I think it’s fair to
say Brave has been by far my favourite film of the Summer. Of course it’s
always a treat when a Pixar film is sitting comfortably in the cinemas. I was
just a little disappointed that the last time it happened it was a Cars sequel.
As usual Pixar didn’t
give too much away with Brave before its release. The teaser for it was just a
single scene that rather than telling you the plot, showed you all you needed
to know about the main heroine. She was strong, confident and good with a bow.
The nice thing about
Pixar’s advertising tactics is that I went in not knowing what the main “trial”
for the character would be. In fact I wish this were the case for more films.
When Hunger Games came out I went against my usual “read the book first” rule
and I think I enjoyed it all the more.
I definitely had fun
with this film and from the looks of it so did the filmmakers. Every character
gets their moments and having them all together always leads to chaos. Even a
simple family dinner has to end with all the food on the floor and the triplets
stealing the desserts.
Pixar have certainly
done their job to make the whole thing feel very “Scottish”. Opting for a
(partially) Scottish cast rather than going for the crummy America style Shrek
accent was definitely a good move. They want a king of Scotland? Well who
better than Billy Connolly? And hopefully Scottish folks won’t bemoan the presence
of a few English thesps.
The look of the film
is as lovely as you would expect from Pixar. And I would recommend going for
the 2D option. I ended up seeing it in a screen where it wasn’t calibrated
properly and it really ruined what were obviously nice visuals. Of course this
won’t be the case for every screening but there wasn’t much good use of the 3D
anyway.
So the voices are in
place, the humour hits the spot so what about heart? Yep it’s got that too.
Brave puts its heroine in a spot that borders on the cliché (being faced with a
marriage she doesn’t want) but ends up actually being about something else.
Sort of.
Okay so in order to
talk about the story in more detail I’ll have to put up a flaming great
“spoiler” sign. But I should probably offer up my final opinion first.
Brave is funny, a
little bit emotional and most of all a good, decent story. Forget Ice Age 4,
show your kids what a good film is and take them to this instead.
Spoilers
Here we go, spoiler
territory. Where was I? Merida was faced with a marriage to promote peace
between the different families of the kingdom. She makes a stand and enters a
competition to win back her own hand.
The mother, angry that she would show up their honoured guests and spit in the
face of tradition, tells Merida to grow up and face her responsibilities.
So far, so typical.
But as supernatural elements start to enter the story we slowly learn what the
film is actually about. This isn’t about a girl proving she’s too strong to be
tied down by a man or a girl who’s fallen for the pauper. Men have nothing to
do with this particular tale.
Instead the tension
comes from the relationship between mother and daughter. Merida is so angered
with the way her mother treats her that she wishes for a way to change her. And
with the help of a spell Queen Elinor is literally changed… in to a bear.
I had seen hints at
the whole bear thing but had never guessed that it would be the mother that
would turn in to one. It’s quite unusual really when it’s typically the main
character that this happens to.
The whole idea really
struck a chord with me and I think it will to kids and teens especially. Just
think of how many fourteen year olds would want their mum turned in to a bear rather than be told yet again they're not allowed out Saturday night.
I find it really
interesting too that Merida instinctively asks for her mother to change rather
than looking to herself to see if maybe she should be the one to make some
changes. It's a very typical teenage reaction to a problem and obviously not the ideal way to look at something.
There is so much about
Brave that feels familiar, a spell with a time limit, a character turning in to
an animal, a princess. And yet, there were things that genuinely felt fresh and
new. It isn’t just Merida’s story it is Queen Elinor’s too as both learn their
lesson.
If Pixar make a
sideline in Disney-esque fairy tales then I’m all for it. And by the look of
Wreck-it Ralph it seems Disney have borrowed a few sensibilities from Pixar
too. It’s a cultural exchange!