Tonally, “Brave” is most comparable to Disney’s 2010 computer animated fairy tale film “Tangled,” which was sincere in telling its story but knew when and how to make its audience - young and old - giggle. “Brave" is much the same and is even more effective: it is more thoughtful about its characters and benefits from a memorable setting that is not generic to the genre. This is the setting of the Scottish Highlands, a place of cascading waterfalls, craggy cliffs and mountainous glens. In the hands of Pixar’s gifted animators, this is a stunning, sweeping landscape that is painstakingly detailed, vibrantly rendered and completely immersive. Having only seen “Brave” in 2D, I can only imagine what this luscious landscape looks like in 3D - blurrier, I bet.
“Tangled” had a strong, admirable heroine in the form of Mandy Moore’s Rapunzel, a daydreaming princess who showed herself to be dexterous with a frying pan when engaged in combat. Merida (Kelly Macdonald, “No Country for Old Men”), the tough and spunky heroine of “Brave,” is even more dexterous in combat, wielding not a frying pan but a bow and arrow, which she handles with the confidence of Robin Hood and aims with the precision of Katniss Everdeen. Notably, she is Pixar’s first heroine, and she makes for a solid role model - she is smart, resourceful and self-reliant, at no point in the film reduced to a quivering damsel in distress.
The first-born of King Fergus (Billy Connolly, “Gulliver’s Travels”) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson, “Men in Black 3”) of Clan DunBroch, Merida is the adolescent princess of this tale. “Brave” may be a traditional fairy tale, but Merida is no traditional princess. Like any teenager, this heir to the throne flaunts something of a rebellious streak, far more interested in riding her trusty steed (named Angus) through the woods and firing arrows at wooden targets (always piercing the bullseye) than adhering to her family’s long-standing values. These values state that Merida must choose a husband soon; ever one to bask in freedom, Merida is having none of it.
This proves problematic when three not-so-charming princes are proudly presented by their visiting clans in a tournament to win Merida’s hand in marriage. They should be so lucky. Appalled, Merida furiously argues with her mother and storms off into the woods, where she follows a trail of will-o’-the-wisps (floating, smoky orbs of Scottish folklore) to the cottage of an aged witch (Julie Walters, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2”). There, Merida is granted a wish which inadvertently results in a beastly curse being placed upon her family, the nature of which I will not reveal. Needless to say, it provides the story with a frantic race against time and paves the way for an uplifting message that should resonate with all families in attendance.
“Brave” is a film for all the family. It shares that quality with most of Pixar’s previous works: like the “Toy Story” trilogy, “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” and “WALL-E,” “Brave” provides for the very young, the very old and everyone in between. Its central message concerns the communication between parent and child, which is explored with winning humour and earned sentimentality. At no point are we forced to choke on this message, instead invited to witness characters embark on a fantastical adventure that provokes a few startling realisations about themselves and their relationships with others. This is handled convincingly, with the journeys of the central characters ringing completely true.
Of course, it helps a great deal that “Brave,” right from its action-packed prologue, is an enchanting watch. This is largely thanks to the gorgeous CG animation and the colourful cast of characters, whose personalities are engaging and whose designs are telling of their nature. The independent Merida, for example, sports a luxurious flame-tinted barnet of bouncing frizzy curls that, like her spirit, is big, free and completely untameable. In an early scene, Merida’s mother hides her daughter’s magnificent ginger barnet under skin-tight headgear, much to Merida’s discomfort. When her mother isn’t watching, Merida can’t help but let a few curled locks poke through and hang loose. Soon enough, that headgear is torn off and the barnet is set free.
Merida’s parents could very easily be painted as domineering villains in such a story, but not in “Brave.” Here, King Fergus and Queen Elinor are a reasonable and likable couple who love their daughter and want only what’s best for her - they just wish she would humour them in regards to their ancient customs. The King, beefy and thick-necked, bellows a hearty laugh and enjoys telling the tale of how he lost his leg to a vicious bear. The Queen, tall and slender, is uptight by comparison, but nevertheless a compassionate wife and mother. During a heated argument with Merida, Elinor infuriates her daughter by throwing her beloved bow into the fireplace. The scene could have ended here as Merida runs out of the room in tears. But no, it continues: Elinor turns to face the burning bow, is horrified by what she’s done and promptly removes it from the flames.
Chief among the most striking aspects of “Brave” is its loving depiction of Scottish culture. As one would expect from Pixar, this depiction is well-researched: displayed are caber-tossing tournaments, the consumption of haggis, the playing of bagpipes, and the wearing of tartan-patterned kilts, under which lie unsecured unmentionables - “Feast yer eyes!” yells one clansman as he proudly lifts his kilt up over his grey-bearded head. The primary language of the film is a thick Scottish brogue, with most of the voice cast born and bred in the land of the Scots. This sets it apart from “How to Train Your Dragon,” in which all of the adult characters spoke with a distinctive Scottish accent while all of their children inexplicably appeared to have been raised in either NYC or Cali. The only notable exception in “Brave” is Emma Thompson, who is English but whose mother is Scottish. For that, and the faultless brogue with which Queen Elinor speaks, I’ll let that slip by - for now.
“Brave" is Pixar’s thirteenth feature, and it helps to disprove the age-old superstition of that number’s unlucky qualities; in fact, judging by Pixar’s twelfth output, the rusty “Cars 2," that superstition went one number too far. This is an exemplary fairy tale picture featuring a story that is worth telling and is well told. It is a bewitching throwback to the classic Disney flicks of yesteryear with a complex mother-daughter relationship at its heart. Perhaps it lacks the sharp wit of some of its Pixar predecessors, but its exquisite animation, enchanting sense of humour and subtle character touches prove more than enough to compensate. Plus, in a second-act twist I’ve deliberately avoided mentioning, “Brave” gives us one of Pixar’s most delightful characters thus far.
9/10
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