At the centre of this earnestly
conceived fable is Merida (Kelly Macdonald), princess of the clan
Dingwall who reign in the Scottish highlands, gorgeously rendered
here by some of Pixar's most stunning animation to date, courtesy of
their newly programmed Presto animation system. Merida is in the
illustrious but unenviable position of being able to sire peace
between hers and three rival clans if she would only willingly marry
one of their first born sons, as prescribed by tradition. No
pressure, kid. It would certainly please her mother, Queen Elinor
(Emma Thompson), who spends no small amount of effort primping her
daughter to be a perfect lady. But Merida is a tomboy of fiery,
untamable disposition – with fiery, untamable hair to match – who
would much rather spend her days riding out with her trusty bow and a
quiver of arrows than resign herself to a lifetime of wifehood. After
one particularly heated confrontation with mom, she takes off into
the woods, where the mystical will o' the wisps, lighting up the
forest floor like floating pilot lights, lead her to a witch's hut.
She bargains with the batty old woman (Julie Walters) for a spell
that will change her mother's mind about the whole marriage thing,
but failing to be specific, gets a spell with more ursine
consequences than she expected.
For a film that in many respects is about defying tradition, it seems somewhat appropriate that Pixar is deviating from their own tradition, opting for a more simplistic narrative with few artistic risks and a more calculated payoff. By daring to take the typical route, Pixar has added an atypical entry to their stacked filmography. True, it lacks the thematic density of WALL-E or Ratatouille, and true, it doesn't wield the emotional power of Finding Nemo or Up or the Toy Story series, but the themes and emotions Brave does dabble in do indeed “ring with truths”. One, with which female audiences will no doubt relate, is the strained mother-daughter relationship which serves as the backbone of the narrative; a formulaic but sincere character arc that gives the film its heart. It's no more complicated than the concept of controlling one's own fate, another theme that the writers don't waste any time over-thinking. It would have been nice to see them fully embrace one of the story's darker undertones, that being the war waged within ourselves between animalism and human nature, but it's only flirted with indirectly.
In terms of craftsmanship, Brave
loses no ground on its animated predecessors. In fact, it probably
surpasses them. The film's ability to evoke subtext and foreshadowing
through artfully composed frames is one of its strongest assets, to
say nothing of its sheer aesthetic beauty. The vocal performances and
character animation are superb, particularly for Merida, who is
compelling and genuine as Pixar's first female lead. Most of the
supporting characters are used for bawdy comic relief, not all of
which works, but they're still entertainingly realized. Special
mention to Merida's three impish brothers, who don't need amusing
Scottish brogues to get laughs in every scene they pop up. Patrick
Doyle, only Pixar's fourth composer, provides a rich score, while
Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis completes the soundtrack by performing a
couple of original tunes penned by Alex Mandel. As always, Gary
Rydstrom delivers terrific sound effects, including a whole library
of bear vocalizations and the single best arrow-splitting you've ever
heard on screen.
Harsher critics of the film have levied
rather barbed slings and (dare I say it) arrows against Brave
for feeling more like a high-caliber Disney film than a high-caliber
Pixar one, which is a backhanded euphemism for complaining that it
doesn't hold a candle to the lofty standards Pixar has set for itself
in the past. It could be that the long arms of the mouse house have
indeed managed to worm their way into Pixar's self-anointed “creative
safe haven”, although perhaps that slogan no longer applies after
director Brenda Chapman, who spent years developing the original
concept, was let go and replaced by Mark Andrews due to creative
differences. Usually Pixar's cyclical system of critiquing and
workshopping their scripts yields excellent results, but for whatever
reason, Brave does carry of whiff of too many cooks in the
kitchen. All that said, it's hardly a legitimate grudge to hold
against the film that it isn't up to par with the studios' impressive
legacy. Does it make sense to give a 'C' grade to an 'A' student for
submitting 'B'-level work? Of course not, and while there can be no
argument that Brave is less ambitious and complex than Pixar's
masterworks, it is still a fleet and wonderfully imagined yarn that
does indeed “ring with truths”.
*** out of ****
