For Pixar fans, Brave marks a crucial watershed. The studio’s first fairy-tale film and first feature with a female protagonist, it’s also Pixar’s first non-sequel since being bought by Disney. Toy Story 3 and Cars 2 were both products of post-purchase Pixar — and, as well done as Toy Story 3 was, the willingness to keep going back to the same well (combined with the mediocrity of Cars 2) raised disquieting questions about whether a Disney-owned Pixar still had the vision and daring for unconventional projects like Wall-E or Up.
Speed bumps on Brave’s path to the screen raised further concerns. First came word that the original title, The Bear and the Bow, had been scuttled for another one-word concept title like Up or Tangled. I thought The Bear and the Bow lovely and evocative, and while Up struck me as a daringly unconventional title, a trend toward such terse titles could quickly become dull. (Have minimalist names like John Carter, The Muppets and Winnie the Pooh helped or hurt those films at the box office?)
Then it was announced that writer-director Brenda Chapman (one of three directors on The Prince of Egypt and head of story on The Lion King), slated to be the first woman to direct a Pixar film, had been removed over creative differences and replaced with Mark Andrews. Pixar’s willingness to take a film from one director and give it to another has worked in the past (moving Ratatouille from Jan Pinkava to Brad Bird was, I’m convinced, the right move), but taking Pixar’s first woman director off their first girl-centric film seemed off to many.
Finally, the American trailers, alas, made Brave look like yet another retread of the overworn theme of a headstrong, rebellious young protagonist resisting a domineering parent’s vision of the child’s future — a theme all too familiar from everything from The Little Mermaid to How to Train Your Dragon.
Indeed, for the first half hour or so, Brave plays much like a movie of that sort: a movie more like what I expect from DreamWorks than what I hope for from Pixar. (The DreamWorks' vibe is enhanced by the Scots burrs, and even by King Fergus’ massive build and peg leg, all familiar from How to Train Your Dragon.) There is even a "Corset Lament" scene in which the heroine gasps that she can’t breathe while her mother declares the restrictive gown “perfect.”
But then comes a twist that makes the familiar first act prologue, and Brave becomes a very different movie indeed. I would go so far as to call it, to an extent, a commentary on or critique of the “Junior Knows Best” trope. This is one tale of parent-child conflict that doesn’t end with the chastened parent admitting that Junior was right all along … far from it.
The setup: On the rugged Scottish highlands, Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) chafes under the watchful eye of her mother, elegant Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). Merida resents the weight of responsibility that falls to her as the eldest — she envies the freedom of her triplet younger brothers, a trio of interchangeable rascals who never speak but execute mischief with commando precision — and her mother’s tutelage in ladylike deportment suits Merida as ill as the constricting gown and wimple that she’s forced to wear for a special occasion.
Tomboyish Merida takes more after her rough-hewn, bear-like father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), than her coiffed and tailored mother. Merida’s most prized possession, a birthday present from her father when she was a wee bairn, is a bow that she has learned to shoot with deadly accuracy. Notably, the princess’ bantering, mischievous relationship with her father is the year’s second endearing father-daughter bond in an animated family film, after The Secret World of Arrietty.
Then comes the unwanted betrothal: To keep peace in the kingdom, it is Merida’s “fate” to marry the firstborn son of one of the three lords, Macguffin, Macintosh and Dingwall (respectively, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Robbie Coltrane). Appalled, Merida protests that she’s not ready for her “life to be over,” that she wants her “freedom” (by which she means … well, see her father’s hilarious falsetto paraphrase).
So far, so familiar — and then the twist. It’s no spoiler to say that magic is involved; we meet the ghostly will-o’-the-wisp fairy lights in the opening scene, when little Merida gets her bow and King Fergus loses his leg to a monstrous black bear.
In folklore, fairy lights that recede or extinguish as one approaches are often thought to mischievously lead travelers astray from well-trodden paths into marshes or bogs (compare the elvish camp fires in The Hobbit) — but Elinor tells Merida that some say the wisps can lead you to your “fate.” Where the fairy lights lead Merida now, and what happens as a result, too many reviews have casually revealed — an act of critical violence to unsuspecting readers who haven’t seen the film.
Suffice to say, Merida and her mother’s relationship enters a new phase. Earlier in the film, each had complained about the other not listening; now a crisis compels each to listen to the other. If Elinor is challenged to rethink her priorities and notions of ladylike behavior, Merida is confronted with the rising gravity of the consequences of her actions, and her protestations that it’s all not her fault ring increasingly hollow.
Merida is even challenged, in a rhyming oracle, to “look inside / Mend the bond torn by pride.” This oracle offers both a literal and a figurative interpretation, and the way forward for Merida involves both a humbling repentance and the embracing of a traditionally feminine task.
Much of this is fairly uncharted moral terrain in modern Hollywood family films. Ironically, some critics are complaining about the very thing that makes Brave so refreshing: that it’s not another tale of teen rebellion and parents learning the error of their ways. Merida finds empowerment not through self-fulfillment, but through acceptance of responsibility in more ways than one.
Remarkably, both Elinor and even Merida are more empowered by moral authority than physical prowess; neither has to lift a hand or even raise their voices to assert themselves over a roomful of roughneck nobles and their entourages. When was the last family film — or Hollywood film of any kind — that celebrated chivalry, even of a highly imperfect sort?
Intriguing ambiguities and tensions run through the film. On the one hand, “traditions” may at times be altered or broken; on the other, “legends are lessons” that “ring with truths.” The world of unseen powers can be both benevolent and dangerous; resorting to magical spells, especially to manipulate others, is (Harry Potter critics take note) dangerous and wrong — but there seems to be a larger grace at work in the world, one that can bring redemption even to the most wretched. Questioning the nature of “fate” or destiny, Merida ultimately concludes that it’s “inside us” and that we can make of it what we will … but the film pointedly observes that without a benevolent power at work she and her family would have been undone.
Of course it looks magnificent. Merida’s unruly cataract of kinky red hair — a tangle of Celtic knotwork brought to flaming life — is an especially fine achievement and a key manifestation of her personality. One of my favorite visual touches is an early scene in which Merida climbs a rugged stone tower and dances before a waterfall; look closely for her flickering shadow on the cascading water behind her.
Other nifty sequences include a virtual discussion by proxy between Merida and her mother at the point where they aren’t listening to one another and a sort of joint speech by Merida and her mother in which Merida acts in part as proxy to her mother.
For all this, Brave falls short of the greatness of Pixar’s best achievements. The mother-daughter relationship in the first act is too one-sided, detracting from a key reference later on to a side of their relationship that hasn’t been established. While Merida is certainly right to reproach herself in her dealings with her mother, the film could be clearer about what it thinks about the arranged betrothal and her method of dealing with it. Merida’s contrition in a key scene is somewhat undercut by the sweeping social experiment that follows, and her efforts to unravel the magical bind she has created aren’t as intuitive as they should be. And darn it, The Bear and the Bow was a better title.
On the other hand, for once the heroine of a Hollywood animated film has both her parents, and both matter and are ultimately entirely sympathetic. Brave places welcome emphasis both on the harmony of the family and also responsibilities toward and harmony with the larger community. Among Hollywood animated films, it may be the most positive affirmation of family since The Incredibles and the best fairy tale since Beauty and the Beast.
P.S. Brave is preceded by “La Luna,” a typically Pixar-y exercise in short-form wordless whimsy and wonder that echoes some of the main feature’s themes and ends with what could be read as a sly inversion of a DreamWorks hallmark.
Steven D. Greydanus is the Register’s film critic.
Content Advisory: Some animated violence and scary imagery; mild suggestive humor, including brief comic rear nudity; a sequence of fantasy magic; fleeting spiritual implications requiring some perspective. Might be too intense for sensitive youngsters.
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It’s a bit off topic, but doesn’t the heroine here look a lot like the woman arrested in the UK phone hacking scandal(Rebekah Brooks)?
Sorry to mention it.Must be the hair.
:)
“The Bow and the Bear” does sound like a really good title. An even better one would have been “A Cataract of Kinky Red Hair.”
I had my expectations low for this one, but I’m looking forward to seeing it now. Thanks for your review.
I enjoyed your view a lot. FYI though Brave actually WAS the original title. They changed it to The Bear and the Bow and then changed it back to Brave later on.
I apologize for even thinking about this, but what rating are you planning to give it at Decent Films?
(Also, wasn’t it The Bear and the Bow, not The Bow and the Bear?)
If ye could change this movie…would ye?
Pachyderminator: Thanks for the catch, fixed. I’m looking at an A-minus at Decent Films.
The previews made me think it was another ode to feminism where the lead female must overcome traditional sex roles and become masculine to become free. Your review has made me largely reconsider.
I’m interested to see that so far, Brave has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any Pixar movie except Cars 2. I’m not reading any other reviews (except Jeffrey Overstreet’s, which I also trust) until I’ve seen the film, but evidently the way the themes are treated will be controversial.
Your review has me cautiously excited again. I’ve been reading fantasy since well before Harry Potter, and the Princess who wants her freedom and not be confined to “women’s work” is pretty much a cliche at this point, so most of the previews had me rolling my eyes. I’m glad to hear that that’s only a part of the story, and I have to say the really innovative part is a fantasy tale where the main character has two living parents.
Sounds cool! I was nervous about this one, especially after Cars 2, but there was always one shot that was just captivating, and that was the misty forest with the blue lights. [sigh…] too cool.
Thanks, as usual, for the Review! and thank you very much for the 0 spoilers. ^_^
Based on the trailer, Pixar’s string films not worth seeing remains unbroken.
Kevin: Not sure what you were trying to say, there. If it was a stab at trollery, it may be your own eye you poked. Cheers.
@Kevin: I suppose “Cars 2” could be considered a “film not worth seeing”, but one movie doesn’t make a string. Although not as good as other Pixar films, I found it to be enjoyable and, arguably, worth seeing.
Great review, although my thoughts on the film differ greatly. Might be that I’ve been counting down to Brave since March of last year, so much of the weak spots didn’t stick out to me. I’ve read devoted Pixar reviews that also address the lower aspects, but maybe I’m not quite a seasoned reviewer, or maybe I’m really that enchanted by it! That said, it was incredibly refreshing to have a heroine like Merida who isn’t pigeon holed into the Strong Female Protagonist, and a film that doesn’t pit the two women against each other! I thought that was the story’s greatest strength, that we’re meant to root for them equally. Quick question however: which sweeping social experiment are you referring to?
Ellie: It sounds like our thoughts differ somewhat, less than greatly. :-) (The “sweeping social experiment” refers to the ad-lib proposal that Merida, following the non-verbal cues of another character, makes to the assembled lords and their retinues.)
Hey there, great review.
Just a note: Disney bought Pixar in 2006. So the films “Up” and “Wall-E” are post “independent” Pixar. I say “independent” because, if anything, the Brain Trust of Pixar (Catmull, Lasseter and gang) have more freedom now than they had before. When Walt Disney bought Pixar, they put those guys in charge of their entire animation division due to their blockbusters.
mariokart:
If you only look at the release dates of the movies, that’s technically true, but the more important point is that both Up and Wall-E were in development prior to the Disney purchase, and their genesis and inspiration appear to be very much independent Pixar — more so, in fact, than Pixar’s first seven features, which were all developed for distribution by Disney.
Up and Wall-E, along with Ratatouille, seem to represent a middle period in Pixar’s history when the possibility of parting ways with Disney entirely was very much on the table. It was Pixar’s greatest period of creative audacity and envelope-pushing at the premise level, and so far it’s unclear whether Pixar will ever recover that level of unconventionality.
See my blog post “Three Phases of Pixar” for more analysis.
Pete Docter’s upcoming film about the inside of the mind may prove to be as unconventional as anything Pixar has done. We’ll have to wait and see.
Pachyderminator: Yep, I’ve got my eye on that one. That’s the sole reason I said “so far it’s unclear” rather than “so far I see no sign.” :-)
I’m excited to see this now. The two reviews I read earlier today, oddly, said the movie was “too old-fashioned”—I don’t even know what that means. It doesn’t sound at all old-fashioned. And like Elizabeth S above, I am sick, sick, sick of girl-power fantasy movies and stories. I think I reached my limit when my kids were little and I used to read them “Magic Treehouse” books—the sisters was brave and daring, and the brother was bookish and scared of everything. It doesn’t sound like much but it drove me NUTS, it was so overdone—and so much like everything else. WE GET IT ALREADY. Girls can be smart and brave too. They don’t have to be the male lead in everything!!!!
I knew I should never trust a Pixar trailer. I knew it.
As a girl who has had super curly hair my whole life, it was refreshing to see it accurately and beautifully animated for once. Good job Pixar!
Someone mentioned that they thought it was going to be a feminist movie and that the girl had to break out of her role to be free (or something to that effect.) I was afraid that was the case, but I’m glad that that’s not the case. I’ll go see it and hope for the best.
Thanks for your review. I just saw the film with my 5 and 3 year old daughters. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to unpacking the lessons of how the well mannered Queen was treated respectfully (even by the rowdy crowd), of familiy members looking out for each other, and of the pitfalls of pride.
Steven, did you feel that the scene in which Merida had to create a “distraction” for another character was a bit…..clunky???
Great review by the way, good to see Pixar back in form, I’ll be taking my 3 youngest siblings tomorrow night!!!
Saw it today and LOVED it…the animation is stunning (her hair just glows through the whole film), and the story is wonderful. Like you, I found it incredibly refreshing to have both parents portrayed with depth and affection, as was their respective relationships with their daughter. You don’t mention anything about the musical score, which I thought was one of the strengths of the movie. (It’s fun to note that composer Patrick Doyle is in the cast, hollering along with the men on “Mordu, Mordu”!) My main reservation was with the whole “destiny is inside you” trope, which sounds an awful lot like a Celtic version of “you’ve just got to believe in yourself”. Otherwise, I don’t really understand why so many critics think the story is underdeveloped…I thought it was just fine, with good balanced helpings of humor, drama, pathos and adventure. What I look for in a Pixar film (aside from stunning visuals) is to be swept into the world of the story, and this one did that in spades. Anyway, great review…and I agree—“The Bear and the Bow” is a much better title. Cheers! :-) <><
Benchwarmer: If you mean a key scene in the great hall at the end of the second act — no, I didn’t think it was clunky. I thought it was one of Merida’s best character moments, and had some great humor too. But as I said above I did think the whole social-experiment bit detracted somewhat from Merida’s contrition and acceptance of responsibility. Would have liked to see that handled differently, among other things.
Violamom: FWIW, Merida says our fate is “inside us,” etc., but I’m not sure the movie agrees! I think the appearance of the wisp at the very end undermines Merida’s comments somewhat. There is more subtlety in this film than some have recognized.
Cars 2 mediocre? How dare you!
I saw it yesterday, and I was really surprised at how bland and predictable most of it seemed. I found it a good, solid piece of work, but it didn’t blow me away.
There were good parts: most of the first act, the scene in the ruined castle, the climactic fight scene, the appearances of the wisps, etc. However, from the oracle on, the storyline just seemed to hit all the expected points and no more. The big scene in the great hall was entirely charming - but only if you ignore the actual content of the speech, which was so miscalculated I lost most of my sympathy for the movie at that point.
However, I would buy another ticket just to see “La Luna” again, which was brilliant.
Does anyone else notice how many archer characters there are in big name movies this year? First Katniss, then Hawkeye, now Merida. Not that I’m complaining. I think the bow is a beautiful weapon. And yes, “The Bear and the Bow” is a much better title.
Thanks for the review! I’m looking forward to seeing it now, after being somewhat hesitant.
Re: the “corset lament” - have you seen this?:
http://shoomlah.tumblr.com/post/21742068199/
Also, props to Pixar for casting actual born-in-Scotland Scots in five of the seven “lead” roles (and English actors for the other two). Quite a contrast to Ratatouille, which had zero French actors. (Not that Ratatouille wasn’t a terrific movie.)
while ‘brave’ was certainly more nuanced that most hollywood screeds promoting feminism and youth over their elders, at the end of the day, the mother is the one who essentially caved in on all the daughters demands, while the daughter concedes nothing, except the acknowledgement that her mother loves her. the daughter acted all emotional and such, but she totally got her way, and the duty and political ramifications of her actions just magically melted away as if they meant nothing. in reality political marriages always have the highest stakes behind them, with vast issues of land, military alliance, and money involved, guaranteeing war if real agreements are not reached. perhaps if the daughter were not a princess but a regular person it would have been more honest as an argument.
the girl gave a nice speech about her father’s kingship and the origins of their kingdom. this felt like the key moment to me in the film, the closest thing to her accepting her responsibility as a daughter of a king. and then she utterly reverses her direction. she spoke so eloquently of her fathers allies’ sacrifices and risk to reunite the kingdom and then utterly refuses to do the same herself. and it was obvious that she had literally talked herself into making that sacrifice, thinking of their past bravery. then they make a joke out of the pantomime with the mother to take the sting out of the sudden illogical reversal of the scene.
all in all, ‘brave’ was ok as an entertainment, but it still seems to me to be merely a much cleaned version of ‘rebel without a cause’ where the self absorbed young seem to think they’re owed limitless concessions by elders who’ve already sacrificed everything for them. the lesson i took away from it was that ‘brave’ was, at best, truth in advertising. it is not a good situation. but it is the truth. the old must give in to the young because the young will do whatever the hell they want, regardless of what wisdom actually is, and the old must accept it, or lose their children totally.
in reality, they set up a straw man argument for the daughter to knock down. they showed three worthless suitors, they showed no real political stakes, they made it look as if the parents didn’t give a damn about their daughter’s happiness, when clearly that was never the case. and the ultimate bottom line is this; nobody has an arranged marriage nowadays. this is an absolute non issue, a battle that nobody has to fight. but there is a battle over human sexuality that is raging all over the world. because there is still one lone voice that speaks for true sexual identity and true use of human sexuality. that voice is the catholic church and that is the voice that is really being muzzled and attacked in this movie and being attacked by all the ruling powers in the western world. that is the real missile that is being launched here. feminism is merely the tip of the spear.
and so we as a culture are going to have to accept the loss of all our traditions because we have no power to stop the changes that are coming. the new values are replacing the true tradition. we are going to lose this fight on marriage in the end. we will lose the fight on catholic chastity laws regarding the healthcare reforms, if not this time, then the next time. we are losing the fight on sexual identity. we long ago lost the fight on any hope of the wisdom of our elders or our tradition leading the culture. the west is being led by the nose by everything new under the sun, being blown about by every wind of new tradition. for me ‘brave’ is merely the most palatable, most attractive version of the same poison i’ve been fed all my adult life. i liked some of it when i was not a catholic, but an atheist. i became a catholic when i saw the hell to which it was leading us. and now, fifteen short years later, we are all but there. the supreme irony to me is that it is christendom, the christian empire of the west, alone of all the empires in human history, that will finally enshrine all these perversions into actual law and force all men to call them decent behavior. all empires had these evils, but only our civilization, dying christendom, has dared to call them goods. corruptio optimi pessima.
Pachydermator: Predictable is right. I saw it in a kind of makeshift double feature with THE AVENGERS, and boy did BRAVE come off as the B-film in that offering. Just as we can say the Jetsons and the Flintstones share a certain kind or style of humor, BRAVE was of basically the same comedic genus as a certain 1976 John Astin film. (Spoilers avoided!) I love the flavor, and I love the flavorers, but it still tasted very artificial.
Aside from Hawkeye - the marketing image for 2011/2012 is the female wielding the bow. First there was Hanna, then Katniss, then Brave, and the marketing for the 2013 Tomb Raider game has her with bow and arrow also. That’s at least 4.
Pachyderminator:
That’s a fair response. I don’t know that I’d say Brave blew me away either — I’ve been saying all along that I like it a lot rather than love it, that it’s not top drawer Pixar — though the things I like best about it, notably the family element and the moral themes, I appreciate a great deal. Why do you say the great hall speech was miscalculated?
chris otsuki:
Goodness, Chris. You don’t think Merida’s situation was unjust at all? It’s really okay for parents, even if they are royalty, to tell their daughter, “Oh, by the way, we’ve promised you in marriage to one of three suitors and they’re coming day after tomorrow and you’ve got to suck it up and think of Scotland”? Is that suited to the dignity of the human person? Even if Merida’s actual method of dealing with the crisis—humiliating the clans and her suitors with her archery display—was unnecessarily provocative, wasn’t she justified in offering some kind of resistance?
What exactly do you think Merida should have conceded? (SPOILERS) Do you think the movie should have ended with wedding bells? She was willing to go through with it, it seems, despite the injustice of the situation (you later say she “refused,” but she didn’t; her mother showed her another way.
In cinema, when you try to make fairy tales conform to political realities, you get The Phantom Menace.
I share completely your fears and frustrations on the culture war front regarding marriage and sexual morality. Ironically, you’ve implicated one of the only affirmative depictions of marriage and family in recent American animated history as part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
... you like it rather than love it yet you gave it an A-minus? It seems to me that most of the positives you’ve listed about BRAVE are not regarding it as entertainment but regarding its position in the Great Cinematic Family Values Dialectic. Noticing this, saying that it has a subtle touch does not fit the data as well as saying it was not very well executed, that only in fits and starts was it salvaged from the first director.
Ubiquitous:
I wrote in my review that the film falls short of greatness. It’s possible I should have given more space and thought to its flaws. At any rate, an A-minus recommendability rating means I warmly recommend the film for the widest possible audience; that I enjoyed it a great deal and I think a large majority of viewers will too. I went back and forth a bit over the star rating; sometimes I thought 3 stars would be more accurate, but in the end I went with my initial reaction, at least partly on the theory that usually with Pixar I’ve wound up revising my opinions up rather than down. As Pachyderminator can tell you, I don’t sweat ratings much. I’m more concerned about the review.
Mere “family values” isn’t the point. A positive depiction of a happy family isn’t automatically good art. What’s notable here is that Merida and her father’s bantering relationship is delightful; that Merida’s relationship with her mother is developed with such expressive nonverbal cues; that in spite of Merida’s serious missteps she remains an endearing character; that in spite of the serious conflict all parties remain likable and sympathetic. That’s not just values, that’s art.
Regarding the relationship of the two directors to the finished film: I have no narrative whatsoever regarding which director gets more credit or blame for the film’s strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps Chapman’s film was off the rails and Andrews got it basically back on track; perhaps Chapman was making a brilliant and brave film and Andrews watered it down to something more conventional. I doubt if anyone not more or less directly connected to the process will ever know.
The real problem, for me (and others), is that the film is confused about what it expects from Merida and Elinor.
Was the arranged marriage an injustice? The film is aware of the political necessity of them; Merida’s shenanigans at the archery contest almost plunged the entire kingdom into war. But Merida’s speech in the great hall simply blows these concerns away on the winds of an airy-fairy romanticism, and when the clan chiefs (improbably) concede the matter at once, the effect is to suggest that old-fashioned notions of marriage only exist in default of enlightened, modern ideas of autonomy and the supremacy of the self. To my mind, this is not just tiresome; it’s fatal to the thematic structure of the film, because it takes all the teeth out of Merida’s concession and repentance.
No, I’m not an advocate of arranged marriages. I wish, however, there had been some slight acknowledgement that the modern romantic view of marriage might not be a complete one in itself, or the only valid one. Chris Otsuki is right to this extent at least, that denying every aspect of marriage except that of romance and personal inclination is at the root of our culture’s problems with marriage. SDG, you’re well aware of this - hell, I learned it from you, in part.
YES. That would have been a much more satisfying ending.
Agreed on all points. If I were rating the film, I would give it at least three stars out of four for the sheer quality of its craftsmanship. It was just disappointing that it lacked that extra spark. A big part of the problem, of course, is the impossibly high expectations created by the Pixar brand; the film would by no means be a disappointment from any other studio.
Pachyderminator:
Yeah, I suspect this may be a valid criticism, particularly with regard to Merida. I think it may reasonable to extrapolate that rather than a provocative, defiant, embarrassing stunt at the archery tournament, Merida might have done better with something more like what actually works in the end: a heartfelt speech. Of course it would have helped in that regard to get her mother on board earlier, and of course it would have helped there if both she and her mother had been listening to each other more. But yeah, the movie isn’t as clear about all this as it could be.
Converging agreement, with the caveat that in shifting initiative from parents to children in deciding who they will marry isn’t necessarily equivalent to “the modern romantic view of marriage.” Just because Merida will choose her own spouse doesn’t mean she’ll make the decision based on lovey-dovey feelings.
Even the one lord’s line about “winning her heart before winning her hand” doesn’t automatically equate to “get her swooning,” though I admit that’s a distinction very few in the audience will bring to the film.
Heh. Thanks, P, I’m glad I’ve been helpful.
Here, though, I don’t think we can indict the film of “denying every aspect of marriage except that of romance and personal inclination.” Even if “romance and personal inclination” were the sole basis of marriage (which the film doesn’t quite say), that’s not remotely the same as making romance the sole purpose of marriage.
Don’t forget, the one marriage in the film that is front and center is not only fruitful, but more fruitful than the bones of the plot require: Fergus and Elinor have four children. And unlike, say, the latter Shrek sequels, there’s no ambivalence here about the tykes, as mischievous as they can be. They’re clearly lovable, and the parents clearly love them. This is not a “contraceptive mentality” film.
As a postscript, while I don’t particularly expect a sequel to Brave, if we imagine some hypothetical sequel or threequel (direct to video, perhaps) picking up with Merida already married, I wouldn’t be surprised to find her with children of her own, and perhaps those children taking over as protagonists of the story.
Good point. But I think it’s a problem that the movie gives us no hints about how Merida would choose a spouse, since she doesn’t choose one.
I agree, and I very much appreciate that. Though perhaps it should be added to the list of the film’s inconsistencies that the triplets are actually cuter (and more helpful) in bear than in human form.
Ack. Ack. Don’t even say that. Please.
We saw it on Friday and loved it! Your review is spot on about both the strengths and weaknesses of the film. Overall, well worth it but it’s not quite one of Pixar’s best.
By the way, LOVE this line:
“Of course it looks magnificent. Merida’s unruly cataract of kinky red hair — a tangle of Celtic knotwork brought to flaming life “
Also, thank you (and Jeff Overstreet) for the heads up about spoilers. It really is a better experience going in blind and props to the marketing department for staying their hand.
J Ibanez:
Thanks for your feedback. I admit I was pleased with that insight regarding Merida’s hair. It struck me looking at a graphic of Merida with her tight red curls against the Brave logo with the Celtic knotwork. The spirals ran together before my eyes, and after that I couldn’t not see it. I’m guessing it was deliberate by the filmmakers, but I’m not sure.
Pachyderminator:
True, but since I don’t think the movie needed or wanted climactic wedding bells, I’m okay with that. Brave isn’t a love story, and didn’t need to be. Like Arrietty, it’s about something else.
So many girl-centric family films end with a romantic pairing of the heroine and love interest—from recent fare like Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Mirror Mirror and Enchanted to Disney renaissance fare like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast to the Golden Age Disney classics—that I have some sympathy for the feminist critique that family films present female protagonists as needing to be completed by a man.
As it happens, just now we’ve seen a rash of girl-led, younger-skewing but not-quite-family-films with suitors who aren’t accepted in the end, from Snow White and the Huntsman and The Hunger Games to Alice in Wonderland. That’s a striking pattern, but all overlapping enough in development time that Brave deserves to be judged on its own rather than seen as perpetuating a trend.
Heh. To “helpful,” maybe the transformation was salutary for them as well. (The triplets demanding desserts for a year before helping their mother escape from the castle is one of the movie’s missteps. They should have agreed just for the thrill of it, let alone to help their mother.)
Just a note to Ubiquitous, and then I’ll stop cluttering the combox:
Coincidentally, I saw it in a “makeshift double feature” as well - but in my case, it was with The Shining, and that was such an incongruous double bill I won’t even try to make a comparison.
Speaking of which, Merida really needs to work on her bargaining skills. She went straight from “two or three weeks” to “a year” with no intermediate steps. :)
We went to see it with a slew of kids eleven and under, all of whom have virtually unlimited access to action movies and professional wrestling.
The adults loved it. The kids were terrified.
Skye:
Really? Wow. I’ve been cautioning parents of five-year-olds and under that it might be too scary — certainly it was too scary for our 3½-year-old — but our six-year-old and eight-year-old enjoyed it (both of whom have closely supervised access to movies and have never seen anything rougher than … well, okay, The Lord of the Rings … and certainly have never seen professional wrestling!).
Now I’m trying to remember who told me that his young kids (around six?) professed that the movie was “too scary” but kept their eyes glued to the screen.
Glad the adults loved it, anyhow.
Steve, Thanks for a fascinating review. Now I have to see it!
My family’s tradition is always to see the new Pixar together, so we’ve been waiting for my husband to be available. I had heard a few negative comments, and wasn’t sure about spending the time and money again. Thanks for avoiding spoilers and giving us lots of good reasons to find time in a busy schedule to enjoy this one, too!
I was thinking of taking my girls (5 and 7) to this for their first in-the-theater movie. However, these last comments about the scary-ness have given me pause. Could someone who has seen it provide a comparison to the scary factor in other children’s films? Is it scarier than the witches in Snow White or Sleeping Beauty (like when Maleficent becomes that big ol’ dragon)? Is is scarier than the Wicked Witch and Flying Monkeys of Wizard of Oz?
Not sure what to say about this line;
“Ironically, you’ve implicated one of the only affirmative depictions of marriage and family in recent American animated history as part of the problem rather than part of the solution.”
Simply because a happy family is presented does not make a film pro-family. In fact, the message encouraging individualism and bucking of social conventions becomes that much more convincing when tyne character is so darned nice. One thinks of Cardinal Shonborn’s caving on the gay Austrian parish council member because when he met him he found him so admirable. In a similar way, the more delightful the character’s banter with her parents, the more we sympathize with and condone her. I think Chris’ observation contains more wisdom than not. It is much easier to be the nice, affirming reviewer (“Look, a Real Dad!”; “Look, a Priest who is not a cad!”) but that simply shows how bad the general climate is, not how good a given film is. Otherwise, we are reduced to Christianity Today’s film standards, where they find the redemptive value in “American Pie.”
Just my two cents. Read a fawning review of “Popologetics” over at Gospel Coalition blog which primed my pump. Overall love your work, but I would not call “Brave” especially unusual—yet again, a girl wants and needs anything but a prince. Gets old, even when clowned up.
My wife and I were thinking of taking our daughters to see it (they are 6, 4, and 2) but we’re concerned with the reference to ample cleavage and to the bare bottoms. Kidsinmind.com commented on quite a few scenes with cleavage and at least two scenes with bare bottoms (both boys and men). We had one friend that saw it and she said she had to cover her daughters eyes at some parts. We’re concerned that it will scandalize our kids. Any thoughts or comments on those parts?
I just saw the movie and thank you so much, Mr. Greydanus, for not spoiling the plot twist—it made it all the more delightful. Your review, however, told me enough about it that I knew it would be good to bring both my daughters to see it and that my husband (who’s eyes glistened a little at certain parts) would enjoy it too. Thank you!
Yes, bare bottoms, but nothing a kid wouldn’t see on a baby brother running away from a diaper change. If anything, probably Looney Tunes has crasser content than BRAVE.
Kristen: I would say the scary bits of Brave are at least comparable to Malifacent the dragon, and potentially even scarier because a) computer animation is more realistic, and b) a child is imperiled.
Joe:
I appreciate your thoughtful comments, and certainly I agree that mere niceness doesn’t equal a positive message. I still think you’re missing the point, though.
The movie is very clear that Merida’s early rebelliousness and especially her misuse of her mother are wrong, and lead to negative, potentially serious consequences. Her youthful rebellion leads to division and potential war among the clans. Her misuse of her mother leads to potentially losing her mother forever.
Conversely, humility, responsibility, acknowledgment of mistakes and expressions of appreciation lead to harmony. In the end (SPOILERS), Merida is even ready to make an undesirable match for the sake of peace…but her humility and responsibility softens her mother’s heart and everyone else’s. Yes, she gets “her way” in the end—but not by rebellion, which leads to chaos, but by its opposite. It’s neat, sure, but it’s a fairy tale.
On “a girl wanting and needing anything but a prince,” I’ve already spoken above.
Brendan: What The Ubiquitous said regarding cleavage and bare bottoms. I can’t regard the mild earthiness of Brave as a corrupting influence on children, or people in general.
Sarah: So glad you and your family enjoyed it!
We went with our 8 and 11 year olds, and it wasn’t too scary for them. I think if kids have seem most princess movies, they should be ok. ha, the bare bottoms made me and my kids laugh….the scene is set up so well, and it proved the usefulness of the garments!
Thanks for the scary-ness comparison. Since our littler one is somewhat easily scared, I think we’ll do “Chimpanzee” this summer and watch “Brave” on DVD in a year or two.
Here’s my take on the film’s title.
I knew of the change of title. “Brave” kinda confused me, honestly vs. “The Bear & the Bow,” which sounded very old-school & fairy tale-like - which was so different for Pixar.
But, I found Brave to be 1 of the most encouraging & motivating films I’ve seen in quite some time! The scene with the Witch with Merida wanting to her mom to “change” to suit her belief was perfect, in light of the twist (which I thankfully did not know about) & effectively sinister to the point I didn’t have a clue where Merida’s choice might lead! I totally got both the “inside us” & “benevolent power” aspect of the Will o’ th’ Wisps you refer to, SDG. Perhaps it’s because I spent most of last Saturday writing a story I’m working on before I saw Brave, but it’s because of all these elements (& more) that I found the film to be like a comforting cinematic arm around my shoulder, encouraging & motivating me. The experience revealed aspects of what I’m writing that I’d not thought of before; connections that I’ve already written in my story but didn’t fully intellectualize were made clearer to me in the watching of the film. It was the 1st time that’s ever happened to me & it was really wonderful! I learned so much about storytelling from Brave.
And it led me to this realization about the title: In my opinion, “Brave” as a title is less effective as a description of Merida, or her decisions in the film, or her character arc - or that of any of the other character, frankly - or even the themes of the film, than it is as a directive for US, the viewers, & what we should take away from the film. Which is why I think the characters of the Witch & the Will o’ th’ Wisps are far more important to the film, thematically speaking, than even the leads! How many times do we have encounters like those (supernatural or, more likely, not) that could be, should be, eye openers for us but we ignore them? I guess the reason I loved the film so much is that it had the courage to rest its hands on the shoulders of the viewer, look us squarely in the eyes, & say, firmly & with conviction: “Be BRAVE!” Brave in the face of difficulty, or when things aren’t going your way (in your opinion . . .), or things seem impossible. Was all this intended by the creators of Brave? Maybe not. But it IS a Pixar film so . . . just maybe it was! =D
We have so few examples of bravery in cinema today, what with the “I’m not worthy” anti-heroes we’re typically given (which is why I loved 2011’s Captain America so much), & we’re almost never told in such a bold manner to BE brave by a film. So, I’m thankful for Brave & I can’t wait to see it again! And again. (La Luna, BTW, is now 1 of my favorite Pixar shorts! Right up there with Day & Night.)
BTW, I’ve been thinking about it & I’m not sure I can name another film with a title that is meant more as a directive than a comment on the characters & themes of the work itself.
I read this review after seeing the movie. I wanted to see what you thought about it before I posted a comment on my facebook account. It appears you felt the same way I did. Sometimes I dont notice things in a movie because I get wrapped up in the story. I must say, the short ‘bottom’ scenes did not alarm me. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I am not a feminist. I think women have their place in society. In fact, I have held non-traditional female jobs all m career life. But, I get so tired of female characters who must ‘best’ the male characters. And I get so tired of the movies that portray male characters as wimps, This movie did not do this. Although I would not have wanted to marry any of the candidates, they were not made to look like complete losers. I liked the movie. And I especially am glad that I went to see it with my teenage daughter who will no longer be a teen next year.
I am a fan of Pixar movies. All of them have been anywhere from very good to masterpiece level…until Brave. This movie can only be described as despicable. It is rated PG, but it might as well be PG-13, as it should not be shown to any children under 12 (or actually no one under the age of 30 should see this movie). The only good part about this movie is the beautiful cinematography, but otherwise its trash:
1. The movie simply advocates for a radical sort of rebellion by a teenage girl. Yes, supposedly she is sorry and remorseful, but if that is so then why does everything go her way at the end anyway, and she changes her mother like she wanted to in the first place. Come on teenage girls, rebel against your mother as best you can, then cry when you nearly destroy your family and then your family will do what you wanted them to do in the first place. This movie is a recipe for disaster in any family.
2. The is a dream movie for ultra-feminists. Not the true feminists who want equality and opportunity for women, but the ones who feel the presence of males is superfluous, and women can do everything themselves without any males being present. They do everything right while the men and boys are no better than a bunch of monkeys (sorry if I insult any monkeys for comparing them with the male characters in this cartoon).
3. The violence of this movie is way beyond anything children should see. I guess with kids these days exposed to violent video games and movies without parental supervision, this movie maybe won’t be a shocker, but for any normal kid living a normal kid’s life, this will simply bring your boy or girl nightmares.
4. The theme of this movie is: get rid of any traditions and set your own path. Freedom, finding your own love, no input from mother or family, that’s the way a girl should act. Then if you end up in poverty with 3 kids from 3 different boyfriends, that’s alright, you made your own decisions, or paraphrasing the cartoon, you have set your own fate (and set the fate of your family towards certain disaster).
5. This is the closest a cartoon has ever gotten to being a form of child abuse. It can only confuse good kids and make not-so good kids believe that their overbearing mother and stupid father are the cause of all their problems. The supposedly redeaming quality of the ending again would only make sense if the girl would actually make the right decision in the end and listen to what her parents asked her to do. But essentially nowhere in the movie does the daughter listen to her parent’s commands, from beginning to end.
6. Some have commented on the crass humor and inappropriate images, but these are the least of the problems of this movie. The violence and the radical propaganda are what make this movie a piece of garbage.
Shame on you Pixar, you have completely lost your senses and the respect of this former fan of yours.
Congratulations, Thomas! You missed the entire point of the film! Oh boo hoo, women can do everything without males, WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE POOR OPPRESSED MEN. There are 3, count em T H R E E female characters in the whole film; Merida, Elinor, and the maid, Maudie. The rest of them are all males, and the story isn’t about them anyway, so????????????? It’s explicitly about mother/daughter, female relationships. And it’s an authentic one at that. Elinor isn’t ever painted as a villain, and they’re honest in showing exactly how bratty and selfish Merida is. It isn’t feminist propaganda. You and the rabid feminists who praised the film for its lack of romance are both so incredibly wrong. I think I might actually cry over how ridiculous and terrible your comment is.
Did you skip all the parts where Elinor refused to listen to her daughter? When her own pride clouded her judgment? (“I am the queen, you listen to me!”) It’s a story about how the two of them needed to listen to the other. That’s why Elinor tells her at the end that they’ve both changed. Also, Merida finally takes responsibility and sees that her actions not only punished her mother by turning her into the bear, but also herself. “I did this to you, to us.”
The marriage plot is so minor, GOOD GRIEF. Merida’s destiny all along was to break the demon bear Mor’du’s curse. That’s why when his spirit was finally freed from the bear form, it became a blue wisp. The wisps were there when Merida was a child in the forest, and it was there that Mor’du was lurking, ready to hunt her down before he attacked out in the open and ate her father’s leg. It was the wisps who led her to the witch’s cottage where she learned of Mor’du’s tale and requested the spell. And the wisps led her and Mumbear to the ancient throne room where Mor’du was and Merida finally made the connection that he was the prince from the ancient kingdom/the one the witch told her of. She recognizes that Mor’du’s selfishness is akin to her own. He split his family bond, just as her splitting the tapestry symbolized breaking the bond with her mother.
She brought harmony to the land once Mor’du died, and harmony to the relationship with her mother because they became closer as a result. I just…please, if you’re no longer going to support Pixar, that’s excellent on your part.
Otsuki,great review!!! Totally agree with you and Thomas.
Hi Elie,
In the Catholic Church (and with any repentance), if you are sorry for your sins, you need to change your behavior. Yet in Brave the only one who changes her behavior is the mother, because at the end of the movie we see all the marriage suitors swim off and we see mom doing exactly what her daughter wanted to do from the beginning, riding horses, acting like a teenager not like a queen. Actually, the mom when she says “I am the queen, you listen to me,” should have said “I am your mother, you listen to me.” Its not about pride, children need to listen to their mothers. She does nothing wrong in the movie until she starts giving in to her daughter (who continues to give supposedly good advice to her mom when she is a bear). The mom is constantly mocked throughout the movie, even as a bear her feminine way of acting is laughed at as silly, as a good girl should act like a guy, eating with her hands, shooting a bow. I thought women are the better sex because of their feminine qualities. If women are envious of men and want to be exactly like they are, this is the movie for them. For my daughter, I don’t want her to be like my sons because I think she has better qualities as a woman than my sons have as men. By the way, a priest friend of mine had the best review of this movie. He called the girl evil. Agree totally.
Mr. Greydanus is a horrible reviewer (for example, in “The Nativity Story” he felt Mary didn’t commit any sins, except when she has her palm read which is breaking the first commandment and then she acts like a brat towards her parents and when she throws food when people are starving) and maybe simply has been influenced by watching too many modern Hollywood movies (so he cannot distinguish quality when 95% of what he watches is junk). Therefore for the future, I would recommend people check out the Christian website movieguide.org which has a great review of Brave, describing exactly the problems with it
Nope, completely wrong, haha. I’m sorry. I can’t help but laugh at how utterly wrong your interpretation of the film is. Ellie’s analysis is pretty much on point. God bless!
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