Brave

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Brave is inventive, joyous and beautiful looking. However, it is going to suffer from the Up/Wall-E conundrum. The critical consensus for this film is 76% and the majority of the comments are “it is good but not Up/Wall-E.”  Recreating Up/Wall-E will be nearly impossible and it is a shame that every Pixar movie will have to live up to that hype.

Pixar has created a wonderful name for itself with the movie going audience. The word Pixar means success and quality. When one of the movies is not up to the expected excellence it gets bashed loud and often by the critics. Cars 2 for example took a critical beating but I guarantee it was better than the majority of animated films out there.

I think people forget that Pixar movies are meant for kids. The theater my girlfriend I saw Brave in was packed full of children who were laughing, cheering and laughing more at the nice film unfolding in front of their eyes. They were watching a smart little film about redemption and family. When walking out of the theater the little buggers were loudly proclaiming the funniness of the film. The majority of the laughs come from the three clans and their suitors that are visiting in hopes of gaining Merida’s hand. My favorite actor/Scotsman/host Craig Ferguson voices Lord Macintosh, he is the hairy fella on the far left.

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The film centers around Merida. She is a ball of red hair which must have cost the animators 15 million because every wisp of hair has its own personality. She is an ace with an arrow, rides a Clydesdale and does not want to marry one of the three nerdy suitors looking for her attention. Merida runs away and meets a witch who does not want to cast any spells because they always go wrong. What follows is a cast spell and a daughter looking to repair the damage she has inflicted upon the family. The movie never loses its whimsy and is a marvel to look at. I’m not kidding when I say that each strand of Merida’s hair flies gracefully in the wind.

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This ia Pixar’s first lead heroine and they got her right. I am a big fan of Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting, Boardwalk Empire, No Country for Old Men) She uses her Scottish accent to full extent and took over when Reese Witherspoon had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. MacDonald gives Merida loads of exuberance and nails the toughness of the character.

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Brave is Pixars message to Dreamworks and How to Train Your Dragon. The film doesn’t reach the wonder of Dragon but it adds another outstanding addition to the medieval animated lore. As long as Pixar is making films I will continue to enjoy them and appreciate the wonder they incorporate. It still isn’t as good as Wall-E though.