My Movie Review on Brave
Top of the mornin' to ya, my good lads and lasses.
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take of Pixar's "Brave".
Here's the rundown of this tale:
Merida is a 16 year old girl who is the eldest child of a royal family in Scotland. Her family consists of herself, her Mom (Queen Elinor), her Dad (King Fergus), and her mischievous little brothers (Harris, Hubert, & Hamish).
Despite being next-in-line for the throne, though, Merida wants to make her own choices in life and have room to be herself. Especially instead of constantly getting pressured by her mother, who wants Merida to be what is expected of her as royalty. After her Mom organizes a tournament to see which prince from three individual clans could win Merida's hand in marriage, the strain between them gets worse.
Unexpectedly, Merida runs into an eccentric witch who also makes woodcarvings. In a desperate attempt to get out of her arranged marriage, Merida requests the witch to create a spell that could "change" her mother so that the betrothing can be called off.
However, instead of the spell merely getting Queen Elinor to cancel the betrothing, it does something far more drastic. So drastic, that the fate of the royal family and their kingdom hangs in the balance unless the spell can be broken.
I really can't lie, I've been wanting to make an analysis of this movie for quite a long time. And while I never got started on reviewing the film right away, I saved the post I made specifically for the review in the drafts of my website for when I'd come around to doing it.
Now, after finally seeing this movie again, I can proudly say with all honesty that "Brave" truly is a brilliant achievement in animation. One of the best in Pixar's filmography too.
For instance, the story by Brenda Chapman, the direction by Chapman, Mark Andrews, and Steve Purcell, and the screenplay by them and Irene Meechi, were awesome!
Among the reasons for why is that everything about the storyline is unique. The decision to have the movie focus on a female protagonist instead of a male was definitely among what made "Brave" so different, and so was the concept of a troubled relationship between a mother and daughter. As a matter of fact, everything about the focus on Merida and Elinor's relationship strengthened the movie in having heart and emotion beyond compare, and its themes and morals about family and fate were nicely done. The film also had a great witty side, and the comedic-timings the filmmakers incorporated were hilarious to watch! The film's depiction and exploration of medieval Scottish culture was fun, if I may add. Mainly because it even got me interested in researching Scotland in that time period more.
Likewise, the animation was astonishing.
Every step of the way, I noted that the visual style had the look and feel of a storybook with illustrations by a Scottish artist, which deeply captured the film's setting and time period. The clear difference in technology was apparently quite a beneficial movie for Pixar, that's for sure. The character animation was not only fluid but very enrapturing, and so was the overall visualization for the landscapes and environments.
The music by Patrick Doyle was magnificent, if I may add.
Every melody Doyle created beautifully matched the story and had a crescendo that felt purely Scottish. The score also had an emotional resonance that was powerfully soul-tugging, especially to where you could feel the emotions of the characters for yourself. In addition to this, the songs that were performed by Julie Fowlis, "Touch the Sky" and "Into the Open Air" were enjoyable to listen to.
Finally, the performances of the cast, casting, characters, and character development were outstanding.
Every character featured in the movie had a quality, innocence, and personality that made them instantly memorable and lovable, and they drove the story like they were the heart and soul of it all. They certainly weren't without development either. The fact that Pixar took the time to cast actual Scottish performers for a majority of the characters was all-the-more outstanding, and the non-Scottish cast members nailed their Scottish accents perfectly. Out of all the performances, the portrayals of Kelly Macdonald as Merida and Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor were the one that I found to be the most powerful, and both Merida and Elinor had dynamic developments.
On the subject of Mor'du the Demon Bear, I will admit that he certainly didn't have the kind of quality that Pixar villains like Syndrome and Lotso had. At the same time, though, I can tell that it wasn't the intention of Pixar or the filmmakers. The team made wise use of the character, and the way they made Mor'du an alternate reflection of what would happen if Merida didn't stop thinking about only what she herself wanted, and if she and her Mom didn't break the spell in time, was marvelously well-done. The biggest credit goes to that of his backstory and the surprising reveal revolving around him.
Before I conclude this review, I will say that the film is likely something that I believe is more suited for pre-teens and older than anyone under eleven. It's mainly because there are some jokes in the movie that may not be the most appropriate for the youngest of audiences, and the story is something that I believe people who are eleven and older can connect with more.
In conclusion, though, "Brave" is what I'm happy to classify as one of Pixar's best and most unique of movies. It has a splendid story, amazing animation, everything! It's definitely not like other Pixar films, that's for sure.
So, I rate "Brave" five out of five stars.
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