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By Munir Abedrabbo.
The Film:
Brave,the thirteenth feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios arrived with avery high level of anticipation, expectation and controversy. First, it was thefirst Pixar film to have a female lead character; second, it was the first filmbased on an original idea after two sequels; and third, it was the film thatwas meant to be a “return to form” for Pixar, whose previous film Cars 2, released a year ago, received alot of (somewhat unfair in my opinion) criticism and was labeled as Pixar’sfirst “bad” film. On the controversy side, Brave underwent some changes, firstbeing called “The Bear and the Bow”and being promoted as the first Pixar film directed by a woman (BrendaChapman). Chapman was fired in the middle of production and replaced by MarkAndrews (though she retained a director’s credit) resulting in many angryresponses from women working in Hollywood and animation. With all this level ofanxiety, Brave was poised to be eithera great achievement or a great disaster. Which one it was? Keep reading to findout.
In ancient Scotland, under the reign of good KingFergus and his wife Queen Elinor, people live happily and prosper in a landthat’s rich on culture, tradition and magic. The kings have three sons and onedaughter, who is the eldest, her name is Merida. Merida, a very feistyteenager, is the complete opposite ofwhat a traditional princess is, preferring scouting through the forest, firingher bow and discovering new things instead of more traditional “lady chores”.This is a source of great conflict with her mother, who expects Merida tobehave as a princess and to follow the rules of their society. When the timecomes that she must choose a husband from the sons of the other clans, sherefuses and a fight with her mother leads Merida to ask a witch for a potion tochange her destiny. This potion brings unexpected results and Merida must raceagainst time to try and put everything back to normal and to mend herrelationship with her mother before it’s too late.
Braveis the most traditional story Pixar has ever produced and many have seen this asa bad thing, but I think it serves the purpose right. Disney has long been theking of princess fairy tales, but Pixar has produced one that, whilemaintaining some traditional ground, offers a unique perspective that makes themovie something fresh and exciting. Merida is a great lead character with aunique personality that represents teen angst and her desire for freedom in away that anyone who’s ever been a teenager can relate to. The Pixar wizardshave created another memorable character that is sure to enthrall young andold. Moreover, the relationship between Merida and Elinor feels real and speaksto many people; you don’t have to be a mother, a daughter or woman to identifywith the ups and downs of the film’s parent-child relationship.
The cast is excellent all round too, with KellyMacdonald giving a tour-de force performance in the title role. Emma Thompsonand the rest are also perfectly suitable for their characters.
If I have one gripe with the film, it’s that many ofthe supporting characters fail to make a lasting impression. Whereas in the Toy Story films you easily remembercharacters like Ham, Rex, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head, in Brave the Lords and the witch can be easily forgotten. With so manyunforgettable supporting characters in the Pixar stable, it’s a pity that heremany of them fail to make a lasting impression.
On the other hand, as usual, the animation isabsolutely breathtaking. You may not like the story but you can’t possiblycriticize the looks of it. Pixar, again, has produced a gorgeously animated filmwith amazing scenery and great characters. Just watch the beauty of Scotland’slandscapes or the beauty of Merida’s hair and you´ll realize that Pixar isstill the best in terms of CGI animation. Patrick Doyle’s score is mesmerizingand adds an epic mood that makes the film flow with authenticity.
Controversies and all, Brave may not be Pixar’s best film but is certainly a worthyaddition to their growing canon of masterpieces. It provides top-notchentertainment through and through and the whole family will be satisfied withthe final product.
Video& Audio
As expected, Bravelooks absolutely spectacular on BD. This is another demo quality transfer fromthe folks at Pixar and everything looks perfect. Detail is strong, colors arelush and vibrant and there are no signs of banding, aliasing or otherartifacts. Simply stunning.
Likewise, the audio presentation (presented in both5.1 and 7.1 incarnations) is a winner with perfect directionality, cleardialogue and no annoying artifacts such as noise or hiss. Just excellent.
BonusMaterial
Brave comes with two BDs, one with the movie and somebonus material and other just filled with bonus features. While most of them aregreat and informative, I felt that the overall package fell a little short ofPixar’s usual standards. For example, I’d have loved to see the Cine-exploreoption that had graced previous Pixar releases. Anyway, here’s what’s included:
Disc 1:
“Audio Commentary”: An excellent audio commentary by directorMark Andrews, co-director Steve Purcell, story supervisor Brian Larsen andeditor Nick Smith that delves into the production of the film in great detail.While it’s too bad that Chapman wasn’t included, this piece shouldn’t be missedby anyone.
“La Luna”:This wonderful, Oscar-nominated short that preceded Brave in theaters is one of Pixar’s best short productions. Amust-see!
“The Legend ofMor’du”: An exclusive short film created exclusively for this BD, it delvesthe legend of the big, dark bear. I thought it was really underwhelming, as itused mostly what looked like painted storyboards and didn’t add anything thatwe didn’t already know by watching the film. Anyway, still warrants a view butit’s not one of Pixar’s best home video shorts.
“Brave Old World”: An excellent featurette thatfollows the Pixar team (Chapman included) on a field trip to Scotland and showshow they got inspiration for the looks of the film.
“Merida & Elinor”: This featurette deals with thecreation of both characters and how their relationship was crafted.
“Bears”: A featurette that deals with the creation of,surprise, surprise, Bears.
“Brawl in the Hall”: A featurette that explains thecreation of the many battles between the clans and how they incorporatedviolence and humor in equal measure.
“Wonder Moss”: explains how they created the varioustypes of moss in the film by using mathematical formulas.
“Magic”: Delves into Brave’s fairy tale roots and inspiration, such as the BrothersGrimm tales and more.
“Clan Pixar”: introduces many of the talented artiststhat worked in the film and what they do in the film’s production.
“Once Upon a Scene”: shows different stages from thefilm’s opening.
“Extended Scenes”: shows some additional footage thatwas cut in the following scenes: "Meet the Lords," "Triplets'Distraction," "The Ruins" and "Blockade."
Disc 2:
“Fergus & Mor’du: An alternate opening”: Shows adifferent beginning for the film.
“Fallen Warriors”: a fun piece that shows littlepieces that were completed but eventually cut from the final film.
“Dirty Hairy People”: shows Pixar’s commitment to makethe story as authentic as possible by introducing hair, dirt and other subtleelements into the characters.
“Angus”: a featurette that explains the process ofcreating Merida’s horse.
“The Tapestry”: shows the process of creation of thetapestry and explains its importance in the film.
“It’s in English… Sort of”: A featurette thatdiscusses the casting choices and the use of some Scottish words instead oftheir English counterparts for the sake of authenticity.
“Promotional Pieces”: Trailers and some fun promos.
“Art Galleries”: Divided into five sections: "Characters," "Color Keys,""Development Art," "Environments" and "Graphics."
A DVD copy is also included.
Closing Thoughts
Maybe it’s not the masterpiece thateveryone was hoping for but Brave isa reminder that Pixar is still the best Animation Studio right now and thisfilm offers plenty of heart, humor and gorgeous animation that will satisfymost fans. The Blu-ray offers spectacular video and audio and a nice collectionof bonus features. Whether you are a Pixar completist or like good animatedmovies, Brave is for you. It’s one ofthe best animated films of the year and this Blu-ray set is the best way to ownit. Highly recommended!
TechnicalSpecs
Theatrical Release Date: June22, 2012 (US).
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Thanks to Munir for this great review, we look forward to sharing future reviews of his with you. Be sure to follow him on Twitter, and thanks, as always, for visiting A113Animation!
Related posts: Check out our review of Brave on Blu Ray here.
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