It’s a Small World
Pixar goes Disney in its first period piece
Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) has a problem with authority, especially her nagging mom, who just wants her to settle down with a nice boy from one of the neighboring clans in their medieval Scottish village.
But she’s a super-strong heroine who can show the guys a thing or two about charting their own paths, even when another one has been laid out for you. Plus, she totally kicks ass with a bow and arrow.
Pixar’s latest 3-D extravaganza Brave is filled with the studio’s usual knockout CGI and attention to detail, but the animation studio’s genre-busting storytelling stalls a bit in its most Disneyesque movie.
Brave is pretty much an old-fashioned fairy tale spiked with some modern girl-power themes and few surprises. Even the witch whom the free-thinking princess obtains a spell from to change her fate has been kicking around Disney movies since the 1940s.
But redheaded Merida is a great character, strong enough to carry the film, even if her story isn’t exactly a new one. — Michael Gallucci
Brave
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Dir. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell; writ. Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi; feat the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson (PG)
This article appears in Jun 20-26, 2012.