Disney Pixar Brave Movie Review
June 22, 2012 the latest Disney Pixar animated movie, Brave was released in 3D. Several days prior I had the opportunity of seeing a sneak preview of the movie. Fortunately, I traded off my 2-year-old for the night and took my friend’s 6-year-old daughter with me, given its PG rating. I was so excited to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D several months ago, so we brought Gavin along with us, which was not a great parenting decision, so this time I learned my lesson!
When I started previewing some of the Brave toys and dolls several months ago, there was something about Merida, the princess star of the Brave movie, that made her a little different than most of the princesses that preceded her. Merida is a princess who is a very skilled archer with some serious, unruly, crazy red hair. She is definitely forward-thinking, opinionated, and a sassy spitfire who is not the typical feminine Disney, girly princess who is gaga over a hunky boy.
The movie takes place in the Scottish Highlands, as Merida’s parents Queen Elinor and King Fergus hope to find an appropriate suitor for Merida. When 3 suitor’s are presented, Merida is upset with the fact that she can’t choose her own companion, so in frustration she takes off on her horse Angus into the forest. Merida is extremely frustrated with her mother for “not listening” to her, so after meeting a witch, she casts a spell on her mother that changes her into a bear, which could ultimately change the fate of her family forever, if the spell is not reversed within 2 days.
Again, this movie, like many other animated Disney movies is PG, so definitely heed the warning and judge whether your children are able to handle the movie in 3D while wearing glasses for 1 hour and 30 minutes. In 3D, the scenery in this movie is absolutely breathtaking as you fly over and explore the Scottish highlands. I described many scenes to friends as “Braveheart-esque.” Often times there are huge clans of men hooting and hollering, which I found a little overwhelming at times. Given that Merida’s mother turns into a bear, there were also some scary, loud chase scenes. However, as an adult, I definitely was laughing out loud on dozens of occasions and really enjoyed this movie. This is a great mother-daughter experience, especially if you have a daughter in the tween ages (8-12), as children in that age range are often testy, feisty and exploring boundaries. I won’t give the ending away, but I will say that it doesn’t end like other Disney Princess movies do, and really focuses on Merida’s unique personality, athleticism and independent voice, which are fantastic values for young girls to emulate.
Disney-Pixar provided free tickets to an advanced screening of the movie to facilitate this post, the opinions are my own.