Pixar's Brave - Part II

[PixarFan2006]

64% on RottenTomatoes.

Uh oh...

Still a little too early to panic. There's only a total of 11 reviews (7 good 4 bad).

[Sotiris]

I am telling you guys, in order for Brave to be successful, it needs more AFRO CIRCUS!

[jazzflower92]

I think the critics are mad because Pixar decided to make a more Disneylike film.I think Brave is going to be more a Disney movie in spirit than a Pixar movie.

[qindarka]

64% on RottenTomatoes.

Uh oh...

Still a little too early to panic. There's only a total of 11 reviews (7 good 4 bad).

The problem though is that RT ratings seem to get lower over time as the positive reviews flow in first. I remember following John Carter's RT ratings with increasing dread as it sled down from the 80s to the low 50s.

[pap64]

I am telling you guys, in order for Brave to be successful, it needs more AFRO CIRCUS!

THANK... YOU!

This is beyond glorious!

[pap64]

And just like that, the reviews for the movie became glowing...

[Polizzi]

Just a theory, but I believe that the reason why Disney and Pixar's, "Brave," is at 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, because the story MIGHT be similar to DreamWorks Animation's, "Shrek Forever After," for he too kind of changed his fate, except he changed his life the way it should be. Of course, DreamWorks Animation's, "Shrek Forever After," is kind of a, "It's a Wonderful Life," ripoff. True that Disney and Pixar's, "Brave," is a different story, but it may have a similar idea to DreamWorks Animation's, "Shrek Forever After." It's quite obvious. Merida wants her freedom from her suitors and her mother's commands, and Shrek wants his life the way it should be. Next thing you'll know, she and he have the same mission: break the curse. Merida has to break the curse that she committed, the same for Shrek with true love's kiss. Don't take my word for granted, it's just a theory. In other words, untrue or not said or meant to be true. I'm sure that the percentage will go up for Disney and Pixar's, "Brave."

[qindarka]

Or it could be that the movie received less than stellar reviews because it may not be very good. I don't think any of us have watched it yet so why are rushing to defend and make excuses for it.

[DisneyFan09]

The new Brave section of World of Color is running!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pJ7Oq4HcuoM" frameborder="0"></iframe>

One word. Simply amazing.

[Ivan]

Not going to do any spoilers, just give a basic rundown of what I thought.

I really enjoyed it - it feels very Disneyesque, yet still retains the Pixar feel. A lot of heart to the story, and there was a couple times where my eyes teared up a little. For anyone saying it's Pixar's version of How To Train Your Dragon - nope, not in my opinion.

As expected, it was dedicated to Steve Jobs. "Dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, our partner, mentor, and friend."

[RyGuy]

I wonder if Pixar is going to end up in what I would call "The Lion King" phenomenon, meaning that after The Lion King (which incidentally has an 89% fresh rating on RT), every Disney animated film seemed to be considered a failure, when all of the films after The Lion King up through Lilo & Stitch (with the exception of Pocahontas and Atlantis) all had favorable RT ratings and I believe were profitable.

Time will tell, but I'm curious to see if Pixar falls into this, "It was great, but it was no Toy Story 3" where even if the film is critically and commercially successful, it's considered to be a failure and everyone is waiting for Pixar's "return."

Time will tell with Brave, but so far, they've had only one dud (which incidentally I enjoyed a lot). And even then, that movie was profitable, just not ridiculously so.

[disneyprincess11]

I am telling you guys, in order for Brave to be successful, it needs more AFRO CIRCUS!

Nice one, guys!

[jazzflower92]

Not going to do any spoilers, just give a basic rundown of what I thought.

I really enjoyed it - it feels very Disneyesque, yet still retains the Pixar feel. A lot of heart to the story, and there was a couple times where my eyes teared up a little. For anyone saying it's Pixar's version of How To Train Your Dragon - nope, not in my opinion.

As expected, it was dedicated to Steve Jobs. "Dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, our partner, mentor, and friend."

Great,it sounds better than some of the critics are giving it.Plus in your opinion how would you rate this film.

[DancingCrab]

Well lets hope the reviews pick up this week. It would be such a shame if Pixar's first female lead movie fell flat, BUT if the movie doesn't hold up, it doesn't hold up and that's the filmmaker's fault. It's def too soon for people to start complaining (or gloating) the film a failure OR a success. Plenty of films that have gotten mixed reviews have gone on to become box office giants...so let's just wait and see.

[Mooky]

You guys are funny.

Here's something I recently wrote on another board (it's a bit edited from the original version):

If you really think RT's (and generally, professional) reviewers are objective, non-biased and neutral, well, I'd like to be that naïve and innocent again. It only means they have a formal education in film/writing (which doesn't say much in this day and age) and write reviews for money/living. I'm not denying their technical expertise in the slightest, but ultimately a quality/impact of a movie is dependent on end user's emotional and cognitive response to that movie.

Not to mention, critics are generally biased against certain directors and genres. Most often than not, a mediocre movie from a renowned director will get a pass ("fresh" mark), while a mediocre movie from a newcomer or a director against whom there's a bias (such as former music videos directors, children's films/animation directors, action and horror movies directors) will be proclaimed "rotten". Recent example: Prometheus. It got terrible early reviews at Cannes, general user comments find it to be below average, and yet it stands at 73% on RT, which no doubt can be attributed mostly to it being directed by Ridley Scott.

So, I don't understand why you give a flying f*ck about critics' reviews. Of course, it's always nice and reassuring when a professional critic agrees with your opinion, but in the end, their opinion is just that: an opinion (and you know what they say about opinions). Why should your assessment of a movie be any less important than that of a critic? If I had been listening to critics only, I would have missed on a lot of fine films.

Another thing, movies that are initially rated low by professionals later often tend to gain new appreciation and understanding or become cult classics, prompting reviewers to change their original negative mark to positive (i.e. The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Blade Runner, The Last Unicorn, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption). So in the great scheme of things, critics' reviews mean nothing. What matters in the end is audience's (your) emotional response to a movie, regardless of how bad or good it might be rated by critics.

I have my own reservations about Brave in the sense that it feels like a clichéd and derivative story, and that it seems to borrow more than a few tropes from other films, but that's not going to stop me from seeing the film the moment it comes out here.

[DisneyDude2010]

I wonder if Pixar is going to end up in what I would call "The Lion King" phenomenon, meaning that after The Lion King (which incidentally has an 89% fresh rating on RT), every Disney animated film seemed to be considered a failure, when all of the films after The Lion King up through Lilo & Stitch (with the exception of Pocahontas and Atlantis) all had favorable RT ratings and I believe were profitable.

Tbh The only films that i haven't liked from The Lion KIng to now is Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Chicken Little and maybe Meet the Robinsons.
To me all of the other films have been great. But I really don't get why the popularity in the company declined?

[Sky Syndrome]

I am telling you guys, in order for Brave to be successful, it needs more AFRO CIRCUS!

Hahahaha!! I want to kiss whoever made that gif! Brave also needs more vampire slayer. (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter comes out the same day as Brave and my mom and I want to see both that day!)

[pap64]

Actually, if you guys want to get technical about the Pixar movie that ended their perfect streak, the first Cars movie was it. Think about it... critically, it received mixed reviews. Before that, their movies got GREAT reviews, even A Bug's Life which was at that point seen as the "weak" Pixar movie. Cars came and people began to worry. Yet the movie was SO successful that it inspired a sequel, a series of shorts, TONS of toys and merchandise, a whole resort at Walt Disney World dedicated to it and a brand new land at Disney's California Adventure.

I have the feeling that Brave will be very successful, middling reviews and all. The Brave fanbase (the one I criticized earlier) could get behind the movie and Merida no matter what. The Merida meet and greet is a popular one at the Disney parks. The merchandise line could be popular enough, and if the movie turns out to be a huge commercial success, and girls like Merida enough, she could end up being a Disney princess.

In fear of sounding like I am making up excuses for Pixar (really, as much as I am excited for it, I have not seen it and don't know enough about it to say if it is great or bad), I think what matters here is how the audience perceives the movie regardless of what critics say. People will criticize, but really. Disney produced some bad movies both in the past and present day, and people still love them and enjoy them. They just moved onto the next project, and if it's a hit, drinks all around. If not, it's time for the next project. I think Pixar might be operating that way, too. I mean, even with Cars 2 failing they announced a lot of brand new projects (which may or may not surface BTW).

[Jules]

I love flawed movies! If Brave maintains its 66% approval rating on RT, I'll probably grow unusually fond of Pixar.

The reason I'm in love with the WDAS collection of animated films is because very few of them are masterpieces, if at all. A good bunch are great achievements, though, and I can find something of merit in even the most maligned of entries (e.g. Chicken Little).

I bet some of you think I'm bonkers.

[Tristy]

I love flawed movies! If Brave maintains its 66% approval rating on RT, I'll probably grow unusually fond of Pixar.

The reason I'm in love with the WDAS collection of animated films is because very few of them are masterpieces, if at all. A good bunch are great achievements, though, and I can find something of merit in even the most maligned of entries (e.g. Chicken Little).

I bet some of you think I'm bonkers.

Not at all. I like Atlantis. True. It has its own share of problems, but it's still enjoyable. (See Doug Walker's Disneycember review for more details)

Anyway, it's only four reviews for this film which were negative and at least a couple of them weren't from the top critics, so I think it's a little too early to get the impression that this movie will get negative reviews. I'm not saying it won't but it's still healthy to keep a cautiously optimistic mind.