Pixar's Brave - In Theaters Summer 2012

[Captain_Obvious]

I need this fierce hbic in my life asap.
Just 2 more days... 2 more dayyys.

 

[redhawk23]

I saw Brave last night. I will try to keep my thoughts as spoiler free as possible.

There are some films who's reception and legacy suffer from high expectation and anticipation before their release. Recently there has been some major backlash against Prometheus and in the past of course there was Spiderman 3. Any film from a popular franchise, or from a studio or filmmaker of a high pedigree are going to risk this kind of backlash.
Pixar of course has as high of a pedigree of pretty much any studio, and is often held as the gold standard in modern animation. For a Pixar film however, it seems the expectations aren't just high, they're nonsensical.

Professional reviews for Brave from newspapers and blogs have started to roll in. Currently it holds an RT score in the low 70s, less than that of Madagascar 3 if you're for some reason keeping score. There has been some talk that Brave is some kind of mistep for Pixar. There's a narrative that many denizens of the web are trying to build that this latest film is somehow another nail in the coffin for the "Golden Age of Pixar." There is some vague undefined aspect that is apparently what makes Pixar films special, they claim, and apparently Brave lacks this in their opinion.

I have to wonder, have any of these people even seen Brave?

I will say right now that in my humble opinion, Brave is Pixar's best film since 2009's UP.
One of the aspects that I have always loved about Pixar's films is regardless of the fantastic setting, or whatever or whoever makes up the cast of characters, many of their films are rooted in relationships, be it between friends, between a husband and wife, or between a whole family. Brave is very much centered around the relationship between a mother and daughter. While a lot of the interviews and promotion of this film have tried to drum up praise for the film for having a strong female protagonist, but it is not just centered around one strong woman but two. What this film deserves far more praise for is bringing the relationship between these two women into the foreground and letting the rest of the film spring from it.
As you've probably seen a hundred times now from the trailers, Merida is a headstrong young woman far more interested in horseriding and archery than the expectations of her tradition-bound mother. This conflict is exacerbated when it is announced that Merida is to be betrothed to the winner of a contest, because of course Merida does not want to be married. This is basic set up is, I agree, nothing we haven't seen before, however it is not really the heart of the conflict. Its not just that Merida is rebelling against her mother, or that the mother's traiditional expectations are overly opressive. What really lies at the heart of the story is that while both characters care for one another, they are equally strong willed and a failure to communicate is damaging their relationship.

The trailers give the basic elements of the conflict with the betrothal and the archery competition and such, but that actually gives very little indication for how the story plays out. The story is driven by the failure to communicate. Merida, unable to get her own point across and unable to understand her mother's point of view attempts to change her mothers mind about the betrothal. The ramifications of this are what the story is about.
All I will say is, I was caught off guard by what happens. Other folks may be privvy to spoilers that I was not, but I had no idea where this was going.
Other than just the story and characters, which for whatever reason, are not meeting whatever it was some folks were expecting, I'd be hard pressed to find anyone that would think this film does look damn amazing. This of course comes as a surprise to no one, and while great visuals in animated films are commonplace in our current CGI spacerace, it would be shame to take for granted how well crafted this film is.

Enough cannot be said about Merida's hair. It is a thing of beauty and a constant presence in the film. More than that though it is an integral part of her character, adding to her body language and expression. Merida along with everything else in this film are greatly animated, not just beautifully rendered.
As coud be seen from the very first teaser for this film, the environments in this film are also beutifully crafted. They don't have the hard realism of WALL-E, but they aren't intended to. They are no less detailed than the garbage piles of that film or the jungles of UP but with the use shadow and colors and just the right amount of mist, the world of this film is imbued with a sense of magic and mystery that is spot on.

Going into this film I was very concerned about how things would play out with Merida's brothers, who seemed like they might be an annoyance, or to the kilt humor, which for whatever reason the trailers have focused on. As for her brothers, they were entertaining and not overused, and I in the end I didn't mind them. The kilt humor was definitely present (as as cleavage humor, oddly) but along with the rest of the humor in the film, I thought they were well played and most bits are legitimately funny.

I've read a few reviews that have complained that the film seems aimed at a young audience. I wouldn't necessarily say so. I mean sure, all the kids in my screening loved it, it works for them, but so do all Pixar films. I wouldn't say this movie is anymore aimed at kids than the first Toy Story or Monsters Inc. There is plenty there for adults and anyone of any age to enjoy and relate to without resorting to pop culture references and the like. Isn't this what makes Pixar films special? Isn't this, along with great craftsmanship, what the studio and their films are so lauded for? It is true that this film is not as absolutely heartrending as the beginning credits of UP but it is not to it's detriment. It does not mean that this film does not connect on an emotional level it is just different emotions.

I think what this film faces is some expectation of "sophistication" that is somehow more present in UP. For my money (well, figuratively at least, I saw this for free), kilt humor aside, this film is no less sophisticated. This is a wonderfully crafted movie centered around a well rounded, believable and deeply felt relationship, equal in that respect to the likes of Finding Nemo and the Incredibles.

Independently it is a wonderful film that I think audiences will look back upon fondly and certainly one of my personal favorites of the year so far.

If Pixar can continue one with work such as this, their fans have nothing to fear for the future.

 

[redhawk23]

Side note, "Mordu the Demon Bear" is the coolest name for anything, ever.

 

[Tanin]

I'm glad you liked the film.... but reading your wall of text is a chore. Several spelling mistakes and no formatting make reviews very hard to read!

Thanks for taking the time though.

 

[Raiden]

Cars 2 I did enjoy, mostly because of how blatantly dark and violent it got. These cute ass looking cars with big windshield eyes getting straight murdered onscreen.

I thought the interrogation and the execution of that spy car was a bit intense for a children's movie. Thankfully my kids didn't comprehend what exactly was going on. Btw, one of the plot holes from the movie is when Flint McMissile refused to go to the redezvous point with the point, his reason was that he could be detected by the goons from the enemy, but scenes later he was disguising himself as an airport security officer in order to get Mater to safety. If he could disguise himself, why didn't he do it at the party?

As for Brave, right now it's hard to get a reading from this movie, and I think despite the fact that it's from Pixar, it may or may not make the kind of money that they expect it to. I think it will probably gross less than their biggest blockbusters like Finding Nemo and Toy Story 3, but will do better than movies like A Bug's Life (which I'm surprised to discover that it didn't make alot domestically).

 

[Destructus86]

I have no doubt this will be one of the best Pixar movies yet.

btw...I think Wall-E is better than UP.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

this is gonna be a tough one for pixar...i really don't see this making much money nor having the desired pixar success. if this one fails hard, you know there's gonna be a shake-up...and when that happens, Disney will be announcing Nemo2, Incredibles 2, Toystory4 etc...because people genuinely want to see Pixar carry on some of the biggest hits and disney wants their partnership to work and for it to do so...they need these movies to make cashola!

I am not sure why you think this won't be an financial success. The last time a Pixar movie didn't make 500 million WW was the first Cars. Before that it was Toy Story 2. Plus, 3-D.

What exactly do you expect to happen to this film?

 

[terry78]

Caught it earlier. Fun little flick, but the humor was surprisingly adult. It was funny, Pixar likes to throw that in there though.

 

[Art Damage]

Just got back from seeing Brave and it's easily one of the worst written Pixar films of all time and a step in the wrong direction in my opinion for this company. The whole experience felt like we've been there and done that...which is kind of normal for Disney films but usually they do in a pretty imaginative exciting way. I didn't get that at all from this movie. This was like Brother Bear, Mulan and How to Drain Your Dragon all into one...and the result was not a fun one whatsoever.

I thought the character of Merida was one of the worst lead characters in a Pixar film as of late and completely unlikeable, even through understanding her frustration through not wanting her Mother to control her life her spunky attitude comes across extremely annoying and on the nose. Her whole family besides her Mother were some of the weakest moments of the film, her Dad had some alright moments but was very sterotypical scottish Dad. The little brothers were also very sterotypical and a little boring. This whole film just felt uninspired to me and it seems like after Cars 2, it's been two misfires after three home runs with Wall-E, Up & Toy Story 3.

I would agree that this film does seemed aimed at a much younger audience, there is nothing below the surface level of the script that I have always found so engaging about Pixar. They're an animation studio with one hell of a brain and this one just seems so lackluster in what they've done before. What a shame Pixar...

 

[craigdbfan]

I don't know why people thrash on Disney so much. Tangled was incredible and was something I'd expect to see from their renaissance era. While I haven't seen Brave I doubt I'll like it anywhere near as much as that film.

Even Wreck-It-Ralph seems to be more in the vein of what Pixar usually does than Brave.

I can't completely knock it as I haven't seen it yet but nothing has really made me want to watch this movie.

 

[Spider-Man Luvr28]

I saw this one little girl in the theater dressed up as the main character from this movie. Red curly wig and all. It was sooo cute.

 

[Drizzle]

I liked it. Pixar seems to be back in shape after the misstep that was Cars 2. Is it their most original film? No, but it's got great characters and humor. The bear animation was fantastic. Overall, I'd rank it somewhere in the middle on the Pixar films scale, on par with Monsters, Inc. and Ratatouille.

Where was John Ratzenberger in the film though? I didn't recognize him. Did he voice the mumbling fat son of one of the lords?

 

[Tony Stark]

Pixar once again shows they are willing to go beyond the typical CGI animated kids film. This movie at it's core is about mothers and daughters, and it's probably focused solely at that group, but yet leaves enough for young boys to enjoy the film as well. The voice acting is terrific, I didn't even know the main character was Emma Thompson who isn't even Scottish.

While the plot of the film may be familiar to Disney fans, as it takes on alot of elements from the 2003 cell animated Brother Bear, the film does have more of a heart and a purpose than that film did. As I said young girls are really going to flock to this movie and mom will probably shed a tear or two. After Pixar stumbled a bit last year with the rather disappointing Cars 2, they are definitely back on track with Brave.

I should also add that what is now my favorite all time Pixar Short film at the beginning of Brave, is almost worth the price of admission itself.

9/10

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

I don't know why people thrash on Disney so much. Tangled was incredible and was something I'd expect to see from their renaissance era. While I haven't seen Brave I doubt I'll like it anywhere near as much as that film.

Even Wreck-It-Ralph seems to be more in the vein of what Pixar usually does than Brave.

I can't completely knock it as I haven't seen it yet but nothing has really made me want to watch this movie.

Tangled was amazing and did remind me of a movie from their renaissance era, which got me to thinking. Could Disney soon be entering a second renaissance that started with Tangled (Didn't see Winnie the Pooh) and could potentially continue with Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen? I see bright futures for those two movies.

I should also add that what is now my favorite all time Pixar Short film at the beginning of Brave, is almost worth the price of admission itself.

9/10

What was the short film about this time?

 

[craigdbfan]

Tangled was amazing and did remind me of a movie from their renaissance era, which got me to thinking. Could Disney soon be entering a second renaissance that started with Tangled (Didn't see Winnie the Pooh) and could potentially continue with Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen? I see bright futures for those two movies.

I think it's very possible. I really hope Disney keeps this streak going for a while because they're heading the right direction.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

I think it's very possible. I really hope Disney keeps this streak going for a while because they're heading the right direction.

Definitely, I really want to see great movies from Disney again. I think making Lasseter the chief creative officer of Disney while also still overseeing Pixar was the smartest decision they could have made. He's the one who seems to be steering the movies in the right direction again.

 

[CGHulk]

To me this film felt like it was just the bare of the bones of a story. It just rushed to quickly. It felt empty, like the filler was taken out of it, to make a tighter, less interesting, shorter/quicker movie. Oh well here's my complaints.

The witch turns people into bears, but why bears? They should of elaborated more on back story of the Prince (that was turned into the bear), that would of been interesting. Or later on having Merida reuniting with the witch to tell us more of Prince's story. It was hinted that the Prince lived a long time ago and that nobody remembers the names of those that lived. That was a long time ago, how come the witch is still alive, and the bear is too? Why did the wisps want all of this to be resolved, why do they come to do all of this?

I think there should of been more going on in the middle of the story between mother and daughter to resolve their differences than just playfully fishing for trout. There should of been a moment where they both finally understood one another. Instead out of nowhere the mother gives her daughter her approval.

The scene with all the clans battling in the great hall was a bit stupid, no one was killed or injured. There were only the tables that got hurt. I was expecting that they'd go all out to war over Merida refusing to marry any one of their sons. I expected before going into this movie that Merida was an offering to their sons to keep peace in the land. That would of been more interesting.

The three triplets don't talk, I guess it's easier to write characters that don't talk!

In the end it felt like they gave us the meat and potatoes without the gravy.

 

[jmc]

Just got back from seeing Brave, review as follows.

Whilst not the worst Pixar film of all time, Brave certainly ranks toward the lower end of the scale compared to the home runs the company has made over the years. It's not a bad film per se, it's just missing a great deal of oomph and instead settles for a ride in first gear for a majority of the movie.

It's never really a boring movie, but at the same time it never really seems to go anywhere particularly interesting or exciting. This almost feels like a watered down version of a far more interesting story, in fact I'll go so far to say that the movie could have been longer. The sense of adventure that the trailer showed is sorely lacking, the more fantasy elements are brief and never expanded on further, and the resolution to the mother-daughter conflict was kinda weak. The thing that's annoying is that you can see a far better story within the one on screen, it's just never presented to us.

I will say the one thing that fascinated me was Merida's hair, which is quite possibly the best mop of red hair I think I've ever seen on a person real or CGI, no matter what scene she was in her hair contrasted beautifully to the surroundings. Although it's kinda sad when that's the one thing from the movie that stands out the most. Visually it's also beautiful, but that's something we expect from this company anyway.

So whilst not in the same category as Cars, Brave certainly fails to come close to Pixar's top tier, in fact it's probably the first middle of the road Pixar movie. I didn't dislike it, but I left the cinema with indifference, which is a first for me for a Pixar movie.

6/10

 

[CGHulk]

Jmc I completely agree with your review.

 

[jacobed]

Yeah didn't like this at all.

 

[CGHulk]

http://my.spill.com/profiles/blog/s...(Featured+community+blog+posts+from+Spill.com)

As someone who was on track to work at Pixar (before I had to leave art school for financial reasons) and still knows a few animators and TD's there, I can tell you for a fact that Pixar is no longer what it used to be. When Disney parked their armored cars full of cash on Pixar's front lawn and bought them out, it was like whiplash - suddenly, the film studio that used to value original stories above all else became Disney v2.0, even lending to a lot of the artists there nicknaming it "Pixaren't".

They originally told them that it would be business as usual and that Disney wouldn't be stepping in to change things, but within a few weeks they starting pulling animators off of new projects and starting their own agenda. Animators who were working with cutting edge animation were suddenly re-composing scenes from Toy Story 1 (which used outdated technology and is a 15 year old film) so that Disney could make a quick buck by re-releasing it in 3D. Then, they pulled more off to start working on Toy Story II in 3D. Then they announced that they would be doing Toy Story 3, then they announced Cars 2, then they announced Monsters, Inc 2 (which I've known about for months and months), and so on. They're actually pushing back productions of new films, just so that they can fill their pocketbooks with sequel money.

As a result, they're currently hemorrhaging talent. A lot of the really talented animators who have been there for years are leaving for other companies, or simply quitting to find something else. The overall feeling in the company (at least according to my friends) is that it's the end of an era, and they don't like what the company represents now. As Pixar animators are leaving, Disney is replacing them with their own animators from their failed 3D animation company.

Hope that helps explain the whole fiasco.

 

[jmc]

You know what? I'm not at all surprised if that is the case. All good things must come to an end, I for one feel as if Pixar hit their peak years ago, last two films have ranged from awful to mediocre. Sad but unfortunately something like this was bound to happen eventually.

 

[CGHulk]

Well at Disney with the success of The Lion King everything went downhill from there. The suits took over all creative decisions at the studio and the magic gradually disappeared. The suits blamed the artists and the 2D medium for their downfall, can you believe that crap! So many talented people left Disney for Pixar!

 

[CB Fan]

I just said a page ago that it looks like Pixar had hit the end of its own renaissance and its sad that that is turning out to be true. I wonder if some of them are now at Dreamworks because it seems there has been an increase in quality to their films lately.

 

[CGHulk]

I've been wondering about that too. How to Train your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2 are really good, the quality level started up in the last Shrek film. I hear Dreamworks is a great place to work. Guillermo del Toro is there, Glen Keane has shown some interest in working there. All the 2D animator heads were retrained in CG when their 2D animation studio was shut down, which shows Katzenberg's loyalty to his employees. Katzenberg has stated how important it is to keep his artists happy.