were. Nothing Earth-shattering, but the movie does have a lot of heart, and does a good job of developing the relationship between Merida and her parents before the magic steps in, and threatens to destroy everything. While the characters may not be as instantly memorable as in some past Pixar films, we still do find ourselves caring about them, thanks to the screenplay making them instantly likable and easy to relate to.

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the screenplay focuses a lot on the love these characters have for each other. You can feel genuine warmth, not just in the mother and daughter relationship, but also in the relationship Elinor shares with her husband, King Fergus. While she may sometimes grow annoyed with his somewhat oafish behavior, you can still see the respect she has for him. I actually found this an interesting angle. I've seen a lot of animated films and TV shows where the parents are largely used as comic relief, or seen as an embarrassment by the young lead character. So, it's somewhat a nice change of pace to see this film centered on the respect, the disagreements, and ultimately the bond that this family shares. It certainly helps Brave find its heart, which is a good thing, because the plot is never quite as engaging.

Please don't read that as to say that the plot is bad. It moves well, and is never boring. There's just simply not much to it. Once the spell is in place, and the heroine sets about righting the wrong she accidentally put into motion, everything just kind of falls into place. She figures out the solution to the problem almost instantly, and the answers simply continue to almost fall into her lap. Given the tone of the ad campaign, I expected her to have to go on some kind of quest, but Merida's mission barely forces her to leave the castle most of the time. It's the characters, not the story, that keep us involved. Considering how high quality everything else is (the animation, the voice acting, the music, the detail in the settings), is the fact that the plot doesn't live up to it a disappointment? Of course. But not so much that it sinks the film.

Brave is a small movie that unfortunately is being blown up and hyped to be a huge event by the Disney marketing machine. Maybe that's leading to a lot of the disappointment some people are expressing. I say, walk in with realistic expectations, don't expect anything huge, and just let the charms of the characters and the beautiful Scottish setting captivate you. Brave may not be a classic, but that doesn't mean there's not a lot to like.

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