Brave

• Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, Co-Directed by Steve Purcell
• June 10, 2012 (SIFF) / June 22, 2012 (US)

Voice Cast

• Merida-Kelly Macdonald
• Young Merida-Peigi Barker
• Queen Elinor-Emma Thompson
• King Fergus-Billy Connolly
• The Witch-Julie Walters
• Lord Dingwall-Robbie Coltrane
• Lord MacGuffin, Young MacGuffin-Kevin McKidd
• Lord Macintosh-Craig Ferguson
• The Crow-Steve Purcell
• Martin the Guard-Patrick Doyle
• Gordon the Guard-John Ratzenberger
• Maudie-Sally Kinghorn and Eilidh Fraser
• Young Macintosh-Steven Cree
• Wee Dingwall-Callum O’Neill

A princess defies an age-old peacekeeping custom causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing a desire not to be married and along the way finds the key to saving the kingdom.

I have many critiques of Brave but that doesn’t mean I hate it. I think it tells a bad message (intentionally or not) and misses some significant things. That just means I feel it could’ve been done better. Let’s begin.

CGI films are always a bit rough for me. Some have visually aged better than most others. The first thing I noticed while watching was that while the characters look still good aside from a few moments some of the environments and background features have a smooth and undetailed look because the technology has advanced. CGI lacks the ability to maintain a good look in perpetuity no matter the changes in style or advancements in technology. Snow White or even The Little Mermaid (which had some CGI assistance) are both still beautiful films even though both have distinctly different animation styles, and both were made in eras with much different technologies available to the animators.

Brave is a coming-of-age tale, but also a story that looks down its nose a bit at tradition. I’m not a person who is against tradition as a general rule. Traditions are things we do as a family or as a community that bind us together. They help us remember our past and in some cases even help plan our future. Those here that maintain order and stability for a kingdom are tossed aside for the desires of one teenager.

I’m really bothered that as a princess, Merida seems to be shaking her responsibilities to the kingdom for her own interests. What message does that send to the intended audience? A whole nation is depending on her! We all have duties/social responsibilities we must conduct. The ones of someone born to rule are more overt and serious. I would prefer a film with that is about stepping up to the responsibility that you didn’t ask for rather than complaining about them and running away.

Merida doesn’t seem to understand the rules of succession in her world or care much about the stability of her kingdom or the general political situation. She’s kind of selfish and I don’t think no matter how much she pretended or how much she inserted herself into the games to claim a hand in marriage it would not actually work. It’s a cliché that’s been done in one way or another before and felt a bit tired. Nothing is addressed about how Merida’s refusal to engage in an ancient custom which has maintained stability has now brought her world to the brink of war.

There’s a cliché used all too often (and sometimes it can work) where the adults learn from the children. Sometimes it is appropriate but often it’s just to say that the old ways are stupid. I know I’m overthinking Brave and the execution of the plot a bit much but the old ways often last because for whatever reason they work.

The whole point is to convince the mother who has been changed into a bear because Merida doesn’t want to marry for stability that Merida’s point of view is right. As an adult and a father I’m bothered that somehow a 16-year-old is better at understanding the ways of the world than those who have lived their life in the court or just in general.

I don’t want any of my critiques to make you think I completely hated Brave. I didn’t. I just think it gets some significant things wrong. Despite the issues with the CGI and the message that I assume it was trying to convey, it’s a humorous film along with being an exciting one. This put story first with message second. Not as well as it could’ve been, but it wasn’t so obvious that I felt lectured.

The humor is great with some more adult things done in a way that wouldn’t concern you if you’re watching this with your kids. We all have a pretty good idea how the key was fished from that one woman’s cleavage, but they never show it. Still manages to be funny though.

The voice acting is stupendous. This is a rare instance where I feel that this is as close you can get to actors, performing the part as possible in CGI. Billy Connolly has never lacked for talent and the actress who plays Merida just kills it.

The film doesn’t waste too much time with anything extraneous. There are no storytelling side quests that don’t pay off the main story or anything that connects to it. In short order they are able to set up all the important relationships and motivations. You know exactly how Merida, her father, and her mother all feel about the situation.

Despite my issues, I enjoyed Brave. It was fun and exciting and funny. The message conveyed was not my cup of tea, but it conveyed it well. A worthwhile time investment for Disney fans.