Delightful, whimsical, and magical are words that describe Disney Pixar’s new animated film, Brave.
The film is a tale about a mother and daughter whose relationship has been wounded by pride, causing the protagonist, Princess Merida, to ask a feeble witch for a spell to change her mother. However, in true fairy tale fashion, the spell does not unravel according to Merida’s plan and takes the princess and her mother, Queen Elinor, voiced by Emma Thompson, on an enchanting, comical, touching journey.
Brave’s standout feature is its protagonist, Princess Merida. Strong-willed, courageous, intelligent and opinionated, she is one of the few female characters Disney or Pixar has created that does not rely on a man throughout the story. She has no male at her side and depends on herself. Not only do Merida’s characteristics go against typical Disney Pixar women, her appearance does as well. While Disney Pixar occasionally displays strong women— such as Collette from Ratatouille— their appearance is never anything but flawless. They are illustrated with tidy standard coloured hair, and well-kept outfits. Merida breaks the mould with her frizzy, wild, unruly red hair and wears a ripped dress throughout the movie. She is not a beauty queen and does what she feels is right; making her a relatable character and strong role model for young girls. She shows women can be themselves and beautiful without being Miss America.
However, because Pixar focused so heavily on making a beloved heroine, they ignored their male audience. The male characters consist of a dim-witted king who is obsessed with gaining revenge on a bear, three chump suitors and their fathers who are merely jesters to the story. While these characters are amusing, they portray the message that males are solely idiotic— a misleading message to be sending to the young audiences that Pixar caters to.
The only characters for young males to relate to are Merida’s baby brothers, three sweet-faced mischievous triplets. They are sideline comic relief but are darling and do their part to advance the story by aiding Merida. They add another level of humour to Brave; they are the little devils you love to hate.
While Pixar films often receive praise for their music, Brave did not live up to those standards. With more songs in it than the average Pixar film the music was forgettable. The score added little to the scenes for the most part. Only a few scenes had effective music which either added suspense or warmth. Other than that, the music was mediocre and often useless.
Although Brave fails in comparison to other Disney Pixar films such as Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and Toy Story, it still touches your heart the same way. Brave really focuses on the beauty of mother-daughter relationships and how they are often taken for granted. Throughout the movie the relationship between Merida and Elinor deteriorates but grows again in an enchanting way. While Brave may not bring you to tears, it is still enjoyable for audiences of all ages and leaves you smiling.
