Brave is not your typical ‘princess’ animated movie

Go see a Disney Pixar movie?  Sure thing, I don’t even need to read the plot description, it’s bound to be somewhat along the lines of the others.  Fabulous animation, great songs and dialogue that will entertain the kids and make parents laugh too.   Brave is most of that, but it’s also very different.  I didn’t know anything about the movie prior to watching it and the film left me feeling lukewarm.  After watching a preview of the film, after I saw the movie, I liked the movie a little bit more.

Brave doesn’t follow the stereotypical plot about a weak princess (who is actually a strong princess) that meets a strong prince (who is actually weak) then realizes that they love each other as long as they compromise their pros and cons.

Merida is a Princess who is the object of three clumsy suitors.  Her father is trying to get her married ASAP and holds a series of Highland Games to determine who the best man is for her.  In reality Merida is a better warrior than all of the men, has a big fight with her mom and runs off to the wood where she meets a witch.

Just before halfway through she meets the witch and the movie takes more of an old school Disney animated approach.  PLOT SPOILER…..  Merida turns into a bear, this wouldn’t be too big of an issue, but her father hates bears and hunts them anytime he sees them.  Can Merida turn back into a princess before the curse becomes permanent?

The Good

The animation is stunning.  At times the characters looked like real puppets, especially Merida.  The landscapes are equally as beautiful.

Young girls will love Merida.   A strong female lead has been a long time coming for Disney/Pixar.

(For adults) The Bad

It is not as entertaining as other Disney Pixar movies for adults.  There aren’t as many older jokes for mom and dad to enjoy and it’s not as funny overall.  Brave tends to rely more on humor that’s targeted at the kids and physical humor to get the little ones laughing.

(For kids) The Good

It’s a Disney Pixar movie and kids will love it.

Its summer, very hot outside and Brave is as good as it gets for animated features right now.

As an adult, I wish Brave was better.  It’s still a good movie, but being the Disney Pixar brand I expected great.