Short Round: Brave (2012) ***/*****
At this point it should come as no surprise that Brave is gorgeous to look at. Even the worst of the projects that have come out of Pixar (Cars 2, by a mile) are technical marvels that will make your jaw drop. The results of their marriage of the most cutting edge animation technology with the most meticulous and inspired design work are unparalleled. Just look at the protagonist of this film, Merida’s, mop of unruly red hair. It’s great as an animation demo reel as well as a fun design element. It always puts a beacon of glowing color on the screen, drawing your eye to the protagonist and cementing her as the focus of the film, even as dazzling landscapes fill the frame.
The problems with the movie stem from its attempts to keep you interested in what Merida is doing. Brave is competent all the way through, it makes no big missteps that you can point to as failures — but it never really does anything to capture you either. This is a story that promises magic, danger, war, and a struggle to fight for and discover one’s very own identity; but somehow it all comes off as small and boring. The story takes quite a while to get going, and by the time that deliberate pace starts to quicken it’s practically over. The characters here are likable enough, and you care about what happens to them, but you’re never really convinced they’re in all that much danger. And though you like Merida and her family, there’s nothing about them that you will truly remember. If there’s one thing that’s pushed Pixar’s best works Up to the great heights they’ve reached, it’s personality. Brave is fine, especially for kids, but it’s kind of bland, and it’s too closely following the lead of stories that came before it.
Still, the relationships between the characters make it worth a look. The heart of the story is the bond between Merida and her mother, and exploring how a mother/daughter relationship changes as both parties age. Brave nails both the greatest joys and the most difficult struggles that arise from raising a daughter (largely thanks to Kelly Macdonald and Emma Thompson’s vocal performances), and in a genre that’s full of daddy/daughter and mother/son relationships, it was nice to see the bond between women get some exploration for a change.
