Thoughts: Brave, what is generally considered by many critics to be one of Pixar's worst movies not named Cars. My opinion of Pixar has been a mixed one for sure. While I am not the biggest fan of their work, a few of their movies are quite good, particularly the Incredibles and the Toy Story trilogy.
Brave's first 30 minutes where surprisingly good, setting up some interesting character, which made me wonder why most critics where not thrilled about the movie, then, at the 30 minute mark, the movie went completely downhill into a complete kid's movie. While Brave was not a complete "Disney Princess" movie, there where certainly elements that made it feel that way, which obviously did not appeal to me in the slightest. There was a huge missed opportunity with the movie because of the direction it took.
Something else to take note of is that I usually enjoy movies set in Scotland since some my ancestors come from there, although all of my ancestors immigrated before American even became a country, but that is beside the point. In terms of how it looked, the Scottish setting looked excellent.
Directed by: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy
Release Date: June 22, 2012
MMPA rating: PG
The Good: Great first 30 minutes, Visually striking animation,
The Bad: Falls apart after the first 30 minutes, Half of the humor falls flat,
Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
In Scotland, a young Princess named Merida of the clan Dunbroch is given a longbow by her father, King Fergus, for her fifth birthday, to her mother Queen Elinor's dismay. While practicing, Merida ventures into the woods to fetch a stray arrow, where she encounters a will-o'-the-wisp. Soon afterwards, Mor'du, a giant demon-bear, attacks the family. Merida escapes on horseback with Elinor, while Fergus fights off the bear at the cost of his left leg. Eleven years later, Merida has become a free-spirited, headstrong sixteen-year-old with much younger identical triplet brothers, Hamish, Huburt, and Harris. Elinor informs her that she is to be betrothed to one of her father's allied clans, against her will. Reminding Merida of a legend about a prince who had ruined his own kingdom by pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes, Elinor warns her that failure to consent to the marriage could harm Dunbroch, but Merida is still unhappy with the arrangement.
In Scotland, a young Princess named Merida of the clan Dunbroch is given a longbow by her father, King Fergus, for her fifth birthday, to her mother Queen Elinor's dismay. While practicing, Merida ventures into the woods to fetch a stray arrow, where she encounters a will-o'-the-wisp. Soon afterwards, Mor'du, a giant demon-bear, attacks the family. Merida escapes on horseback with Elinor, while Fergus fights off the bear at the cost of his left leg. Eleven years later, Merida has become a free-spirited, headstrong sixteen-year-old with much younger identical triplet brothers, Hamish, Huburt, and Harris. Elinor informs her that she is to be betrothed to one of her father's allied clans, against her will. Reminding Merida of a legend about a prince who had ruined his own kingdom by pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes, Elinor warns her that failure to consent to the marriage could harm Dunbroch, but Merida is still unhappy with the arrangement.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.
Plot: 5.0/10- The plot is Brave's weakest aspect because after the first 30 minutes, it completely went off the rails smack into a kid's movie. Some of the mother/daughter relationship part was done well, and the ending almost brought the movie back to its previous level, but, in the end, the story was not impressive.
Action: 5.3/10- There was some action and it was animated well, but nothing noteworthy.
Acting: 6.4/10- According to critics that know what Scottish and Irish accents sound like, Kelly Macdonald as Merida sounded more Irish than Scottish, even though Kelly is Scottish. Other than that, her performance as decent I suppose, nothing remarkable though. Billy Connolly as King Fergus was the best actor in the cast, giving an often humorous performance. All of the other voice actors where neither good or bad, just kind of there. Overall, Pixar's films usually have a strong voice cast, but this one disappointed.
Art Style: 9.5/10- In typical Pixar fashion, the animation is positively brilliant! From Merida's realistic hair, to the detail of the Scottish castle, the animation was fantastic. My only problem is that the bear looked subpar to the rest of the animation.
Soundtrack: 7.9/10- Patrick Doyle's Scottish inspired soundtrack is often quite good, however there where few memorable tracks in the film.
Comedy: 6.9/10- There where several moments where I did laugh-out-loud, however the rest of the humor just kind of fell flat. However children will no doubt enjoy the movie a lot.
Would I Watch This Again: No, there is absolutely no reason to watch it again.
Overall: 5.8/10- Overall Brave had the potential to be one of Pixar's better movies, but alas, it failed. While it is not Pixar's worst movie by any means, it is just generic and lacking of anything remarkable.
Closing comments: Although certain demographics, like girls and children, will certainly find more enjoyment out of the movie, it is still worth watching if you are a Pixar fan, just for the animation alone.
Recommended for: Pixar fans, Disney fans, Fantasy fans, Animation fans,
Below is a review by one of my favorite film critics, Jeremy Jahns, and I have to say that I agree with just about everyone he has to say about Brave.
Below is a review by one of my favorite film critics, Jeremy Jahns, and I have to say that I agree with just about everyone he has to say about Brave.
If you want to contact us or have any question please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.
Interesting! I had the exact opposite reaction. The first 30 minutes were generic and geared for kids, and I was both bored and uninterested in where I thought the movie was going. (In fact my sister refused to see Brave in the theater because of the trailers, which promoted the whole "tomboy princess defies her role in life" cliche and she hates that.) Then the movie shifted away from the typical and expected into something wonderful, and I loved the rest of the movie. (And once my sister stopped rolling her eyes during the first thirty minutes and the movie finally kicked into gear, she liked the rest of it too.) Of course, we're both women, but neither of us are fans of the old Disney princess movies. But Brave went into new emotional territory from what I was expecting with this one, and I thought it was one of the stronger Pixar movies because of where it ended up going. (Up, Wall-E, and Brave would be my favorites, in that order).
ReplyDeleteGood review! And yes, the animation was gorgeous.
Really? That is interesting. I really did not care for childish humor with the bear, which is why I didn't like the movie after 30 minutes. Maybe that is because I was expecting something entirely than you did. Thank you for the long and thoughtful comment.
Delete-James
Er... what humor with the bear? That might be part of why I liked it? I didn't find anything funny about the second half of the film. It was just terribly sad to me. I thought all the humor was in the first bit. LOL! I love how differently movies can be perceived. It's so fascinating!
DeleteAnd YES!! I know expectations profoundly affect the way I feel about a movie. I went into this one with very low expectations based on the preview, and usually when I expect to dislike something usually means I end up liking it. Every time I go into a movie with high expectations, I am almost always disappointed.
The part when she was fumbling around the castle and the other parts after the girl's mother turned into a bear, that is what I was referring to. You are right though, it is incredibly interesting to hear how someone else can perceive a movie entirely differently.
DeleteI went in with low expectations as well, but I kind of knew how the movie would play in general.
There are times when I have extremely high expectations and I am not disappointed like the Avengers, which was actually better than I expected.
Thanks for replying!
-James
I enjoyed it but didn't love it. Still I don't find it nearly as bad as any of the Cars films which aren't nearly the level of the other Pixar films.
ReplyDeleteI honestly cannot remember the first Cars film, although I probably agree with you if I did, and I have avoided the second one after the negative reviews I have heard.
Delete-James
While I did like the movie, I can see why some would not like it(considering it wasn't as epic in scope as I was expecting, due to the advertisements, which I was slightly disappointed by). My main reason for liking the movie was that number 1- it was about a daughter and her mother's relationship, which is something I rarely saw growing up at all in kids shows(since in most Disney films, the mother either dies or is absent, which annoyed me as a kid a lot) and I enjoyed it as well as the fact that, at the end, she didn't marry anyone or end up with anyone, which I think is a good thing to show sometimes in fiction. Yes, the action sequence at the end was great! :) And I agree, while I did like a lot of the humor, some of it wasn't great(like the part where the bears jump down the maid's dress...that was awkward). Definitely, the actor voicing the king was really good.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know the feeling about Pixar- I do love most of their movies, but they've made a flop or two in the past(Ratatouille, for example, which I very much disliked and which I lot of people I know enjoyed).
P.S. - I think it's one of my favorite Pixar movies, though I'm not sure where it would be in a list.
DeleteTrue, mother/daughter relationships are not often explored, at least in many movies I have seen. I also agree, most of the time they are dead.
DeleteYeah, that part was just awkward!
Yes! Someone else who does not like Ratatouille, although I believe I knew that about you. :)
Thanks for the long comment! :D
-James
Brave just never quite engaged me, which was profoundly disappointing. I think part of it was that I didn't empathize with either mother or daughter. Elinor came across as smothering, Merida as a brat, and the dynamics just never clicked.
ReplyDeleteFinding Nemo worked for me because Marlin's protectiveness was explained, and it was really just a larger-than-life depiction of real parents' fears. Nemo was childishly rebellious, but he was much much younger, and he repented pretty quickly when he got into trouble. Merida, by contrast, is old enough to see her mother's viewpoint and...I dunno, I just didn't like it.
It was actually the first Pixar movie that I didn't fall completely in love with, aside from visuals and soundtrack.
That is one of the main problems I had with it too, and I agree on your point.
DeleteI actually cannot remember much of Find Nemo since I only watched it in theaters and that was the only time I have seen. But I agree, the characters in Brave did click or have any real chemistry.
Thanks for thoughtful comment Rachel!
-James
I pretty much agree with you here, James. Although I'm a girl, I really didn't care for this movie at all and was overall disappointed--it didn't feel like a Pixar movie, it's felt like a Disney Princess movie to me, (while Wreck-It Ralph, which I believe is from the same year, felt more like a grand Pixar movie when it really wasn't and I enjoyed that one a heck of a lot more.) I didn't care for Merida, she behaved rather childishly, which I just don't like coming from a girl her age (fifteen, sixteen, yet. Eighteen, no.) And some of the humor felt like it had come from more of a Dreamworks type film, not Pixar, so it felt out of place. We pretty much agree on this, I wouldn't bother re-watching it either (I actually think the first Cars movie is a lot better than Brave; I haven't seen the second Cars movie though, so I can't have an opinion on it.)
ReplyDelete~Jamie
That is what I thought, it was just kind of generic and nothing like any of Pixar's other films. Actually, I kind of thought Wreck-It Ralph was far from Pixar in that the movie was more mature in the humor and action, since Pixar's movies are usually rated G, with the exception of Brave and the Incredibles. Anyway, I can't believe Brave beat Ralph for the Oscar though.
DeleteI can't say much about the Cars vs. Barve debate since I don't remember Cars at all.
Thanks for the long comment Jamie! :D
-James
The trailers for Brave made out like it was going to be an epic adventure movie, when in reality it focused more on the relationship between Merida and her mother. I agree that it built up to something, but the tone of the movie changed between the beginning and end. I thought the beginning set up a lot of potential, and the ending was very emotional and touching, but the middle was not what the movie made us think it was going to be like. I thought the atmosphere was well developed, and the animation was breathtaking and very impressive. However, I wish they did not make the witch a comedic character. She could have been more dark and mysterious. I liked most of the humor, it was a refreshing change and it made my mom laugh, who is Scotch-Irish. My Irish relatives enjoyed it, so I enjoyed it too. I think they were glad to see a Pixar film feature Celtic culture. In the end, I actualy thought there were a lot of nice things about it, despite its faults. I thought it was a very nice story, all I wish was that they didn't pretend it was epic and adventurous, because it wasn't exactly like that. I didn't know some of your ancestors were Scottish! That's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI love Jeremy Jahns! He's one of my favorite critics, besides Doug Walker, otherwise known as the Nostalgia Critic.
P.S. I don't think it's true that only women and children would like/enjoy this movie. :P
DeleteThe complete change in tone was my biggest problem too. The movie started out as something potentially cool, but the middle just took a complete turn in the wrong direction. A more fun and adventurous movie would have been a lot more fun. I am glad to hear that you and your family say that it is a good portrayal of Scotland.
DeleteYep, Scottish and some Irish along with British I think, but I believe I am mostly Scottish.
It is great to see another Jahns fan, he is so funny yet accurate in his reviews. The Nostalgia Critic is another one of my favorites as well.
I did not say that the movie is ONLY for women and children. I said that it is more geared towards them because of the mother/daughter themes and that they would usually enjoy it more. ;)
Thanks for the long comments!
-James
I know what I can agree further, you are right about the plot since this wasn't expecting of the concept. The plan is that Merida is supposed a leading female warrior and that she must defend her mother's life and her father's kingdom. That does sound of an animated Braveheart.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the movie would have been better if it was a little more like Braveheart. Thanks for dropping by Filmgurulad!
Delete-James
I did NOT like Brave at all. Like you said, the first 30 minutes were engaging but it all went downhill from there. And there was SO much they could've done with the story!!! I was actually looking forward to it because it was a fairy tale set in Scotland, (I, too have Scottish ancestry) but it just didn't deliver. The humor seemed forced and the whole story seemed like a bit of a hodge podge. I did like the soundtrack, though.
ReplyDeletePixar has gone down-hill. They haven't made a good movie in so long, I don't think I want to see anything else they do. Brave made me dislike them even more. Anywho, great review, James!
Exactly my thoughts of the movie, but that is not surprising since we agree so often. The tone was all over the place as well as the story.
DeleteI agree, Pixar has not made any movies that I have enjoyed since Toy Story 3 probably. Thanks Clara!
-James
This makes me sad, because I really loved this movie. The humor, the music, the fact that it's Scottish. I really loves it all.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you enjoyed the movie and I really wanted to like the movie but it did not work for me.
Delete-James