Save for Cars 2 (and in my opinion, WALL-E),
Disney/Pixar has given audiences no reason not to expect that each project
produced will be equivalent to cinematic gold, so when it came to Brave, Pixar Animation’s first attempt
at a true fairy tale, audiences were ready to be wowed. Given the extreme pride I hold in my Celtic
heritage, the second I heard the characters speak in Scottish accents, I was
absolutely sold on this newest animated fantasy, and leading up to the film’s
release, you couldn’t turn a corner without seeing a promotion featuring the
newest member of the Disney Princess franchise.
DreamWorks Animation certainly set the bar high earlier this summer with
Madagascar 3, but by all accounts,
Disney/Pixar was sure to fire back and ultimately keep the race for animated
supremacy fairly close. Though there
were a few elements of the marketing campaign that I felt lacked focus, I do
give credit to the fact that large portions of the narrative remained a
mystery, outside the personality quirks and penchant for archery possessed by
the film’s heroine. Between high expectations
and simple curiosity, I couldn’t wait to see the Scottish Highlands beautifully
detailed and brought to life.
As you might expect, Brave is visually stunning, filled to
the brim with clever humor, and unflinchingly tugs at the heart strings; and
even though it does lack some of the same punch as a few of its predecessors,
the end product remains an incredibly strong film. Suffice to say, the only thing that prevents Brave from earning my top recommendation
is the fact that a majority of the first half hour of the film was detailed in
the pre-release trailers, thereby offering almost nothing new for eager
audiences. That being said though,
because the beginning was so strongly detailed prior to release, the remainder
of the film becomes an engaging and thoroughly entertaining surprise carried by
superb voice acting and thoroughly enjoyable characters. King Fergus and Scottish Lords will have you
laughing incessantly, while the mother-daughter dynamic between Queen Elinor
and Princess Merida is so beautiful that it will undoubtedly bring a tear to
your eye. So, even though adherence to
the fairytale formula prevents Brave
from topping the Disney/Pixar catalog, that fact shouldn’t stop anyone from
heading to the theater.
Overall Recommendation: High
