This fantastic installment of Disney’s modern day commitment to 3-D animation by way of Pixar Studios brings us the story of a young Scottish Princess who longs to forge her own destiny away from what her mother might like to see from her, and takes away some important life lessons as she goes about it. This film is plentiful with humor, cultural sensitivity, sincerity, excellent animation detail, and wonderful music. I’m not in the habit of spoiling movies, especially when they’re this good, so I’ll let you go see for yourselves without hearing the plot from me.
Fans of the movie “Braveheart” might notice that this movie’s title seems to be somewhat of a play on that movie’s title, which kind of funny in its own right. The plot couldn’t really be any more different though. The characters as you might imagine from a Disney-Pixar film are comical and endearing. Princess Merida very much reminded me of a friend I used to have a long time ago, which made it even better for me personally. Merida had a modern teenage mentality (her rebellious nature in particular) that I feel will make her relatable to today’s youth whilst keeping true to the historical setting in which the movie takes place. King Fergus is clearly the most comical of any character in the movie, with the clan lords and their sons not far behind. The slapstick comedy style of past Disney-Pixar movies is evident in this film. People in the theater were laughing hysterically.
The animation was excellent. It was clear that that the animators paid attention to every detail all the way down to the strands of hair on the character’s heads. For a CGI movie the details were phenomenal, and the Pixar studios excel at just those types of CGI masterpieces. It seems that with every new movie they come out with the characters and scenery get more realistic looking. This movie demonstrates how the CGI movie industry has grown by leaps and bounds.
I especially enjoyed the music of the movie. The soundtrack and Celtic-themed instrumentals were very well written and presented. The music is the final piece of what brings you into this epic film. The vocal songs were well reflective of the theme of the movie as well as the overall character of the Princess herself (although she didn’t do any singing. It’s not a musical movie like past Disney movies.) I find it worthwhile as a movie patron to see that the production staff actually goes through the effort to find and or produce culturally relevant music that compliments the movie as well as this one does. This movie does not disappoint musically.
One thing I would have liked to see that really doesn’t have too much to do with the actual movie itself was the local movie theater get more into the premiere weekend with decorating, costuming for the theater staff, and perhaps they could have offered some Scottish food snacks at the concession stand. It would have been a good way to promote the film as well as cultural awareness. They had the standard advertising displays in the lobby but that was about it. If any movie theater managers are reading this I would encourage handling a premiere like this because it would be a very interesting way to get into the premiere night or weekend when a new movie like this comes out. Haggis might be a bit much for a lot of people but an easy Scottish recipe made and sold by the theater staff at concessions would have been “couthie.”
One thing we might notice is an increase in the interest of archery like we saw when the Hunger Games was in theaters. A lot of people started taking up the sport of archery after seeing that movie and Princess Merida in this film is an accomplished archery practitioner. I imagine a lot of young people would take up the sport in addition to the increase we saw during the Hunger Games. I would recommend it. Archery is a relaxing sport in many ways and can help exercise your arms and generate hand/eye coordination.
The movie itself just felt real. Everything down to the flames of the nearby firelight/candlelight were well thought out and well placed, and it became more realistic looking than a lot of live-action movies I’ve seen. It certainly stirred the imagination and pulls you into the story. It goes without saying that this movie is family-friendly when it’s coming from Disney-Pixar. I can’t recall them doing anything other than a family-friendly movie. This is Scotland at its spiritual and cultural finest in this movie’s presentation of well portrayed characters and attention to animation detail. Everyone in the theater clapped at the end of this movie. Sit back, let the cares of the day go, and get absorbed in the cinematic excellence of Brave.
You can enjoy the movie as you visit and Disney Theme park. You get the chance of becoming team leader for Disney Performing Arts as well. Which would be a really good and fun addition to your life experience.
Bailey Hudson is a creative content writer from Texas USA. He graduated in 2012 at the Hult University with a degree in Mass Communication. He created Bailey Doest Bark in 2015 and is currently the managing editor of the online portal.
