I personally really relate to this movie. the mother daughter realtionship is spot on, there's fighting and anger but at the end of the day you still love each other. I love this movie because when watching it, I see my mom and me. It may not be the best, and I'm in no way saying this is the correct opinion, but Merida is my favorite princess.
+Etcgirl13 I understand, but you gotta admit taht turning the mom into a bear was pretty damn lame... like I didn't want the mom to die I suppose, as I get taht be cliched. But maybe, this could be about her learning responsibility, and her having to stop a war that almost starts out, and that's what breaks the curse on the mom or something.
+Whisker Fish as I said, its not perfect. I agree there was a lot more they could do with the movie. But I personally love it. I don't mean to say anyone's wrong it's just my opinion I wanted to share :)
I really liked the way they portrayed Merida, because she looks and acts as a girl of her age. I'm getting a bit sick of all the 'Disney Princesses' who either look in their early 20's when they're barely 15 or 16 (that's right, Jasmine, I'm looking at you) or are so perfect that you can barely identify with them(Belle!). Now, I'm not a girl, and definitely not 16, but I believe that Merida could exist. I've seen the way daughters in their puberty fight with their mother, and it's the same thing, there's just no reasoning between them, they are on different islands. But, I've also seen how tragedy can bring the two together, and, although it wasn't that well portrayed in the movie, it's kind of the same thing here. So yeah, I really like Brave and Merida, and I can't stand how much hate or disinterest it gets.
My biggest problem with "Brave" is that the movie keeps talking about "Fate". You need to find your own "fate", follow your own "destiny", your "fate" is in your hands, "Don't determine my fate for me Mum!", "Dad, stop Mum from trying to take control of my destiny." But at the very end, the very very very very end, "You have to be brave enough to find it." What? Where did that "Brave" bit come in? Nice way to force the title into place. Merida was brave-ish throughout the movie, but I wouldn't even call "bravery". I would call it "stubborn" or "already knowing what she wants". She wanted to make her own decisions, she wanted to be herself, she wanted her mothers respect. None of those character traits is exactly brave, it's just... Merida's personality. This film really should have stuck with it's original title, "The Bear and the Bow".
Remington she might be chasing her dream but she is a awful person. She pamper her whole life n she try to change her so call fate with black magic. Milan comes to my mind how a strong character can be anyone. She changed a nation n she wasn't even born a princess. She changed everything with her strong will. Mulan sheer determination n love for her family changed her not only her fate but those around her also.
An old but good example, but then again, Mulan is known for its ways. The Chinese were the ones who made war an art, and also created Taoism, and the Analects of Confucius. That aside, Mulan did this as to avoid her father's likely death and probably redeem herself. I mean, the guy was crippled, and in his state and age, it would only be a matter of time before he died.
My problems with the movie was its emphasis on slapstick comedy which undermined the drama of the core story. It felt more kiddie than the usual Pixar style of humor, and i bet it was a Mark Andrews addition. Brenda Chapman got screwed over by the boy’s club mentality of Pixar’s infrastructure
If I recall correctly, Walt Disney lost his mother at a young age, and that's why most Disney Queens are dead. I guess it was just tradition by the time Walt died, so they just kept doing it.
Radioactive Panda well i thought i read he bought a house for them and a gas or something accidentally poisoned and killed them, and he felt incredibly guilty about it
I think it's more that it's become this writing trope that everyone seems to fall back onto at this point. It takes out a character or two that would've eaten up screen time, and gives our main character an extra motive to fall back onto if ever needed in the story.
From what I can tell, a lot of people seemed to be really, _really_ disappointed that they didn't get the Scottish Mulan the marketing/ads for _Brave_ seemed to promise us. And...that's actually fair; don't sell your protagonist as some kind of Elf Warrior if she's not going to actually do any fighting. I actually like _Brave_ a lot, but the marketing for this movie really shot itself in the foot.
+Paradox Acres For me, the first third to half of the movie was awesome, because it was leading in that general direction. I expected Merida to run away, get caught up in some hijinks, have an adventure, and come back as a more well-rounded character. Instead, we ended up with a Scottish Trading Mom. Only poorly done. And with a slapped on villain that didn't need to be there (this is a movie about mother and daughter bonding, afterall). The story just fell off a cliff.
nychold That's fair. The story's so wonky probably due to how much trouble went on behind the scenes. (From what I heard, Pixar wasn't happy with the creator's vision for the movie and tampered too much) I was disappointed by the villain, too. He looked cool, but..didn't really do anything.
+Paradox Acres That's why I don't care about marketing when choosing a movie to watch. I wouldn't say I really liked Brave, I just liked it and taught it was a solid movie. And actually, if we forget about existence of other movies it gets inspiration from (as I usually do because I don't care if a story was already tolled if I myself am not familiar with it), it's pretty great.
I feel like you couldn’t advertise anything else though I don’t remember seeing the “mysterious” trailers, I remember seeing the clip of the archery competition Other than liking the Scottish setting, it didn’t thrill me, it just seemed like any other rebel princess movie, which it isn’t It makes improvements on the subgenre. Since the film itself doesn’t show you enough the trailers tell you the things Merida does that make her adventurous
The plot line with the mother turning into a bear and nearly losing her humanity is kind of heart breaking and I was really into that element. But yeah, otherwise it's a lot of wasted potential mixed a lot of boring stuff we've seen a million times already.
My mom and I have a very rocky relationship. this movie made both of us cry. my mother made me a blanket like the mother made a tapestry. she has always favoured me over my brothers since I am her only daughter. I related to this film a lot. did I think the actual movie and story was amazing? no. towards the last third it became less about the story and more about the relationship. the relationship my mother and I sorely lacked at the time. right now we have a hard time talking, when this movie came out we weren't even talking. she found out that I was having my life threatened and my belongings stolen at school from friends and journal entries. I didn't talk to her because it always became an argument and a fight. it was a hard time for both of us. this movie helped. It started something. No matter how basic or ridiculous a story, if the movie can affect someone that way, to where we looked at each other, cried, hugged and talked without being angry or bitter or thinking of responses without listening, it was a good movie. I don't think everyone can appreciate it like we could. we really do just fall into this niche where my mother and I relate almost exactly to the mother and daughter.
That's so sweet, and a testimony to the power of storytelling. Family relationships in films, especially between parents and children, gets me more emotional than _anything._ Having a chronic illness, I'm keenly aware of just how much my parents have done to love and support me, and seeing that love paralleled in movies means so much to me.
I liked Merida as a princess, I just didnt like the overall story. With a character like her they could've done so much more with this story. At least her hair was awesome lol.
at least she looked like her age, unlike some Disny Princesses, who look like adults, but appearantly are teenagers (that's right, Snow White and Jasmin, I'm calling you out!)
I will say in spite of all this, whenever disney does their huge princess shoving with that every girl is strong and has a princess in them, this is the one i always see shoved in everyones faces during the ads. They show the others occasionally (cinderella is noticeably absent) but merida takes up at least 3/4... why
I love Scottish history and the Highland culture, so I absolutely love this movie! I know it isn't the best Pixar movie, but it still is my personal favorite.
Madison Johnson Thing is, speaking as someone born and raised in Scotland, it just plays up to the "shortbread tin" image of Scotland that we like to sell to tourists. Nothing authentic, just a fairy tale used to separate tourists from their cash. When this film came out Scottish tourism organisations shamelessly exploited it in advertising. I will give the film credit that it does have a good range of authentic accents from different regions and has fun with them (it was probably tempting to go down a Groundskeeper Willie route - which I'd have still watched the shit out of). As far as I can remember the only non-Scottish voice actor was the mother (played by Emma Thompson if I remember correctly) and even then her accent is flawless (sounds exactly like some of my old teachers from Secondary School). Overall, I'd say it was a fun film but one clearly intended to appeal to an American audience's concept of Scotland. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the film was consulted on by Visit Scotland because it stinks of one of their ads.
I have a similar opinion, but with cars. I absolutely love the movie, because it felt original, even though it wasn't, and it had such an interesting premise with cars living, and this town in the middle of nowhere with very interesting characters. I know it isn't the best pixar movie, but it still is my personal favorite.
My only real compliant about the movie was how it was advertised. They always talked about the Ireland's deep lore or the princess' adventurous spirit, but the movie never really uses those to their full potential. Most of the amazing moments in the trailers were just that, scenes designed for the trailer. So I see the movie as a waste of potential.
Actually, Critic seems to have hit the nail: the big problem with mainstream movies today, is that studios seem to think originally is not going to work. "We've seen these things a million times before... That means it works and we should just keep doing the same thing, right? Right?!?"
+HadoukenDude i agree i probably would have enjoyed it more if the trailers didnt hype it up to be something so amazing when it really wasnt. I honestly was disapointed
Well, even from a Disney fan I have to admit the visuals are a little lack-luster, not the characters those I actually really like but the backgrounds and sets are kind of muddied and pretty generic looking for Pixar.
Personally, I just loved this movie. The art is beautiful, I love the story and mixture of various characters, and the mother/daughter relationship really spoke to me. It's on our regular rotation. =)
I suspect this movie exists only because of the hair and fur. They made a better hair/fur engine they wanted to show off and made this character with massive tangled red hair. Then they tried to figure out what the movie should be around that. Make sure to include something with fur ... how about bears? Let's have a lot of fuzzy wool outfits, too, soooo ... Scotland? This is not how you write a good story.
it was in development hell for a long time and there was a lot of drama about who would be director (the original one got thrown out in the last minute iirc) and other people in the crew were being switched all the time, so the way it turned out makes sense.
Im Scottish and in truth i feel like theres a charm to this movie, that gets missed by people who aren't Scottish. Though when it first came out i remember feeling disappointed that it wasn't a great adventure epic, i love the feel of the movie and the characters because they are so Scottish! Stereotypical at times, but actually, we're a lot more laid back about that stuff when it comes to movies. This is my favourite pixar movie, because despite the fairly simple plot, it is a sweet movie, i love the message, the characters and the relationships. And because its sooo Scottish! Its one of those movies that make me happy
While I liked Brave I was still disappointed a the lack of action on Merida's part along with the miniscule amounts of magic and mysticism which they just didn't monopolize on. Think of all the stories Scotland has. Think of all the fantasy type creatures they could've used. Merida being marketed as this capable huntress/adventurer could've played heavily into such a setting. But all of it was pared down to 'change mother into bear, voila.'
It definitely shows it’s not all one director and writer, however, I love this movie. It’s one of my favorites. Particularly because of the mother-daughter dynamics. Resonated a lot.
This isn't my favorite disney movies, but I think what sold it for me was how relatable Merida was. and then there was the mother-daughter relationship that really hit home for me. Idk, I get that it may not be as relatable to others. I think the biggest flaw was that the marketing for this movie was making it look like some epic saga, which of course was unable to pay off because that's really not what the movie was about.
Can I just saw, the best part about this movie was the deconstruction of the rebellious princess cliche. Merida plays out the motions of typical Disney princesses but has them backfiring against her and her family as a result, and she needs to learn that she was in the wrong too, in addition to her mother not fully taking her daughters feelings into consideration. Everything else? ...Eh, yeah, I'd call this a well-intentioned misfire. Then again, this DID go through two directors, so it would make sense that it feels cluttered in places.
Yes, exactly! She's Jasmine and Ariel done right. And both she and her mother are portrayed as flawed and needing to grow, not just the parent not understanding the child.
This film only works for me if I see it as the mother being the main character and Merida the antagonist. Mom is the one who gets a character arc. (I am cool with antagonists and protagonists reconciling in my stories.)
Merida gets a character arc She’s adventurous Gets reigned in Breaks the Reigns Gets in way over her head Learns from her mistakes Reconciles herself as a mixture of what she wants and what her mother wants The Merida at the beginning of the film would not have made that speech to the three clans. It’s what I see that makes Merida superior to someone like Ariel
To be honest, the pacing was great to fit everything in the movie. They tackle on the situations that has been done before, but in such a straightforward way it's not like the other ones I think this film is worth me watching very much so. I'd give it a 7.5/10
What I like about this film is that the girl realizes that she has to take responsibilities as a ruler over her basic desires and there's no "oh who needs men I can run this show on my own kind of thing". The mother wasn't wrong in what she did, she was just doing the best she could, and the daughter later realizes this and respects her wishes in the end while also sort of compromising. It's like the anti little mermaid: she learns to listen to her parents and things turn out well as a result. That's why this may be one of my favorite modern Disney films.
Yeah this was grey toned which I appreciated, it wasn't just the child sticking it to the parent and their rules, it was compromise. There are times when set rules and traditions do and don't work.
kanishq ruhil Aurora has a mother although she was raised by the fairies her whole life and Rapunzel had a mother although she was locked in a tower by Mother Gothel her whole life, and Anna and Elsa had a mother for the beginning at least, but Mulan, Tiana, and Moana all had mothers.
Yeah this movie I had a hard time thinking about it. On one hand it looked very promising as we saw little of the main heroine and we thought she was going to do a few things that no other Disney heroine did aside from Mulan and that's be an awesome fighter. But then the movie came out I saw that she was almost a waste of character but she actually goes through a lot and tries to make amends with her mother who has trouble trying to understand. It's actually kind of refreshing to see this message and for mothers at Disney this was a breath of fresh air.
I think TheMysteriousMrEnter summed up this movie really well in his Shark Tale review: "...Which streams together a bunch of Disney cliches into a very cliched story."
I was really obsessed with Brave and Merida I absolutely love her figure and her beauty and watching this made Scotland my favorite country and got me obsessed with Scottish Gaelic (Julie Fowlis) and Irish Gaelic to.
actually theirs a reason theirs so few mothers in Disney movies. you see after Disney became a big sucess Walt bought his parents a house, however the house had a faulty heater in it that started a fire and burned the house to the ground. Wallts father made it out alright but his mother was killed in the fire. Thus since he had bought them the house Walt blamed himself for his mothers death for the rest of his life. Thats why there so few mothers in Disney movies haveing one in the movie reminded Walt of his own pain to much since he blamed himself for his mothers death and after Walt died Disney kept that tradition alive for many many years in Walts honor.
@@discontinued42069 Do what makes you happy. Personally I was enjoying the film until the mother turned into a bear, which is the exactly same opinion as everyone else apperently. I really loved Merida, and Queen Ellanor, the king and all of the clan heads were all enjoyable, so there's that.
Walt Disney's mother died in a fire in a house he bought for her and felt guilty.So he did not want to portray or have mother character.That is why there is a lack of mother's in Disney movies
How do you explain Snow White's lack of a mother (which happened before Disney's death) or all the films with no mother after Walt's own death? More Likely their source material had a lack of mothers. Beauty and the Beast book, no mom. Grimm Fairy Tales were brimming, heck they were over-flowing, with evil step mothers. So really the question isn't about Walt Disney it's about Germans/Frenchmen and why their fairy tales always off'ed the moms. Oddly enough Hans Christian Andersen & The Grimm Brothers lost their father's at an early age (rather than their mothers). My question is who the F reads these stories (esp Hugo's Hunchback) and things, TOT's a childrens story!" O.o
+Rob Bob So do I! "Brave" may be a narrative mess in ways and "Brother Bear" in a kilt, but IMO it's still good. I mean, it's no "Finding Nemo" or "Toy Story" or whatever; it's just a cute, darker than average family film with stunning animation, funny characters and a few good twists and turns. People expect a lot from PIXAR, so when they do something that would be A+ for Disney, it's average for them, which is a shame. The same thing seems to have happened to "Good Dinosaur," because people are comparing it to "Inside Out." "Good Dino" and "Inside Out" are NOTHING ALIKE. It irks me. I like both. "Monsters University" pissed me off. They could have had a good sequel involving Boo, with themes of letting go and loss of innocense (ya it's been done but PIXAR would be boss at it; again, look at "Good Dinosaur" and the "Toy Story" films). Instead, we got a stunning looking and sometimes funny missed opportunity where we already know the outcome. At least give "Brave" credit for trying to be original by PIXAR standards.
I never got the _"GURL POWER"_ thing people were clamoring for with Brave. We have Mulan for that which handled the trope far better than most. Its a great movie about a selfless outcast daughter wanting to save her father and make her family proud WHO ENDS UP SAVING FUCKING CHINA!! AND GET THIS, IS HUMBLE ABOUT THE WHOLE DAMN THING!!.....I really like Mulan. /fangirl Anyways yeah about Brave, its reception simply suffered from misleading marketing and on its own it may have been a decent film if people weren't expecting MERIDA: THE WARRIOR PRINCESS OF SCOTLAND!!
+The Dynast Queen Mulan fell apart for me at the end. She had the opportunity to work next to the emperor himself and do so much more. I'm not saying saving China isn't a lot but that's not what made her awesome. Showing that she was a capable female that could also be a warrior made her awesome and taking the job would have shown all of china this, too. But what does she say instead? "Naah my place is at home. Also I think I'm gonna get married." Boo.
meh. people were saying FROZEN was pro-girl. umm... no, at best it was a bit of a Disney self parody that not every first crush is the right guy, but that's it..,
The Dynast Queen Just because the main character doesn't get a love interest doesn't make it really "PRO FEMINISM" Actually i think it's more about that you can be who you want to be instead of a "I don't need a man" thing everyone keeps saying about this movie
The Spectral King There's nothing really feminist into Frozen, people keep saying is about "you don't need a man to be happy" just because Elsa doesn't get any romantic interests but it's not a good reason because she doesn't even get the chance, there's noarraged marriage there are no people on a line asking to marry her, she's running away from the opression of hidding who she is not of the idea of marrying a man or even being a queen. Many people use this to say that Elsa and Merida are lesbians
I remember going to Scotland the year this film was released. It. Was. Everywhere. You wouldn't go 2 miles without seeing it. The only thing I was thinking in the 2 weeks I was there is "Yes, I know, there's a Disney movie in Scotland. WE GET IT!"
I adored Brave. I watched it too many times. Just confused about the fate thing....That mommy and daughter ending brought me to tears. Love the affection.
Brave is officially 10 years old!!! This was such a refresher after the failure of Cars 2 PIXAR went back to quality storytelling Another story featuring a strong female heroine set in the old ages of Celtic culture wanting her independence and choosing diplomacy to fight; shows there's a time for peaceful solutions and a time for action The stuff with her mom turning into a bear tempting fate is overly familiar territory but they make it funny Love the mystical stuff they do with the sprites It has a rocky production history; Brenda Chapman, the first female director for Pixar, started the project as the sole director but was joined by Mark Andrews in a move that felt more like studio interference than one intending creative legitimacy But give it credit for the main heroine's design and the mother-daughter relationship of Kelly Macdonald and Emma Thompson Plus the resolution at the end is very clever I admit The shots of Scotland are incredible too, the ways that the film plays around with textures, light and shadows are consistently impressive Says bravery is not just what one does (and can do) but what one chooses not to do Yes, they learn to see the world through each other’s eyes but it is in the avoidance of choices, too, that defines so much More modest and less flashy than the other PIXAR installments and I'm happy they featured Merida in Once Upon a Time Season 5
Actually I love Merida's story and relationship with her mother. I think that's a good representation of rebelious teenager and FINALLY a good written strong female lead. Woman doesn't need to be masculine super-hero to be interesting. She doesn't have to be over the top curageous and always getting what she wants, with seems to be the problem in many "strong" female characters these days (Toys Story 4, looking at you). Real bravery is to accept that sometimes you need to do something that not always suits you, learning empathy and dialogue. Feminity doesn't have to be masculinised to be considered watch-worthy.
I only saw this movie the one time when it came out. I do remember being left at the end thinking, "Wait, that's it?" It felt so quick and short to me.
I have to say, I didn't think this movie had a terribly strong plot, but it does hold a special place in my heart because Princess Merida has my exact same hair: red, curly, and tons of it.
"Eh." Sums up this movie perfectly. I hardly remember anything from it. I tired being really excited for the creator too, cause the story of Brave was her baby and to have Disney say: "We like your story, we want to make a film about it." Is about the best thing any writer could hope to happen.
Do you remember the first trailer for Mulan? It looked like we would get one kickass epic movie filled with battles and duty and drama. It looked like we would get Kurosawa meets Disney meets ancient China. What did we get?
Watch Song Of The Sea instead if you can find it - beautiful film that does beautiful folklore and irish tales a lot better :) it sort of reminds me of Studio Ghibli in a way
My father had a tendency to fall asleep during movies at the theater, not matter what the movie was. This is one of the very few movies he took me to where he stayed awake through the entire thing.
Brave has always been one of my favourite Disney movies, idk why it just...always made me feel happy when I saw it, I absolutely love this movie...but that’s just my opinion
So that song at the very beginning that you only catch a small snippet of, is actually Mumford and Sons' "Not With Haste" rewritten. Anyone else realize that when they watched this and/or the movie?
what i like about brave is it's dedication to Scottish culture. most will not believe me, but even the comic relief is faithful,for instance the the strong gallic accents of the different clans.
When I saw the film in theaters, I was pretty much mislead by the trailers, thinking it was some epic adventure. But instead, we got Pixar's version of Brother Bear :P I was left a bit unimpressed
I like the food scenes. Lol the dad recounting Mordu and Merida stuffing her face. If they hadn't ended on "Girls are Free" horseback riding maybe just and eating contest with her brothers or something I think that would have been cute. I also like the little brothers they're pretty cute and the dad screaming I knew it! When he finds a bear is hilarious
I thought this was going to be one big adventure story. I thought Merida would be just a hunter who gets caught up in something, like perhaps a mishap where she kills an animal and is hunted by the evil bear as a curse or something. Or maybe her mother gets cursed as a punishment and Merida has to break it. I just felt like this movie lacked the adventure that was needed for Merida to show off her bravery. Also, if your going to talk about destiny and fate in a movie, I feel like it should be about a lot more than "Who I want to marry" type deal. The movie was beautiful to look at and I loved the father character. I just felt like Merida was just a typical teenager who thinks they know everything and wants easy solutions to everything but never thinks of the consequences like Ariel.
I agree. The first third of going through the landscapes of Scotland was good, some of them are beautiful, even though some parts were choppy. Then.. The awkward and nonsense story plot in the middle of the mother turning into a bear. A freaking bear!! That doesn't make sense! It could have gone a different route! Like the witch making some sort of potion that makes the mother slowly increase her age process until death, or maybe just going a completely different route than Merida finding a witch in the first place. Maybe after following the wisps, she takes a turn to herself "running away from home". Making it out on her own in the vast land of Scotland, but finding out that she does need order in her life, and her mother. That could have been interesting. Although, I do give the movie credit for actually creating something a little more to the bear transformation bit in having the mother try to fight the natural instincts and mindset of a real bear.
Actually, that bear thing kinda makes sense. If you look at Witch's wood carvings, you will see that all of them are bear themed. It's possible that she can only make bear related stuff. Worst. Witch. Ever.
This review is really on point. I was disappointed that they didn't take the time to explore the world or their lore. The mother-daughter relationship was lovely. I just wish they had more consistent directing through the process.
I don't know what it is about it, but something about identity death disturbs me. The mom turning into a bear? Sure. Possibly being permanently stuck as a bear? Sucks for her, no issue for me if she'd still been mostly herself (maybe with a few fish-eating and other bear-type mannerisms thrown in). But when her mind was slipping and she didn't recognize her own daughter? And the idea of THAT being the permanent state? That bothered me deep down, more so than actual death would have. I don't know why, but even on rewatch, that whole thing just kind of messes with me. I loved Merida, the dad, the brothers, all of it, except that. And because of that, it's not one that I've ever felt drawn to go back to, and I've watched a lot of Pixar's library more times than I can track.
I liked it. I'm good at ignoring the silly out-of-place bits, and I never saw the trailers, so I never was under the impression that it was some mysterious journey or anything unique. to me it was just another princess story, with some very well-written lines by Merida and her family, with a kickass design.
I always liked this film and I semi-look up to Merida. I think I like it because of their accents. My favorite character is Fergus, the father, he is just goofy and supportive. Elinor, the mom, is his polar opposite, she's serious and strict. It's a miracle they actually got along. Merida can be obnoxious and bratty at times and gave me a bad influence when I was 8-10. I kinda imitated her for a day or two. Not long but I was rolling my eyes, groaning, and just being mean. I wish at the end they would get the message across that it isn't ok to act that way, for the little kids so they don't act like a teen.
Holy fuck I just realized why I like this movie and yet so many people are meh I went in fully expecting a "Pixar does a Disney Princess" movie and thought that was what everybody else was expecting too
The characters are AWESOME. The plot is dumb. If the mother-daughter relationship had shared the story with an epic adventure rather than an intimate "Mom's a bear" story, it could have been a lot better.
I'm sorry, but the three suitors, their fathers and Merida's father made the film for me. They were hilarious to watch, so energetic and snarky towards each other, and the jokes told made me guffaw. They're also really caring people as well as this, and I just love the relationship between Merida's mother and father. They're a sweet couple, but also realistic in a sense. Maudie was also quite a funny character as well, and she was a perfect role for a small side character.
I think Brave is an OK film, but whenever someone brings up any reason to like the film it tends to be an offensively wrong reason to like it. It is the story of a spoiled brat with excuses and rationalizations learning how full of it she was and earning respect from her mother for getting over herself. Not a defiant tomboy breaking the glass ceiling as much as a teen learning her limits in order to find her strengths.
^ THIS. And you know what? I'd be totally fine with that, if the movie didn't make it seem like she didn't learn her lesson at the end by having her last monologue be all about being brave enough to change your fate, like THAT was the moral of the story that she and we as the audience needed to learn all along. That was the point where I was like "Nope, I'm out of here. Goodbye Merida, see you on Once Upon a Time in three years" (where she was actually done much better in my opinion, as she took everything from the movie and show how much she genuinely learned from it. By the end of her arc I believed that she earned the right to rule).
***** I like to imagine this is truly Merida's version of what really happened. She is self centered like any teen and this is how she would tell the story to her friends only learning about 2/3rds of her lesson.
I would agree that Brave is an "eh" film. That said it is slightly less offensive than the Little Mermaid. Merida at least seems to learn a lesson in this--even though she did start out as a brat. Ariel...didn't really learn a lesson. If anyone, Tritan had to learn one, but Ariel was a brat and it never showed her learning a lesson. She whines and ultimately gets what she wants. The only time she "apologizes" for her actions is when Ursula is when Tritan sacrifices himself to save Ariel by signing his name to the contract...That is the only "regret" that she expresses. Merida, by contrast, does at least go to great lengths to get her mother turned back to the way she was and even shows that her mother's teachings have rubbed off on her by the end. It's certainly not one of my favorites, but if we're going for messages, it is better than the Little Mermaid. Don't get me wrong, I blamed mermaids and loved her voice and her hair like every other little girl, but the message of that movie is a little...gray.
acesofspades772 Now that we opened the Mermaid topic, here is how I would compare the two film's princessess in Disney history. Merida was not as real as Lilo, not as brave as Mulan, not facing as many social and physical challenges as Belle, defiant as Jasmine, and not as much of a rebel as some non-princess like Ezmerelda. However Ariel...........well, is quite a bit like this guy...... i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/22/021F9328000005DC-2883829-image-a-63_1419265944470.jpg You have to compare the predecessors and Ariel is still a massive improvement over Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, and whats her face from the Black Cauldron. Ariel coming out today would look retrograde, but history is about steps and Ariel was the first one to walk onto dry land and have a personality.......that of an obsessive selfish nerd, but unlike Merida the film portrayed that quality of her as her undoing as much as her virtue.
+butchdeadlift10 Haha that picture made me laugh. And yes, you're right. She did make a big step out [literally] of the ocean, but where Belle and Mulan did what they did to save their fathers, it was Ariel ' s father who made the sacrifice after Ariel mucked up. And yes, you are right, I think the film shows it as her undoing, but it doesn't show that Ariel learned anything. That's a little concerning looking at it as an adult is all--not that I ever thought about it as a kid. This film showed a bit more hard work on Merida ' s end to correct what she did wrong, which is a least a sign that she's maturing. I would also agree that Aurora, Snow White and Eloinwy were weak characters, but that's what princesses where expected to be back then--kind, delicate, quiet. Cinderella is a bit more developed than they are because she never loses her cool in spite of all of the abuse. Rob and Doug have discussed this. At no point does she raise her voice or go crazy, she just works hard. And even though the fairy godmother only gives her a few hours at the ball, she is grateful. She doesn't ask for more time. And after the ball, she knew that she would return to a life of abuse and chores, but she was completely satisfied. She is actually a very strong, yet humble character.
This movie had such potential to be much more and deeper, especially the way the trailers talked about "fate". I thought it was going to about a princess that wishes for a different life and her wish causes some sort of effect/consequence to the kingdom. It could've gone deeper than what it actually was.
Exactly, like, I went in thinking the movie was going to be like the teaser, all dark and mystical and shit because *I love* that. And then it turns out to be a cliched mess with a whiny protagonist and I'm like, "What the hell? Am I getting Brother Bear 2.0.?"
I personally really relate to this movie. the mother daughter realtionship is spot on, there's fighting and anger but at the end of the day you still love each other. I love this movie because when watching it, I see my mom and me. It may not be the best, and I'm in no way saying this is the correct opinion, but Merida is my favorite princess.
+Etcgirl13 I understand, but you gotta admit taht turning the mom into a bear was pretty damn lame... like I didn't want the mom to die I suppose, as I get taht be cliched. But maybe, this could be about her learning responsibility, and her having to stop a war that almost starts out, and that's what breaks the curse on the mom or something.
+Whisker Fish as I said, its not perfect. I agree there was a lot more they could do with the movie. But I personally love it. I don't mean to say anyone's wrong it's just my opinion I wanted to share :)
Etcgirl13 I do like the dynamic between the mom and Merida as well, for what it's worth.
+Whisker Fish cool :D
I really liked the way they portrayed Merida, because she looks and acts as a girl of her age. I'm getting a bit sick of all the 'Disney Princesses' who either look in their early 20's when they're barely 15 or 16 (that's right, Jasmine, I'm looking at you) or are so perfect that you can barely identify with them(Belle!). Now, I'm not a girl, and definitely not 16, but I believe that Merida could exist. I've seen the way daughters in their puberty fight with their mother, and it's the same thing, there's just no reasoning between them, they are on different islands. But, I've also seen how tragedy can bring the two together, and, although it wasn't that well portrayed in the movie, it's kind of the same thing here. So yeah, I really like Brave and Merida, and I can't stand how much hate or disinterest it gets.
My biggest problem with "Brave" is that the movie keeps talking about "Fate". You need to find your own "fate", follow your own "destiny", your "fate" is in your hands, "Don't determine my fate for me Mum!", "Dad, stop Mum from trying to take control of my destiny."
But at the very end, the very very very very end, "You have to be brave enough to find it."
What? Where did that "Brave" bit come in? Nice way to force the title into place. Merida was brave-ish throughout the movie, but I wouldn't even call "bravery". I would call it "stubborn" or "already knowing what she wants".
She wanted to make her own decisions, she wanted to be herself, she wanted her mothers respect. None of those character traits is exactly brave, it's just... Merida's personality.
This film really should have stuck with it's original title, "The Bear and the Bow".
That's a much better title.
Let's not forget the useless witch in the woods.
Remington she might be chasing her dream but she is a awful person. She pamper her whole life n she try to change her so call fate with black magic.
Milan comes to my mind how a strong character can be anyone. She changed a nation n she wasn't even born a princess. She changed everything with her strong will. Mulan sheer determination n love for her family changed her not only her fate but those around her also.
An old but good example, but then again, Mulan is known for its ways. The Chinese were the ones who made war an art, and also created Taoism, and the Analects of Confucius. That aside, Mulan did this as to avoid her father's likely death and probably redeem herself. I mean, the guy was crippled, and in his state and age, it would only be a matter of time before he died.
My problems with the movie was its emphasis on slapstick comedy which undermined the drama of the core story. It felt more kiddie than the usual Pixar style of humor, and i bet it was a Mark Andrews addition. Brenda Chapman got screwed over by the boy’s club mentality of Pixar’s infrastructure
If I recall correctly, Walt Disney lost his mother at a young age, and that's why most Disney Queens are dead. I guess it was just tradition by the time Walt died, so they just kept doing it.
Radioactive Panda well i thought i read he bought a house for them and a gas or something accidentally poisoned and killed them, and he felt incredibly guilty about it
Wow
Radioactive Panda Doug’s not generally the best critic of animation
I think it's more that it's become this writing trope that everyone seems to fall back onto at this point. It takes out a character or two that would've eaten up screen time, and gives our main character an extra motive to fall back onto if ever needed in the story.
He was in his 30s at the time. When she died, he had already made "Snow White and The Seven Dwarves", which began the trend.
From what I can tell, a lot of people seemed to be really, _really_ disappointed that they didn't get the Scottish Mulan the marketing/ads for _Brave_ seemed to promise us.
And...that's actually fair; don't sell your protagonist as some kind of Elf Warrior if she's not going to actually do any fighting. I actually like _Brave_ a lot, but the marketing for this movie really shot itself in the foot.
AvatarDan I really hope you're joking.
+Paradox Acres For me, the first third to half of the movie was awesome, because it was leading in that general direction. I expected Merida to run away, get caught up in some hijinks, have an adventure, and come back as a more well-rounded character. Instead, we ended up with a Scottish Trading Mom. Only poorly done. And with a slapped on villain that didn't need to be there (this is a movie about mother and daughter bonding, afterall). The story just fell off a cliff.
nychold That's fair. The story's so wonky probably due to how much trouble went on behind the scenes. (From what I heard, Pixar wasn't happy with the creator's vision for the movie and tampered too much)
I was disappointed by the villain, too. He looked cool, but..didn't really do anything.
+Paradox Acres That's why I don't care about marketing when choosing a movie to watch. I wouldn't say I really liked Brave, I just liked it and taught it was a solid movie. And actually, if we forget about existence of other movies it gets inspiration from (as I usually do because I don't care if a story was already tolled if I myself am not familiar with it), it's pretty great.
I feel like you couldn’t advertise anything else though
I don’t remember seeing the “mysterious” trailers, I remember seeing the clip of the archery competition
Other than liking the Scottish setting, it didn’t thrill me, it just seemed like any other rebel princess movie, which it isn’t
It makes improvements on the subgenre. Since the film itself doesn’t show you enough the trailers tell you the things Merida does that make her adventurous
The plot line with the mother turning into a bear and nearly losing her humanity is kind of heart breaking and I was really into that element. But yeah, otherwise it's a lot of wasted potential mixed a lot of boring stuff we've seen a million times already.
If only it was an anime movie and they worked on the story a bit longer. It could be the best movie ever.
💯💯💯💯
It's just Mother Bear (Brother Bear)
My mom and I have a very rocky relationship. this movie made both of us cry. my mother made me a blanket like the mother made a tapestry. she has always favoured me over my brothers since I am her only daughter. I related to this film a lot. did I think the actual movie and story was amazing? no. towards the last third it became less about the story and more about the relationship. the relationship my mother and I sorely lacked at the time. right now we have a hard time talking, when this movie came out we weren't even talking. she found out that I was having my life threatened and my belongings stolen at school from friends and journal entries. I didn't talk to her because it always became an argument and a fight. it was a hard time for both of us. this movie helped. It started something. No matter how basic or ridiculous a story, if the movie can affect someone that way, to where we looked at each other, cried, hugged and talked without being angry or bitter or thinking of responses without listening, it was a good movie. I don't think everyone can appreciate it like we could. we really do just fall into this niche where my mother and I relate almost exactly to the mother and daughter.
That's so sweet, and a testimony to the power of storytelling. Family relationships in films, especially between parents and children, gets me more emotional than _anything._ Having a chronic illness, I'm keenly aware of just how much my parents have done to love and support me, and seeing that love paralleled in movies means so much to me.
She favored you over your brothers? 😐 Kind of doesn’t make her look good.
I liked Merida as a princess, I just didnt like the overall story. With a character like her they could've done so much more with this story. At least her hair was awesome lol.
Yasmine Knowles Manson Agreed
at least she looked like her age, unlike some Disny Princesses, who look like adults, but appearantly are teenagers (that's right, Snow White and Jasmin, I'm calling you out!)
Sandro Swen you are completely right! I don't have a problem with her character just the story.
Same... was expecting way more adventure and such...
I will say in spite of all this, whenever disney does their huge princess shoving with that every girl is strong and has a princess in them, this is the one i always see shoved in everyones faces during the ads. They show the others occasionally (cinderella is noticeably absent) but merida takes up at least 3/4... why
I love Scottish history and the Highland culture, so I absolutely love this movie! I know it isn't the best Pixar movie, but it still is my personal favorite.
Madison Johnson Thing is, speaking as someone born and raised in Scotland, it just plays up to the "shortbread tin" image of Scotland that we like to sell to tourists. Nothing authentic, just a fairy tale used to separate tourists from their cash. When this film came out Scottish tourism organisations shamelessly exploited it in advertising. I will give the film credit that it does have a good range of authentic accents from different regions and has fun with them (it was probably tempting to go down a Groundskeeper Willie route - which I'd have still watched the shit out of). As far as I can remember the only non-Scottish voice actor was the mother (played by Emma Thompson if I remember correctly) and even then her accent is flawless (sounds exactly like some of my old teachers from Secondary School). Overall, I'd say it was a fun film but one clearly intended to appeal to an American audience's concept of Scotland. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the film was consulted on by Visit Scotland because it stinks of one of their ads.
I have a similar opinion, but with cars. I absolutely love the movie, because it felt original, even though it wasn't, and it had such an interesting premise with cars living, and this town in the middle of nowhere with very interesting characters. I know it isn't the best pixar movie, but it still is my personal favorite.
Let's say that the accents and landscape are well rendered, but apart from that...
Sadly not all of Scotland is like that it’s mainly neds
@@mynameuhhhleg A pixar film set in Glasgow needs to happen!
My only real compliant about the movie was how it was advertised. They always talked about the Ireland's deep lore or the princess' adventurous spirit, but the movie never really uses those to their full potential. Most of the amazing moments in the trailers were just that, scenes designed for the trailer. So I see the movie as a waste of potential.
Actually, Critic seems to have hit the nail: the big problem with mainstream movies today, is that studios seem to think originally is not going to work. "We've seen these things a million times before... That means it works and we should just keep doing the same thing, right? Right?!?"
No, wrong
Movie was ok. They built it up like some kind of epic adventure but it's just a wanna be fairy tale. Very hit and miss. The visuals are nice though.
+HadoukenDude i agree i probably would have enjoyed it more if the trailers didnt hype it up to be something so amazing when it really wasnt. I honestly was disapointed
I wish it didn't go through development hell. I bet it would've been a stronger movie if the crew wasn't changed constantly.
Well, even from a Disney fan I have to admit the visuals are a little lack-luster, not the characters those I actually really like but the backgrounds and sets are kind of muddied and pretty generic looking for Pixar.
Did I hear a snore right at the very end of this video?
+BowNow Or a snicker. Not sure which.
Ok Im not the only one who heard that... I thought it was a snort
+BowNow It's his microphone i think, as he puts it down/away
+BowNow that happens in other Disneycember-videos as well
lol
Personally, I just loved this movie. The art is beautiful, I love the story and mixture of various characters, and the mother/daughter relationship really spoke to me. It's on our regular rotation. =)
I suspect this movie exists only because of the hair and fur. They made a better hair/fur engine they wanted to show off and made this character with massive tangled red hair. Then they tried to figure out what the movie should be around that. Make sure to include something with fur ... how about bears? Let's have a lot of fuzzy wool outfits, too, soooo ... Scotland?
This is not how you write a good story.
it was in development hell for a long time and there was a lot of drama about who would be director (the original one got thrown out in the last minute iirc) and other people in the crew were being switched all the time, so the way it turned out makes sense.
I love this movie and have watched it more than twenty times. I bought the Blu Ray and haven't regretted the purchase!
This movie is very underrated. This is a great mothers day like film
Im Scottish and in truth i feel like theres a charm to this movie, that gets missed by people who aren't Scottish. Though when it first came out i remember feeling disappointed that it wasn't a great adventure epic, i love the feel of the movie and the characters because they are so Scottish! Stereotypical at times, but actually, we're a lot more laid back about that stuff when it comes to movies. This is my favourite pixar movie, because despite the fairly simple plot, it is a sweet movie, i love the message, the characters and the relationships. And because its sooo Scottish! Its one of those movies that make me happy
While I liked Brave I was still disappointed a the lack of action on Merida's part along with the miniscule amounts of magic and mysticism which they just didn't monopolize on. Think of all the stories Scotland has. Think of all the fantasy type creatures they could've used. Merida being marketed as this capable huntress/adventurer could've played heavily into such a setting. But all of it was pared down to 'change mother into bear, voila.'
It definitely shows it’s not all one director and writer, however, I love this movie. It’s one of my favorites. Particularly because of the mother-daughter dynamics. Resonated a lot.
When I watched this, I just spent most of my time mesmerized by the animation of her hair.
So you're saying the part where I left the theater actually got good?
+Doctor Cube I suppose so.
+Doctor Cube Why the fuck did you leave from something you payed for?
Well, the people next to me were being dicks, and combined with the not-great movie, I got fed up.
@@lulucool45 If you pay for a good entertaining experience, and instead you get spit in the face with trash, wouldn't you leave?
Don't hate me, but I kinda like this movie.
Same. I think it had potential to be way better though.
+Lauren Karvaski same here
I liked it too !
He never said it was bad
+MegaSoulhero Why hate you? This was Brave, not Grown Ups 2.
if ye had te chance tu chenge yer fete... wood yer
I think we were all hoping this would have been "Skyrim, the Movie", instead they played it a bit too safe with the plot in my opinion.
Compared to Up, Brave is an uncreative borefest
I too was hoping for a "Skyrim, the Movie" take, because I wanted to see Merida grab a cheese wheel and clip into the wall! Such missed potential...
This isn't my favorite disney movies, but I think what sold it for me was how relatable Merida was. and then there was the mother-daughter relationship that really hit home for me. Idk, I get that it may not be as relatable to others. I think the biggest flaw was that the marketing for this movie was making it look like some epic saga, which of course was unable to pay off because that's really not what the movie was about.
What's that sound at the end? The very end when it finishes. It sounds like a snicker or something.
Yeah, like somebody snored.
As a daughter with a notsogreat relationship with my mom, this movie speaks to my soul.
Can I just saw, the best part about this movie was the deconstruction of the rebellious princess cliche. Merida plays out the motions of typical Disney princesses but has them backfiring against her and her family as a result, and she needs to learn that she was in the wrong too, in addition to her mother not fully taking her daughters feelings into consideration. Everything else? ...Eh, yeah, I'd call this a well-intentioned misfire.
Then again, this DID go through two directors, so it would make sense that it feels cluttered in places.
Yes, exactly! She's Jasmine and Ariel done right. And both she and her mother are portrayed as flawed and needing to grow, not just the parent not understanding the child.
This film only works for me if I see it as the mother being the main character and Merida the antagonist. Mom is the one who gets a character arc. (I am cool with antagonists and protagonists reconciling in my stories.)
Merida gets a character arc
She’s adventurous
Gets reigned in
Breaks the Reigns
Gets in way over her head
Learns from her mistakes
Reconciles herself as a mixture of what she wants and what her mother wants
The Merida at the beginning of the film would not have made that speech to the three clans.
It’s what I see that makes Merida superior to someone like Ariel
To be honest, the pacing was great to fit everything in the movie. They tackle on the situations that has been done before, but in such a straightforward way it's not like the other ones
I think this film is worth me watching very much so. I'd give it a 7.5/10
plz watch real animation. watch ANIME, where u can find true creativity. They know how to tell a good story.
I loved Brave! I like how she has the same hair style as me, along with being adventurous and carefree.
What I like about this film is that the girl realizes that she has to take responsibilities as a ruler over her basic desires and there's no "oh who needs men I can run this show on my own kind of thing". The mother wasn't wrong in what she did, she was just doing the best she could, and the daughter later realizes this and respects her wishes in the end while also sort of compromising. It's like the anti little mermaid: she learns to listen to her parents and things turn out well as a result. That's why this may be one of my favorite modern Disney films.
Yeah this was grey toned which I appreciated, it wasn't just the child sticking it to the parent and their rules, it was compromise. There are times when set rules and traditions do and don't work.
This is actually a huge favorite in my family
Princess with a mother, that's revolutionary considering Disney
kanishq ruhil Aurora has a mother although she was raised by the fairies her whole life and Rapunzel had a mother although she was locked in a tower by Mother Gothel her whole life, and Anna and Elsa had a mother for the beginning at least, but Mulan, Tiana, and Moana all had mothers.
@@h193013 The movie was originally going to be directed by Brenda Chapman, but Pixar got rid of her for some reason???
Yeah this movie I had a hard time thinking about it. On one hand it looked very promising as we saw little of the main heroine and we thought she was going to do a few things that no other Disney heroine did aside from Mulan and that's be an awesome fighter. But then the movie came out I saw that she was almost a waste of character but she actually goes through a lot and tries to make amends with her mother who has trouble trying to understand. It's actually kind of refreshing to see this message and for mothers at Disney this was a breath of fresh air.
I think TheMysteriousMrEnter summed up this movie really well in his Shark Tale review:
"...Which streams together a bunch of Disney cliches into a very cliched story."
I was really obsessed with Brave and Merida I absolutely love her figure and her beauty and watching this made Scotland my favorite country and got me obsessed with Scottish Gaelic (Julie Fowlis) and Irish Gaelic to.
The entire “Haven’t seen that from Disney yet!” segment I found hilarious! 😂
based on the trailers I thought the movie would be a lot more secret of kells-y, so my biggest disappointment was definitely in not getting that :/
actually theirs a reason theirs so few mothers in Disney movies. you see after Disney became a big sucess Walt bought his parents a house, however the house had a faulty heater in it that started a fire and burned the house to the ground.
Wallts father made it out alright but his mother was killed in the fire. Thus since he had bought them the house Walt blamed himself for his mothers death for the rest of his life.
Thats why there so few mothers in Disney movies haveing one in the movie reminded Walt of his own pain to much since he blamed himself for his mothers death and after Walt died Disney kept that tradition alive for many many years in Walts honor.
This is the most positive anyone has ever been about Brave
@@discontinued42069 Do what makes you happy. Personally I was enjoying the film until the mother turned into a bear, which is the exactly same opinion as everyone else apperently. I really loved Merida, and Queen Ellanor, the king and all of the clan heads were all enjoyable, so there's that.
Walt Disney's mother died in a fire in a house he bought for her and felt guilty.So he did not want to portray or have mother character.That is why there is a lack of mother's in Disney movies
damn.
Wut? Is that for real? What the heck..
WarGamer 42 It wasn't a fire, it was CO2
Oh my gosh that's so sad...
How do you explain Snow White's lack of a mother (which happened before Disney's death) or all the films with no mother after Walt's own death? More Likely their source material had a lack of mothers. Beauty and the Beast book, no mom. Grimm Fairy Tales were brimming, heck they were over-flowing, with evil step mothers. So really the question isn't about Walt Disney it's about Germans/Frenchmen and why their fairy tales always off'ed the moms. Oddly enough Hans Christian Andersen & The Grimm Brothers lost their father's at an early age (rather than their mothers). My question is who the F reads these stories (esp Hugo's Hunchback) and things, TOT's a childrens story!" O.o
I prefer this over Monsters University.
Now, I'm going to sit here and wait for the negative comments.
+Rob Bob So do I! "Brave" may be a narrative mess in ways and "Brother Bear" in a kilt, but IMO it's still good. I mean, it's no "Finding Nemo" or "Toy Story" or whatever; it's just a cute, darker than average family film with stunning animation, funny characters and a few good twists and turns. People expect a lot from PIXAR, so when they do something that would be A+ for Disney, it's average for them, which is a shame. The same thing seems to have happened to "Good Dinosaur," because people are comparing it to "Inside Out." "Good Dino" and "Inside Out" are NOTHING ALIKE. It irks me. I like both. "Monsters University" pissed me off. They could have had a good sequel involving Boo, with themes of letting go and loss of innocense (ya it's been done but PIXAR would be boss at it; again, look at "Good Dinosaur" and the "Toy Story" films). Instead, we got a stunning looking and sometimes funny missed opportunity where we already know the outcome. At least give "Brave" credit for trying to be original by PIXAR standards.
+Rob Bob Eh, I liked them both.
+GingerWizzard1994 Wow. what even happened...
Freedfg This weird thing happens with commas and apostrophes when you edit a comment sometimes.
+Rob Bob Nah I agree I can digest this over Universerty, just that song that keeps coming like that montage song in Universerty that annoys me
I never got the _"GURL POWER"_ thing people were clamoring for with Brave. We have Mulan for that which handled the trope far better than most. Its a great movie about a selfless outcast daughter wanting to save her father and make her family proud WHO ENDS UP SAVING FUCKING CHINA!! AND GET THIS, IS HUMBLE ABOUT THE WHOLE DAMN THING!!.....I really like Mulan. /fangirl
Anyways yeah about Brave, its reception simply suffered from misleading marketing and on its own it may have been a decent film if people weren't expecting MERIDA: THE WARRIOR PRINCESS OF SCOTLAND!!
YES! I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT STILL REMEMBERS MULAN!!
I loved that movie even as a child when i hated female protagonist.... dont ask why.
+The Dynast Queen Mulan fell apart for me at the end. She had the opportunity to work next to the emperor himself and do so much more. I'm not saying saving China isn't a lot but that's not what made her awesome. Showing that she was a capable female that could also be a warrior made her awesome and taking the job would have shown all of china this, too. But what does she say instead? "Naah my place is at home. Also I think I'm gonna get married." Boo.
meh. people were saying FROZEN was pro-girl. umm... no, at best it was a bit of a Disney self parody that not every first crush is the right guy, but that's it..,
The Dynast Queen Just because the main character doesn't get a love interest doesn't make it really "PRO FEMINISM" Actually i think it's more about that you can be who you want to be instead of a "I don't need a man" thing everyone keeps saying about this movie
The Spectral King There's nothing really feminist into Frozen, people keep saying is about "you don't need a man to be happy" just because Elsa doesn't get any romantic interests but it's not a good reason because she doesn't even get the chance, there's noarraged marriage there are no people on a line asking to marry her, she's running away from the opression of hidding who she is not of the idea of marrying a man or even being a queen. Many people use this to say that Elsa and Merida are lesbians
I remember going to Scotland the year this film was released. It. Was. Everywhere. You wouldn't go 2 miles without seeing it. The only thing I was thinking in the 2 weeks I was there is "Yes, I know, there's a Disney movie in Scotland. WE GET IT!"
I adored Brave. I watched it too many times. Just confused about the fate thing....That mommy and daughter ending brought me to tears. Love the affection.
Brave is officially 10 years old!!!
This was such a refresher after the failure of Cars 2
PIXAR went back to quality storytelling
Another story featuring a strong female heroine set in the old ages of Celtic culture wanting her independence and choosing diplomacy to fight; shows there's a time for peaceful solutions and a time for action
The stuff with her mom turning into a bear tempting fate is overly familiar territory but they make it funny
Love the mystical stuff they do with the sprites
It has a rocky production history; Brenda Chapman, the first female director for Pixar, started the project as the sole director but was joined by Mark Andrews in a move that felt more like studio interference than one intending creative legitimacy
But give it credit for the main heroine's design and the mother-daughter relationship of Kelly Macdonald and Emma Thompson
Plus the resolution at the end is very clever I admit
The shots of Scotland are incredible too, the ways that the film plays around with textures, light and shadows are consistently impressive
Says bravery is not just what one does (and can do) but what one chooses not to do
Yes, they learn to see the world through each other’s eyes but it is in the avoidance of choices, too, that defines so much
More modest and less flashy than the other PIXAR installments and I'm happy they featured Merida in Once Upon a Time Season 5
Brave is one of the few Disney movies I've actually enjoyed.
Did anyone else catch the snore at the end?
masgames38 snort
Actually I love Merida's story and relationship with her mother. I think that's a good representation of rebelious teenager and FINALLY a good written strong female lead. Woman doesn't need to be masculine super-hero to be interesting. She doesn't have to be over the top curageous and always getting what she wants, with seems to be the problem in many "strong" female characters these days (Toys Story 4, looking at you). Real bravery is to accept that sometimes you need to do something that not always suits you, learning empathy and dialogue. Feminity doesn't have to be masculinised to be considered watch-worthy.
I only saw this movie the one time when it came out. I do remember being left at the end thinking, "Wait, that's it?" It felt so quick and short to me.
I think this is one of the few Disney movies I actually want a sequel/prequel to
I actually liked this way more than Frozen.
+skabcat242 fair enough.
+skabcat242 same
same
I have to say, I didn't think this movie had a terribly strong plot, but it does hold a special place in my heart because Princess Merida has my exact same hair: red, curly, and tons of it.
"Eh." Sums up this movie perfectly. I hardly remember anything from it. I tired being really excited for the creator too, cause the story of Brave was her baby and to have Disney say: "We like your story, we want to make a film about it." Is about the best thing any writer could hope to happen.
The animation is amazing with great music. And look at that hair. Amazing.
This movie shows that they would thow an Oscar at everything that Pixar makes. The same year ParaNorman was on...
Am I the only one that loves this film?
Do you remember the first trailer for Mulan? It looked like we would get one kickass epic movie filled with battles and duty and drama. It looked like we would get Kurosawa meets Disney meets ancient China. What did we get?
just a note the noble maiden fair in brave is a real Scottish song also still like the movie
Watch Song Of The Sea instead if you can find it - beautiful film that does beautiful folklore and irish tales a lot better :) it sort of reminds me of Studio Ghibli in a way
yes your right but for me it was kind of confusing i dint get a lot of stuff.
I think Brave is underrated.
SCREW IT!!!! I JUST GOING TO SAY IT!!! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEDDDD BRAVE!!!!
Maybe you are thinking Braveheart
CelestialVulpes NO I MEAN BRAVE
You know people have questionable life choices, one of them is Brave.
CelestialVulpes It might be for you, not me
You're not alone. I recognize its flaws but fuck that, It's just an insanely fun and beautiful movie for me.
Am I the only one who LOVES Brave?????
Brother Bear was frikken awesome
My father had a tendency to fall asleep during movies at the theater, not matter what the movie was. This is one of the very few movies he took me to where he stayed awake through the entire thing.
The Movie was Ok ,The Trailer was Awesome!
to be honest, I really love this movie ever since it came out and I still do
The biggest achievement of this movie is her hair. 3:26 Hands down it blows me away every time.
(7:10) Was that a snort or a snore?
I'm glad this video came with french subtitles.
I watch the movie Brave at AMC Theater that I really enjoy seen it when I was a 11 year old child since Summer 2012
Brave has always been one of my favourite Disney movies, idk why it just...always made me feel happy when I saw it, I absolutely love this movie...but that’s just my opinion
So that song at the very beginning that you only catch a small snippet of, is actually Mumford and Sons' "Not With Haste" rewritten. Anyone else realize that when they watched this and/or the movie?
what i like about brave is it's dedication to Scottish culture. most will not believe me, but even the comic relief is faithful,for instance the the strong gallic accents of the different clans.
I died of laughter when he started yelling 😂😂😂😂😂
I have a complicated relationship with my mother and I was really happy when this movie came out because I've never seen anything like it.
When I saw the film in theaters, I was pretty much mislead by the trailers, thinking it was some epic adventure. But instead, we got Pixar's version of Brother Bear :P
I was left a bit unimpressed
Or maybe an orgin story to The Berenstein bears.
I like the food scenes. Lol the dad recounting Mordu and Merida stuffing her face. If they hadn't ended on "Girls are Free" horseback riding maybe just and eating contest with her brothers or something I think that would have been cute. I also like the little brothers they're pretty cute and the dad screaming I knew it! When he finds a bear is hilarious
I thought this was going to be one big adventure story. I thought Merida would be just a hunter who gets caught up in something, like perhaps a mishap where she kills an animal and is hunted by the evil bear as a curse or something. Or maybe her mother gets cursed as a punishment and Merida has to break it. I just felt like this movie lacked the adventure that was needed for Merida to show off her bravery. Also, if your going to talk about destiny and fate in a movie, I feel like it should be about a lot more than "Who I want to marry" type deal. The movie was beautiful to look at and I loved the father character. I just felt like Merida was just a typical teenager who thinks they know everything and wants easy solutions to everything but never thinks of the consequences like Ariel.
Can you imagine that the comments comes up with more fitting stories than the producers themselves?
I will say that I loved the first part of this movie, up until the mom turned into a bear....
same
I agree. The first third of going through the landscapes of Scotland was good, some of them are beautiful, even though some parts were choppy. Then.. The awkward and nonsense story plot in the middle of the mother turning into a bear. A freaking bear!! That doesn't make sense! It could have gone a different route! Like the witch making some sort of potion that makes the mother slowly increase her age process until death, or maybe just going a completely different route than Merida finding a witch in the first place. Maybe after following the wisps, she takes a turn to herself "running away from home". Making it out on her own in the vast land of Scotland, but finding out that she does need order in her life, and her mother. That could have been interesting. Although, I do give the movie credit for actually creating something a little more to the bear transformation bit in having the mother try to fight the natural instincts and mindset of a real bear.
Actually, that bear thing kinda makes sense. If you look at Witch's wood carvings, you will see that all of them are bear themed. It's possible that she can only make bear related stuff. Worst. Witch. Ever.
everyone talks about having a princess they can identify with, well Merida is one of those for me. she's so Scottish and feisty, it speaks to my roots
This review is really on point. I was disappointed that they didn't take the time to explore the world or their lore. The mother-daughter relationship was lovely. I just wish they had more consistent directing through the process.
I was in Scotland when this was in the pictures my god it was everywhere
I don't know what it is about it, but something about identity death disturbs me. The mom turning into a bear? Sure. Possibly being permanently stuck as a bear? Sucks for her, no issue for me if she'd still been mostly herself (maybe with a few fish-eating and other bear-type mannerisms thrown in). But when her mind was slipping and she didn't recognize her own daughter? And the idea of THAT being the permanent state? That bothered me deep down, more so than actual death would have.
I don't know why, but even on rewatch, that whole thing just kind of messes with me. I loved Merida, the dad, the brothers, all of it, except that. And because of that, it's not one that I've ever felt drawn to go back to, and I've watched a lot of Pixar's library more times than I can track.
I liked it. I'm good at ignoring the silly out-of-place bits, and I never saw the trailers, so I never was under the impression that it was some mysterious journey or anything unique. to me it was just another princess story, with some very well-written lines by Merida and her family, with a kickass design.
I was just in it for Mumford and Sons to be honest, and I wasn't disappointed.
Merida was awesome in Once Upon A Time.
7:09
What was that sound effect??
7:10
did you guys hear that? what was that?
I always liked this film and I semi-look up to Merida. I think I like it because of their accents. My favorite character is Fergus, the father, he is just goofy and supportive. Elinor, the mom, is his polar opposite, she's serious and strict. It's a miracle they actually got along. Merida can be obnoxious and bratty at times and gave me a bad influence when I was 8-10. I kinda imitated her for a day or two. Not long but I was rolling my eyes, groaning, and just being mean. I wish at the end they would get the message across that it isn't ok to act that way, for the little kids so they don't act like a teen.
Holy fuck I just realized why I like this movie and yet so many people are meh
I went in fully expecting a "Pixar does a Disney Princess" movie and thought that was what everybody else was expecting too
I love Brave but I'm slightly biased because I live in and come from Scotland
awesome!
Somewhere down all that repetition, Doug started channelling his inner Gilbert Gottfried. XD
Why do people hate on this movie? I loved it! maybe it's because I live in Scotland
The characters are AWESOME. The plot is dumb. If the mother-daughter relationship had shared the story with an epic adventure rather than an intimate "Mom's a bear" story, it could have been a lot better.
I'm sorry, but the three suitors, their fathers and Merida's father made the film for me. They were hilarious to watch, so energetic and snarky towards each other, and the jokes told made me guffaw. They're also really caring people as well as this, and I just love the relationship between Merida's mother and father. They're a sweet couple, but also realistic in a sense. Maudie was also quite a funny character as well, and she was a perfect role for a small side character.
I think Brave is an OK film, but whenever someone brings up any reason to like the film it tends to be an offensively wrong reason to like it.
It is the story of a spoiled brat with excuses and rationalizations learning how full of it she was and earning respect from her mother for getting over herself. Not a defiant tomboy breaking the glass ceiling as much as a teen learning her limits in order to find her strengths.
^ THIS.
And you know what? I'd be totally fine with that, if the movie didn't make it seem like she didn't learn her lesson at the end by having her last monologue be all about being brave enough to change your fate, like THAT was the moral of the story that she and we as the audience needed to learn all along. That was the point where I was like "Nope, I'm out of here. Goodbye Merida, see you on Once Upon a Time in three years" (where she was actually done much better in my opinion, as she took everything from the movie and show how much she genuinely learned from it. By the end of her arc I believed that she earned the right to rule).
***** I like to imagine this is truly Merida's version of what really happened. She is self centered like any teen and this is how she would tell the story to her friends only learning about 2/3rds of her lesson.
I would agree that Brave is an "eh" film. That said it is slightly less offensive than the Little Mermaid. Merida at least seems to learn a lesson in this--even though she did start out as a brat. Ariel...didn't really learn a lesson. If anyone, Tritan had to learn one, but Ariel was a brat and it never showed her learning a lesson. She whines and ultimately gets what she wants. The only time she "apologizes" for her actions is when Ursula is when Tritan sacrifices himself to save Ariel by signing his name to the contract...That is the only "regret" that she expresses. Merida, by contrast, does at least go to great lengths to get her mother turned back to the way she was and even shows that her mother's teachings have rubbed off on her by the end. It's certainly not one of my favorites, but if we're going for messages, it is better than the Little Mermaid. Don't get me wrong, I blamed mermaids and loved her voice and her hair like every other little girl, but the message of that movie is a little...gray.
acesofspades772 Now that we opened the Mermaid topic, here is how I would compare the two film's princessess in Disney history.
Merida was not as real as Lilo, not as brave as Mulan, not facing as many social and physical challenges as Belle, defiant as Jasmine, and not as much of a rebel as some non-princess like Ezmerelda.
However Ariel...........well, is quite a bit like this guy...... i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/22/021F9328000005DC-2883829-image-a-63_1419265944470.jpg
You have to compare the predecessors and Ariel is still a massive improvement over Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, and whats her face from the Black Cauldron. Ariel coming out today would look retrograde, but history is about steps and Ariel was the first one to walk onto dry land and have a personality.......that of an obsessive selfish nerd, but unlike Merida the film portrayed that quality of her as her undoing as much as her virtue.
+butchdeadlift10 Haha that picture made me laugh. And yes, you're right. She did make a big step out [literally] of the ocean, but where Belle and Mulan did what they did to save their fathers, it was Ariel ' s father who made the sacrifice after Ariel mucked up. And yes, you are right, I think the film shows it as her undoing, but it doesn't show that Ariel learned anything. That's a little concerning looking at it as an adult is all--not that I ever thought about it as a kid. This film showed a bit more hard work on Merida ' s end to correct what she did wrong, which is a least a sign that she's maturing.
I would also agree that Aurora, Snow White and Eloinwy were weak characters, but that's what princesses where expected to be back then--kind, delicate, quiet. Cinderella is a bit more developed than they are because she never loses her cool in spite of all of the abuse. Rob and Doug have discussed this. At no point does she raise her voice or go crazy, she just works hard. And even though the fairy godmother only gives her a few hours at the ball, she is grateful. She doesn't ask for more time. And after the ball, she knew that she would return to a life of abuse and chores, but she was completely satisfied. She is actually a very strong, yet humble character.
1:36 I laughed so very very very hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😅🤣😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😂
I actually liked Mor'du in this movie. He had limited screen time but he was quite the threat !!
This movie had such potential to be much more and deeper, especially the way the trailers talked about "fate". I thought it was going to about a princess that wishes for a different life and her wish causes some sort of effect/consequence to the kingdom. It could've gone deeper than what it actually was.
Exactly, like, I went in thinking the movie was going to be like the teaser, all dark and mystical and shit because *I love* that. And then it turns out to be a cliched mess with a whiny protagonist and I'm like, "What the hell? Am I getting Brother Bear 2.0.?"