Brave (2012) review

Like with any film from Pixar, anticipation is high for their latest film 'Brave' but it is not just because of Pixar's well-established track record or the fact that this is the first film from them to feature a female lead. A lot of this anticipation also comes because Pixar is on the road to redemption after their first misstep in Cars 2, which was obviously not received well by critics. So the big question is whether or not Pixar managed to deliver another masterpiece here or not. Well, the answer is both yes and no. On one hand, the set-up is great, the characters are memorable, and the message the film gets across is very heartfelt, which is something Pixar always does a great job at doing. However, the writing prevents this film from being as great as Pixar's previous work as it goes a more traditional and predictable route halfway through.

Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) of the Scottish kingdom of DunBroch is more interested in adventure than being a princess, as she is constantly pressured by her mother Elinor (Emma Thompson) to follow tradition and to be a proper lady. On the day she is set to be married to one of the sons of the neighboring Kingdoms, Merida defies tradition, causing problems between her and her mother. Wanting to change her destiny, Merida acquires a potion from a witch that will apparently change her mother's mind about the matter of marriage. However, in reality, it turns her mother into a bear, forcing Merida to find a way to change her back before the spell becomes permanent.

Brave opens up the way any great Pixar film would, with breathtaking visuals and memorable characters. The set-up for this land they create is very intriguing and the overall message of mother and daughter bonding is very sincere and touching, as in any Pixar film. The film also does a good job at establishing Merida as a strong female character. She does try to avoid the fact that it's because of her that everything goes wrong by blaming someone else which kind of makes her a brat in that sense, but she's a strong young woman who can fend for herself and is very likable, a lot of this coming from Macdonald's performance. The film also has a terrific supporting voice cast, including Billy Connolly as Merida's tough but fun-loving father Fergus and Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane as the three lords whose sons vie for Merida's hand in marriage who each have their own funny moments throughout the film.

But once the movie reaches the halfway point, things start to go downhill. The story ends up being very traditional and rather predictable in terms of what Merida must do to save her mother. It's not really about Merida trying to change her own fate, but more of her trying to save her mother from a terrible curse that she put on her. This is the same problem that Cars 2 had, as the story is more oriented at kids than adults unlike the other films in the Pixar canon. The only difference between Cars 2 and Brave is that in Brave, that's only for about half of the film. It's a shame really because Pixar did such a good job setting up these characters and this land to let them down with a typical 'save your mother' plot line, which doesn't match up with the more serious events that take place in this movie.

Brave isn't quite at the same level as the Pixar films that came before it, but it is still a well-made movie in regards to its characters, particularly its female lead, its visuals, and the land that it creates. However, the film's story hurts it once it reaches the halfway point, becoming much more traditional and predictable. Pixar still has a long way to go before it gets back to making the masterpiece films that they are known for, and as these last two films have shown, the writing has been the issue. Then again it seems that today's films always have problems when it comes to writing. Hopefully the next few films that Pixar is working on will reestablish them as the great animation company that they are, but for the time being, Brave is a step in the right direction.

7.5/10