Brave [PG]

In a small and medieval kingdom there lives a king, a queen, and their daughter Merida. Her mother has been training Merida to be a perfect princess, but when the time comes for Merida to be betrothed, she puts her foot down and in her anger, Merida breaks tradition and then flees from her home to find a witch and get a spell that will change her fate. But the spell turns out to be a beastly curse and Merida must rely on her skills and bravery in order to break it. 

It’s another triumph for Pixar. Brave is not only a visually beautiful movie, but one that is really quite emotionally evoking, filled with strong themes of love, courage, and familial bonds. I giggled, I sighed, and a teared up; the entire film was just beautiful. 

In a small and medieval kingdom there lives a king, a queen, and their daughter Merida. Her mother has been training Merida to be a perfect princess, but when the time comes for Merida to be betrothed, she puts her foot down and in her anger, Merida breaks tradition and then flees from her home to find a witch and get a spell that will change her fate. But the spell turns out to be a beastly curse and Merida must rely on her skills and bravery in order to break it. 

Set against a breathtaking and beautifully earthy medieval Scottish background, the animation of Brave is absolutely enchanting. I was completely blown away by the beautiful and magical woodlands and wilderness and then the enchanting and mystic soundtrack that accompanies all scenes was just wonderful! 

What people would not pick up from the trailer is that Brave really is about a rocky mother-daughter relationship that has to be reforged. Basically it’s a medieval teen drama with the central conflicts being the dutiful smothering of the mother and the defiance of the daughter. And not since Ariel have we has such a feisty redheaded heroine. The character of Merida is brilliant; a true heroine and feminist who refuses to be encumbered by stereotypes and duties just because they are preordained. She has such strength to her and she’s the sort of girl that every other girl wants to be: she’s beautiful and she has fire and character. I think that she is the best heroine to come from a Disney film. 

Featuring the voice talents of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Julie Walters, and Robbie Coltrane, Brave is a dazzling movie filled with action, adventure, love, drama, comedy, magic, and defiance. It’s going into the collection for sure, it’s absolutely beautiful.