Pixar's Brave - Part II

[Pokeholic_Prince]

My expectations for this film were very tamed. I was excited, but I didn't set my expectations high. However, when I began watching "Brave," the film set up expectations for itself. I was incredibly engaged with it. The prologue is really good, what follows is also very good. I choked up ***major spoiler*** when merida and her mom fought and she throws the bow in the fire. Her expression afterwards were heart touching. After that the film had me ooked even though some of the humor is weak. After the twist the movie loses its tone and that mother daughter relationship gets lost. It becomes a buddy comedy and you can't have that big of tone shift in a film. Only near the end did some of the heart return. The movie isn't bad, but not good either, it's passable.

[RyGuy]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, for sure. I disagree with some of the comments suggesting the triplets were only rarely funny (and perhaps by implication, pointless). I found them hysterical in just about every scene they were in. While I can appreciate that at times they took a serious moment and threw it on its head, I can't help but think of Pocahontas which didn't do that enough. I find Pocahontas to be too serious and sometimes downright dull.

As for the movie becoming a buddy comedy after the transformation, again I disagree. To be sure there were humorous moments but the transformation is what allowed Merida and her mother to see each other in a different light. Elinor began to appreciate the usefulness of Merida's un-princess ways in that she knew the land, how to hunt and to gather non-poisonous food and water, etc. and that when given the chance without her mom hovering over her, she could be be a princess - such as when she delivers the speech in the throne room and the clans all decide their children can marry whom they wish.

Similarly, Merida saw how ferocious her mom was in protecting her against Mor'du and I think she also began to understand why her mom felt the need to train her in all the ways of court - which skills she did need during the throne room scene described above.

I saw the movie three times this past weekend. I found the story, though simple, to be very engaging. I also found myself reflecting a number of times on my relationship with my parents and my relationship with my kids, both considering WHY my parents might have done some of the things they did while I was growing up, and critically examining how hard I can be on my kids at times.

[disneyboy20022]

I really enjoyed Brave more than I thought would. I did make sure to not read any spoilers (except for ads on tv movie trailers. )

the best part is, with Brave, this is the Pixar that were creative with their ability to make wonderful stories from ooff the top of their heads.

[Prince Edward]

Pixar by the Numbers – From TOY STORY to BRAVE
A numbers-based snapshot of all the Pixar movies: box office, critical reception, and miscellaneous facts.
http://collider.com/pixar-numbers-toy-s ... ve/175160/

[qindarka]

Just watched it. Its not brilliant, but it's a perfectly fine movie. Sure, it's not really original but the story is executed reasonably well and other Pixar movies aren't exactly original either.
Also very entertaining overall though I wish they had cut out some bits of crude humour.

[Lnds500]

'Brave' hair is an animation sensation

Brave's Princess Merida shows guts, masterful archery skills and equine artistry. But theatergoers who made Pixar's first film with a female lead No. 1 at the box office ($66.3 million for its opening weekend) also couldn't help but admire one rare attribute in animation: She has one heck of a head of hair.

The flowing red locks perfectly define the teenage princess's fiery temperament. They also mark animation's progress: It took six Pixar research engineers and artists more than three years to bring the groundbreaking strands to life onscreen.

"We've never seen anything like Merida's curly hair," says Claudia Chung, the movie's simulation supervisor. "Technically, that was incredibly hard to achieve."

One of the directors, Brenda Chapman, who conceived of the characters, acknowledges she was "naive" when she insisted that Merida would need to have curly hair - a near-impossibility in animation because of the sheer number of curls that have to move naturally in every frame.

"My poor crew just looked at me and said, 'Oh, my God,' " Chapman recalls. "But they really believed in it and set out to make it work. It's not just pretty hair. It's about who she is."

The task was made all the more difficult because Merida is an action princess.

"We knew this was going to be a big deal," Chung says. "It wasn't just creating hair that didn't compromise the character, but also making sure the intricate movement looked just right."

Pixar has achieved cutting-edge computer animation in hair with Sulley's intricate fur in 2001's Monsters, Inc. Teenage superhero Violet's straight, long hair presented the next phase of animation challenges in 2004's The Incredibles.

But Brave was such a big next step that it took researchers six months to see whether realistically depicting flowing curly hair was even feasible. Two and a half years in, Chung's team finally developed a computer-generated simulator that exquisitely detailed the soft movement.

"When we finally figured it out, we were ecstatic," Chung says. " Then we realized we had six months to finish this film, so it was 'Let's get back to work.' "

The new hair computer program (called Taz, after Warner Bros.' Tasmanian Devil cartoon character, because "it's crazy fast," Chung says) was so successful that it was used on everything from the princess's curly-haired brothers to her horse, Angus.

"When they first showed me pictures of Princess Merida with her hair, I was blown away," says Kelly Macdonald, who voiced Merida. "It was amazing. Even the horse was extraordinary."

Co-director Mark Andrews says the hair provided a key final touch to the feisty heroine. "Merida had to have the wildest hair we could imagine. She's a wild spirit. She wields that curly hair in confidence. It's her identity."

[Disney's Divinity]

Wasn't Tangled praised for its work on Rapunzel's hair?

[DisneyDude2010]

Wasn't Tangled praised for its work on Rapunzel's hair?

Yes it was

In Brave sure she has cool hair, but that's not really the point of the movie, Unlike Tangled which is the story of hair. Just kinda annoys me that WDAS doesn't receive as much recognition but anyway both studios are amazing.

[Lnds500]

I'd like to see who was responsible for the hair.. I won't be surprised if we see the same people credited in both movies

[gardener14]

Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but I noticed something when I saw Brave last night. Not only does the opening logo say simply "Disney" instead of Walt Disney Pictures, but this is the first movie where I noticed the opening titles said "Disney Presents" instead of "Walt Disney Pictures Presents"...a Pixar Animation Studios Film.

Many people here have been disappointed that Walt was taken out of the official castle logo, but I've always been satisfied that Walt was kept in the titles...until now. I hope this isn't a permanent change across all upcoming Disney films.

[Lnds500]

Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but I noticed something when I saw Brave last night. Not only does the opening logo say simply "Disney" instead of Walt Disney Pictures, but this is the first movie where I noticed the opening titles said "Disney Presents" instead of "Walt Disney Pictures Presents"...a Pixar Animation Studios Film.

Many people here have been disappointed that Walt was taken out of the official castle logo, but I've always been satisfied that Walt was kept in the titles...until now. I hope this isn't a permanent change across all upcoming Disney films.

it is. a lot of trailers have that change as well, it's not a new one

[DisneyFan09]

My expectations for this film were very tamed. I was excited, but I didn't set my expectations high. However, when I began watching "Brave," the film set up expectations for itself. I was incredibly engaged with it. The prologue is really good, what follows is also very good. I choked up ***major spoiler*** when merida and her mom fought and she throws the bow in the fire. Her expression afterwards were heart touching. After that the film had me ooked even though some of the humor is weak. After the twist the movie loses its tone and that mother daughter relationship gets lost. It becomes a buddy comedy and you can't have that big of tone shift in a film. Only near the end did some of the heart return. The movie isn't bad, but not good either, it's passable.

Your constructive and well-written post inspired me to finally put my thoughts on the movie.

I had a few expectations for Brave, especially after I heard the songs and Patrick Doyles amazing soundtrack. After watching Brave, I had a so-so feeling about the movie. The first 30 minutes were good. The prologue was really satisfying. The animation was gorgeous and I really liked King Fergus by Billy Connoly. However, the writing of the film was really the biggest problem. The film failed to tell a consistent story, in my opinion and in the second act it became just another Brother Bear, which is a film which I'm not so crazy about (cause it wasn't very well-written either). So Brave failed as a whole. While it could've been worse, it could've been a lot better as well. While I'm not hating this movie, I don't love it either.

[Pokeholic_Prince]

Thanks, glad I inspired you to share your opinion. I agree with most of what you said. However, I enjoyed Brother Bear to a good extent, while not the great Disney offering, it is underrated. I think Brother Bear is more consistent with its narrative. Writing may not be it strong point, but the emotions are there and film doesn't lose sight of what the main story and themes are, which I think Brave had an issue with.

[DisneyFan09]

Thanks, glad I inspired you to share your opinion. I agree with most of what you said. However, I enjoyed Brother Bear to a good extent, while not the great Disney offering, it is underrated. I think Brother Bear is more consistent with its narrative. Writing may not be it strong point, but the emotions are there and film doesn't lose sight of what the main story and themes are, which I think Brave had an issue with.

Yeah. Despite that I had some problems with some plot cues of Brother Bear as well, it had at least a more consistent narrative.

[toonaspie]

Thanks, glad I inspired you to share your opinion. I agree with most of what you said. However, I enjoyed Brother Bear to a good extent, while not the great Disney offering, it is underrated. I think Brother Bear is more consistent with its narrative. Writing may not be it strong point, but the emotions are there and film doesn't lose sight of what the main story and themes are, which I think Brave had an issue with.

Yeah, at least Brother Bear had a more consistent narrative.

Eh...the only thing about Brother Bear from a writing perspective is that the conflict and the climax are on the rather weak side of things and in a way doesn't make any sense. Yes, they had a simpler story to work with but not much to fill it up with. Alot of stuff in Brave I think would've worked much better in Brother Bear. I like the idea in Brave that the longer the Queen was in bear form the more in danger she was of behaving like a bear with no human emotion. It showed the seriousness of the situation and put a time limit on things.

[jediliz]

I took two of my nieces to this today. The ten year old gave it an 8/10 and the 8 year old said between 8 and 8.5 out of 10. It was better than I thought it would be.....

[Kyle]

Yeah, at least Brother Bear had a more consistent narrative.

Eh...the only thing about Brother Bear from a writing perspective is that the conflict and the climax are on the rather weak side of things and in a way doesn't make any sense. Yes, they had a simpler story to work with but not much to fill it up with. Alot of stuff in Brave I think would've worked much better in Brother Bear. I like the idea in Brave that the longer the Queen was in bear form the more in danger she was of behaving like a bear with no human emotion. It showed the seriousness of the situation and put a time limit on things.

I feel like that was a bit of a missed oppurtunity. I was kinda thinking there might be more of a wall-e style moment where it feels like she's gone. Not in the dead sense but lost her to the bear instincts. They only teased at that.

[Disney Duster]

I saw this twice! Last Sunday with a long-time girl friend of mine who also loves Disney, and then last Thursday with PrincePhillipFan and Super Aurora from this forum! And I actually liked it even better the second time! That's a good thing for a film, you guys!

Since I saw it twice, obviously it was good. It's great. It really is great. Now one of my favorite Pixar films and just a really heartfelt, good thing to see for the very wonderful characters and their relationships with each other amidst a cool story with a very good message about kmowing your duty and compromising it with what you want to do for yourself.

All the reviews that said this felt like Disney were just so wrong. Yea, I said it! For me, practically the only time it felt like a Disney princess movie was when they mentioned the word princess. Now, this didn't really feel like a Pixar film all that much either, but when it came to the characters, their designs, and their relationships, development, and moments together, plus the humor, that had Pixar written aalllll over it!

I also don't get why people said only the beginning and end were good and the beginning was the best part. For me, the beginning was great, but what really had me going was seeing how her mother and Merida fought, then the witche, her mother turning into a bear and how hilarious, cute, alarming, and dangerous it all was when she was a bear. The mother daughter relationship did not dissipate at all in the middle, it merely changed just as her mother did, you still could see and feel the relationship her angry, then fearful, then sad, then understanding mother was having with her daughter, just as a bear. Then, the end was a fantastic, tender, fitting finish to it all.

Now, I didn't spoil this one for myself, mostly because I wasn't caring so much about this, so I don't know if that helped, that I didn't have expectations or hype, but this was truly something wonderful to see, you know? I care about this more than Cars or even Ratatouille. The emotion and heart in this is actually quite more than a few Pixar films. Even more than Toy Story's films if you think about it, I've never seen such heatedness or heartbreak in a Pixar film before. I was really affected by the fight between Merida and her mother and so happy when it was mended.

The "crude humor" is not that crude. I mean it's just butts, did you have a problem with Disney's Fantasia? I admit that I wouldn't want my young boy to see a zoom in on a woman's chest but honestly, that one's not really bad either. The only thing was, yes, the brothers were in there too much mugging and milking their humor to a point where they really weren't funny anymore, but they were funny for most times. I really hated the servant though, who had the pastries and key (and the chest zoom). She was funny at first, but like the brothers, she got milked to annoyance.

I was also bothered by the King being so oblivious to not check on his wife a little sooner and not even listen to his daughter saying his wife was a bear. Not even stopping and saying "Merida, why are you talking this way? Why do you think this?" But often in movies, characters are a little more stupid or smart than they would actually be to suit the story.

The animation of course was great, fantastic, lush, and when it came to human emotions, absolutely the apex, like the ones in Tangled. Merida's hair felt like it should have flowed more like real hair though, and Merida did look beautiful many times but I still feel like her neck smooshing her face up into a round thing in a mass of wild hair is quite ugly and not a good design. Of course not as bad as Lord Dingwall's deisgn, that one made me want to gouge my eyes out. And Merida and her brothers blue eyes looked kind of like glossy button eyes that were creepy sometimes, almost like lifeless doll eyes, but through the magic of animation it was only a problem for a second or two for me sometimes.

There were so, so many likeable characters in this movie. I only sometimes hated the brothers and the servant, like I said. My favorite characters were probably the Queen and the Witch and her Raven (who is totally gay!). Also the King, and I even really liked the suitors and their fathers (except Dingwall, omg ew!). Merida was surprisingly not the big exciting commanding princess though. Her mother was an even greater a character to me, but I think that there might be a perpetual problem with all princesses being the stars of their own stories. She was a great princess, just, she was surrounded by co-stars I liked even more. She wasn't outshone, just...well, many others were my favorites above her. Thankfully, I believe this movie and its box office will not be making Merida a Disney Princess.

Why was everyone complaining this story is too simple though? Finding Nemo was "find your lost son". It was even more simple. The only difference was that it took a lot of long as time, places, and characters to finish that story. But admittedly that one has a charm that keeps me wanting to watch it more than Brave, but Brave really is also a very re-watchable movie, as I did see it twice. I loved the lost kingdom and Mordu part of Brave's story.

The title did not make sense for the story though. Merida wasn't so much Brave as selfish to break tradition and try to make her own fate. She had no trepidation or attempt to be Brave to do what she did. The only reason I think re-naming it Brave might have been better was just so the bear twists weren't spoiled. But honestly, a bear comes in the beginning, so scratch that, it should have always been called The Bear and the Bow.

This film did not feel original in many places, I must admit. But originality does not a good movie make, so it really doesn't matter. The predictability only detracted from my first viewing. I wish I could be someone who is able to see things for their original selves instead of my mind constantly finding things they're is similar to. I guess this wasn't as woah omg great as other Pixar films, but in a way its better than many Pixar films, so emotional, so, I don't know. I have to admit I find Tangled to be so great a classic besides the damn title that it was better to me than Brave, but Brave was better than The Princess and the Frog to me.

I do have a question, too. Okay, so at the end, the clans saythey will let Merida break tradition and have their sons vie to win her hand through love instead of competition. So then, at the end, when Dingwall's son is kissing her hand, is that saying he is the one who has won her hand? The forum member PrincePhillipFan said no one had won her hand yet, and the other boys lining up to say goodbye to her was evidence, but I said it made no sense for them to say they would try to win her hand through love and then leave without doing so. So do you think they will try to win her love over time, or the short blonde guy already did, or what?

Then two other things. One is, it was really missing the magic effects here. Will-o-the wisps and the witch's cauldron glowed with light, but no such effects when she made brooms move or a cottage change or when certain bear transformations happened. I find it inconsistant. It's a problem many movies have. They show magic effects at one time but not at others just because...they think they need it sometimes and not others, I guess, despite it making no sense.

The other one is, I'm glad I realized that Merida, depsite being a strong, independent princess, had three cuddly animals help get a key to let her out of her tower. That is just like Cinderella, who so many people find weak and dependent all because of scenes like the mice getting the key for her and they say she should have gotten out by herself. Well Merida didn't either and shows them to be hypocrites! I heard of a father who paused Cinderella when the stepmother locked her in her room and asked his little daughter "Now, how could Cinderella have gotten herself out?" and the daughter suggested tying her sheets to lower herself out of the window. Something tells me that dad wouldn't do the same for Merida. : /

Similarly, Merida saw how ferocious her mom was in protecting her against Mor'du and I think she also began to understand why her mom felt the need to train her in all the ways of court - which skills she did need during the throne room scene described above.

Sounds interesting but I'm afraid I don't quite get this. How does her mother doing this show how her royalty skills were used at all and good for Merida?

I saw the movie three times this past weekend. I found the story, though simple, to be very engaging. I also found myself reflecting a number of times on my relationship with my parents and my relationship with my kids, both considering WHY my parents might have done some of the things they did while I was growing up, and critically examining how hard I can be on my kids at times.

Wow! You sound like a great dad, really, and I'm also so glad that you and I agreed on a lot in our reviews, even both seeing it more than once, too.

[sunhuntin]

going to see it again tonight with mum. this will be my 3rd viewing. we are going to the 2d session. hopefully there wont be too many kids. school holidays just started, so could be packed.

cant wait to see both mums reaction and that gorgeous animation again. plus this time i know to stay til the end of the credits entirely. last time i left after the steve jobs memorial bit.

[qindarka]

I saw this twice! Last Sunday...

(shortened)

.... more than once, too.

Glad you liked the movie, especially as I didn't think you were too fond of Pixar. Regarding the bit with the clan lord's son kissing her hand, I've read elsewhere that Merida was originally intended to hook up with one of them before it was excised from the story. I suppose this part could have been what remained from that earlier conception.