Pixar Playlist #13 - Brave

Ladies and Gentlemen, whether you like it or not, the Pixar Playlist

It’s unlucky for some, it’s number 13 and we look at Brave

Brave was Pixar’s first attempt at a fairy tale, and the brainchild of Brenda Chapman. Chapman had been working creative roles at Pixar since Cars, and had worked at Dreamworks prior to that. She had been directing the film but after creative disagreements with John Lasseter, she was replaced mid-production by Mark Andrews. Mark Andrews had directed 2 short films and was a second-unit director on John Carter, making him an odd choice for a replacement but then John Lasseter had some serious issues with women.

Usually I’d talk about some pioneering animation that really helped Pixar stand out, but I have nothing. This film had a $185m budget and made $540m at the box office. The film stands as reasonably popular with a 78% Rotten Tomatoes rating but where do I rank it, let’s take a look.

We open in Medieval Scotland, a Kingdom ruled by King Fergus and Queen Elinor fend off an attack by the bear Mor’du, but Fergus loses his leg in the process. Yes this is a Disney princess film where both parents are alive, that is a rarity. They have a daughter, Princess Merida, and 3 comic relief kids. Elinor brings up the feisty Meredith, teaching her all the ‘prim and proper’ ways to be a princess. Merida is less than impressed, and even less so when potential suitors from the other 3 tribes arrive to win her hand in marriage.

After a blowout with her mother, and seeking a way to change her fate, Merida follows a trail to an elderly witch. She offers a spell to change her mother, but Merida miscalculates, Elinor is turned into a bear and now it’s up to them to repair their broken bonds or Elinor will be stuck as a bear forever.

This feels very reminiscent of a Disney Musical from the 90’s, but with CG animation and less of an emphasis on songs. So positives first, I really like the character of Merida. She’s a strong and capable young lady whose stubbornness is first-off reasonably justified but also very much her critical weakness that this film explores and I honestly feel the exploration of her relationship to her mother is interesting and well-told.

The animation is pretty impressive as you’d expect from Pixar, the movement of the hair of particularly the women feels natural and not as stiff as you’d expect from a lesser company, or a TV show. The kids, whilst mostly existing for comic relief are a joy to watch, important lesson, they don’t talk.

OK, onto the negatives and rest assured, it’s not a bad product… but it’s really not up there with Pixar’s best. By this point, the forced arranged marriage had become a bit of a cliché and it doesn’t help that her suitors are given maybe 1/3 of a personality between them. They have running gags, but we don’t hear their opinions on the situation.

Of course, the story isn’t about them but it’s about adding weight to the conflict. Merida objects to the idea in principle but her mother’s condemnation of her might’ve held more weight if even one of them had something to bring to the table.

And about Elinor, I get what they’re going for but the tender mother moments before the bear happen at the exact moment Elinor isn’t in the room. Simple acts like having that story of legends be a bed-time story to a younger Merida might’ve helped paint her in a more interesting light. And bear in mind (ha, bear), the crux of the conflict, the forced marriage, still exists and you still empathise with Merida regardless.

The other problem is two-fold, the first being the fact that the emotional crux of the movie is resolved too early, and Elinor just kinda changes her mind, it doesn’t feel earned and maybe it’s just limited by the dialogue that you can’t have with a bear. The actual climax against Mor’du with the ticking clock aspect is a good one but it might’ve been better to allow the resolution to the emotional arc to come after this.

Then again, the actual consequence is treated with a bit of a shrug, all the tribes seem to live for the fight anyway, I’m surprised they even agreed to peace in the first place. The pacing is also a little slow for my taste. Some of the sneaking around could’ve been shortened.

Brave is far from Pixar’s worst film but it feels their most off-game. An attempt to do a Disney-style fairy tale without the memorable music and wit for which they are famed. The emotional core is there but the conflict borders on being one-sided and underwhelming thanks to a lack of exploration of the actual suitors, though Merida herself is an engaging lead, who is welcome addition to the Disney Princess line.

#1 The Incredibles
#2 Up
#3 Finding Nemo
#4 Toy Story 3
#5 WALL-E
#6 Toy Story 2
#7 Brave
#8 Toy Story
#9 Monsters Inc
#10 Ratatouille
#11 Cars
#12 Cars 2
#13 A Bug’s Life