Merida Shooting an arrow in Brave
Brave
C+
A review by Frederick Cholowski
I begin this review by asking one simple question, what’s
going on over at Pixar? After the mess that was Cars 2 one would expect them to
bounce back and return to form in their newest original film. Unfortunately
Brave is anything but a bounce back for the studio as it’s a generic, formulaic
mess of an animated film that is a crushing disappointment.
Brave follows the story of a young Celtic princess Merida
(Kelly Macdonald) who is at odds with her mother (Emma Thompson). This is
because despite her best mother’s wishes Merida does not want to become a
princess nor does she want to marry one of the tenants of the many sometimes at
odds tribes ruled over by Merida’s father (Billy Connolly). Merida wants to
defy tradition and become a more independent warrior type woman and sets out on
a small adventure that ends up finding her in deep trouble.
The main problems with this film are its narrative flow
and characters. First off the film is lacking something story wise; it’s
choppy, rushed and feels only like a skeleton to a potentially better story that
if it had more depth could have worked. The story is incredibly predictable and
the usual Pixar heart, like in Cars 2, feels unnatural and forced. This could
be partially due to the fact that the main character is really bratty and
annoying. Merida never comes off as strong or independent but instead feels
like a character that just doesn’t do what she’s suppose to because she is
spoiled by her father. This makes it very difficult to latch on to the
character that the whole entire film revolves around, which is a large problem.
It’s also sad because the voice acting crew is great with
what they’re given. Kelly Macdonald, despite the over the top accent, is a
fantastic fit for the role she is given and does a great job with what
characterization she is given. Same can be said for the supporting cast of Emma
Thompson, Billy Connolly and Julie Walters amongst many, many others. It’s sad that most of the characterization is so
thin, making most of the supporting characters very close to caricatures with no
depth.
If there is anything that Pixar nails in this film is the
beauty of the animation. The film looks absolutely dazzling with its darker
color palate and vibrant landscape. The film really does visually transport one
into this world with many of the film’s best moments coming in the visual
department. The score’s great with for the most part bigger bombastic tunes
that help shape the landscape even more. Overall even when the writing is faltering
Pixar still keeps up its immaculate visuals and audio.
Before wrapping up the review I would like to mention if
there is one reason to pay and see the film is to view the amazing short before
the film called La Luna. The short film still gives me hope that Pixar can
bounce back from its slump of late. It’s everything that older Pixar films had
heart, joy, emotions, and magic. This is the Pixar that needs to come out in
their next film instead of the one that is present in the actual main feature
itself.
As I said when I reviewed Cars 2 a year ago Brave is not
a terrible film it’s simply average and disappointing. It’s a mess of a narrative
with little flow and a character with little likability that ends up feeling
like a second rate Disney Princesses film instead of the magic and ground pushing
films of Pixar’s past. Anyways all I can do is sit, wait, and hope for another
year that Pixar’s next film Monster’s University will be the one that breaks
them out of their now two year long slump.
