Film Review: "Brave"

Starring: Kelly McDonald, Emma Thompson, Craig Ferguson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters

Initial Release Date/s: 07/10/12 [Seattle International Film Festival]

Running Time: 93 Minutes

Pixar has sealed its fate. They have commanded their destiny, as the true powerhouse of 3-dimensional computer animation. Yet, Its latest feature does not live up to its name by tottering itself as either one of the production's best or not even close.

The film's is based in Medieval-era Scotland, during the 10th century. Merida (McDonald) is the name of the protagonist, she is a princess that wants to break from tradition by not being "betrothed" to unite the kingdom that her ancestors had built from ages ago. Her mother & kingdom's reigning queen, Elinor (Thompson), is a very uptight, conservative lady who has been grooming her since she was a wee-one. Making her act more like a "lady," rather than what she wants to be, an adventurer-slash-equestrian-archer.

On the day Merida was to be wedded to one of the first-born son's of the leaders of the other 3 clans, she runs away and manages to stumble upon a witch's home through the guide of these will-o'-the-wisp. She requests for a spell from the witch, to help change her mother's mind about the decision of giving her hand in marriage. The witch grants Merida's wish and gives her this enchanted pastry. But all goes awry when her mother eats a slice of the magical quiche and turns into this large black bear. The thing is that Merida's father, King Furges (Connolly), does not know about what has occurred and he absolutely despises bears, because one took his left leg. Little do they know, is that same black bear was a prince of an older kingdom, that turned into a bear by the same hex. It's up to Merida and Queen Elinor to journey on this quest, to find a way to reverse the enchantment, before the second sunrise, or she becomes a bear forever.

It's no mistake that Pixar has outdone itself in the design department. Lush greenery, well-detailed characters with perfectly rendered hair, flawless lighting, and amazing voice acting was the film's true showcase. Sadly it's the plot that falls, which snips my plethora of praises for this Oscar-caliber animated film. It sort of feels generic, story-wise. It's like they decided to take their parent company, Disney's route, and assemble something for this summer's box office. It definitely is a visual masterpiece, but it doesn't live up to hype or standards of Pixar filmography that millions and I have grew up with.

The character developments weren’t special, and too by-the-book for Pixar’s standards. Where are the wild card characters, which Pixar is known to conjure? I get that Pixar bases their story off of an old Scottish folklore, but did they have to call it by the book. It was highly unlike them to create such basic personae. All I saw was a rebellious princess, an overprotective parent, a wily family, and villain of unfathomable strength.  

Even though the film's plot and typical folkloric archetypes may not have been something to truly marvel at with awe, they still had a that cute Pixar charm. The crowd favorite, which is the traditional pre-movie Pixar shorts, was another spectacle to behold. Aptly titled, “La Luna”, for it's lighthearted story and bright array of three simple characters. Initially premiered at the Annecy International Film Festival of last year. This is my first time viewing this particular animated short. I also caught a quick whiff of it, because of its nomination for Best Animated Short in the 84th Academy Awards.

I really found myself immersed in the folktales of Scottish history through the movie. The wide range of digitally generated images was something to truly behold. Then it really got me to thinking about what lies ahead for Pixar: Have they lost touch? What has Cars 2 [2011] done to their psyche? Are they goanna concentrate on the digital aspects? Will they ever recover from that automotive disaster? Only time can tell and answer those questions. But even after seeing "Brave," I know that they can return with that great counter-punch and take back their rightful spot as the Royals of Digitally Animated Films.


 Final Verdict: See it on DVD/Blu-Ray/NetFlix.