Film: Brave

GENRE: Animated/Adventure
RATING: PG for some scary action and rude humor
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 40 minutes
STARRING: Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire)
Billy Connolly (Boondock Saints), Emma Thompson (Love Actually)
DIRECTORS: Mark Andrews & Steven Purcell (newcomer)
Brenda Chapman (Prince of Egypt)
WRITERS: Mark Andrews (John Carter), Brenda Chapman (new)
Steve Purcell (new) & Irene Mecchi (The Lion King)
PLOT: Princess Merida defies custom and brings about a curse that she must undo before it’s too late.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 The animation in this film is breath-taking. Pixar outdid itself visually with all the Scottish landscapes. Four images made me whisper ‘wow’ – the pan across the lake, the waterfall mist, the moss on the trees and the rain trickling down a castle wall. How do they do that?
2 When it comes to Pixar they are known for their compelling stories. I thought Cars 2 floundered and Brave does great at the start but then peters out. The first 45 minutes of this tale is fantastic and hugely entertaining as they set things up and use every aspect of the Scottish culture. The second half of the film just didn’t work for me. It’s hard to root for the hero when they make such a colossal mistake that you could see coming a mile away. Oh well.
3 I love Celtic music. This movie is full of it.
4 The triplets who don’t really talk are quite entertaining. I wish they had more screen time. Don’t make a sequel that’s all about them (Like Cars did with Mater) but I would liked to see them more. The suitor fathers needed more funny lines; although I did enjoy hearing Craig Ferguson (Late Late Show) as Lord Macintosh.
5 ‘Brave’ does not seem like an appropriate title for this film. It would be different if Merida was trying to overcome shyness or gain courage but she’s just an adventurous soul. Just sayin’.

RECOMMENDATION: See it in theatres, it’s Pixar!
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Amazing Spiderman