Brave ☆☆☆☆½

I was going to see this film at the cinema but it was on during the summer (children) and it is that bit more obvious you are going to the movies on your own if during a holiday period. Not that I care about seeing films alone, its just embarrassing when you used to work at the cinema in question and some persons in there still run away from you because a) they are incredibly sad people and b) you were a bit of a cow to them....but thats another story no one needs to know.

Also with regards to Brave a few people had told me it was incredibly disappointing and about the only interesting thing was the hair...ok so props to the animators the hair is EXTRAORDINARY (Merida's red locks look almost exactly like my own curly frizzy mess of a hairdo, except not blond). However the hair is absolutely not a scene stealer in my own, humble opinion.

Merida, then, is a princess in a Scottish tribe whose father and mother have arranged for suitors to come from the three other tribes in the Kingdom to become her husband...Merida is not so happy about this. She is an independent, strong willed, warrior child who is as good at archery as a certain Katniss Everdeen.
Merida has three younger brothers (triplets) who are the usual trouble makers but adorable with it, and also sport some rather spectacular curly red hair.

And this was all I knew plot-wise before seeing the film so that is all I'm going to tell you, I think the not-knowing where the film is going is actually something refreshing for movie-goers - all too often the trailer tells you everything and spoils it.

So then, why did I enjoy the film so much even though my friends did not?

Firstly the animation is beautiful: the scenery of the highlands, the tribesmen and women in their celtic garb, and the way they can animate hair and fur so it moves in the wind still makes me smile from ear to ear.

Second the stereotypes. Weird that I am classing this as a positive but, as person of Scots heritage (as in I have living relatives who are Scottish including my mother) I can confirm that, in my family at the very least, we conform to the stereotypes in this film. We are loud, enjoy a drink or five, are incredibly thrifty (we're not cheap we're careful) and are reasonably happy to have an argument. I thought the way these stereotypes were portrayed reflected well the Celtic orgins of the Scottish people, living in hard lands and having to fight for survival...but also poking fun at the same time in a good-hearted way. You cannot be offended by the portrayal of Scottish people in this film and if you are, well then I sincerely hope you get a life sometime soon.

However what I really loved in this film was the family dynamic it portrayed. Merida is a strong willed daughter fighting against a mother who wants her to be perfect princess. Her father is indulgent and encourages her humour and her fighting, and her brothers are adorable scamps who cause chaos wherever they go.

Disney isn't famous for its mother-daughter exploration, especially not in princess movies:

• The Little Mermaid (Ariel): single father strong willed daughter
• Beauty and the Beast (Belle): single father strong willed daughter
• Aladdin (Jasmine): single father strong willed daughter (I sense a theme)
• Sleeping Beauty (Aurora): parents alive but taken away and raised by fairies until 16
• Snow White: single father evil stepmother
• Cinderella: single father evil stepmother
• Tangled (Rapunzel): parents alive but stolen and raised by evil woman until 18
• The Princess and the Frog (Tiana): single mother

Now don't comment on here asking about Mulan or Pocahontas, they don't count.

Brave is the first Disney princess movie to focus on the bond between mother and daughter (yes Tiana is raised by her mother but it is her father who inspires her). Merida and her mother are allowed to have a confrontational and true to life teenage daughter and parent relationship. They fight, they misunderstand each other, and then, with a little help, come around to what each other was really trying to say in the first place.

This isn't UP or Wall-E, you won't find the horse is able to communicate in ways other than the usual horsey methods of stamping feet or whinneying, and you won't be rolling off your seat laughing.
What you will get from this film is a beautiful portrayal of life for a teenage girl set against the stunning highlands, expected to marry and to be a lady when all she wants is to shoot arrows and be a girl for a bit longer.

I would say for those who haven't seen the film is to set expectations low (often films are ruined by our own preconceptions), don't anticipate a comedy when really it is a drama, and do not take offense at the stereotypes on behalf of anyone you know who is a Scot - they need a thump if they find it offensive. And lastly enjoy the accents - there is something special about the Celtic lilt.

I really did enjoy Brave, and I hope you do too.

Also, keeping with Pixar tradition, John Ratzenberger gets a voice part too :)