Fairy tales come and go, and its only the great ones stand the test of time, to which I’m sure the Grimm Brothers would be all too aware if they were still around. Well you can add Brenda Chapman to that great fairy tale writer list now, because Brave is genuinely the first memorable fairy tale since Little Red Riding Hood had an encounter with a Wolf.
Brave is a truly magical tale about Princess Merida, who whilst trying to forge her own path in life brings a spot of bother to her kingdom. Using her bow, arrow and bravery she must undo a terrible curse before its too late. Brave has got all the ingredients for a fantastical tale. From witches to bears and magical forests, this will ignite the child in adults and ignite the imaginations of children.
If truth be told, I had very little hopes for Brave. It seemed to break the norm from the usual Pixar stable. No talking cars, toys or lost clown fish. But after 10 minutes, Brave sucks you in and is in the conventional sense, a real page turner. Kelly Macdonald voices Merida and is entirely convincing as the fiery, red headed princess. As with most Pixar movies, the vocal talent seem to match their on screen digital counterparts to a tee. Emma Thompson and Billy Connolly make up her regal parents and as usual John Ratzenberger makes a Pixar vocal appearance.
In my eyes, Brave is the natural evolution of Pixar. Both visually and in the story telling sense. From the story point of view, as mentioned this is an honest to goodness fairytale, but like its namesake, it’s also a very brave move for the studio. But proving a good story is at the heart of anything worthwhile, Pixar as usual have pulled it off. Visually though, this is something else entirely. The Scottish landscape looks incredible. From waterfalls to castles to intricate menageries of moss, this is a real sight to behold. As for the characters? Just like the landscape and its surroundings, they’re also mesmerising and enchanting and like the story, entirely convincing.
Tragically, the 3D is neither here nor there and the screening I saw wasn’t that great. Quite a percentage of Brave is set at night or in low light and this doesn’t lend itself to 3D in any capacity. Hunt out the 2D version if you can as I do feel the 3D here can remove some of the amazing visuals on offer.
With plenty of humour and action there’s enough here to keep all entertained, regardless of a story, but some of the really younger kids may well be a wee bit frightened of some of the bear scenes. That said, Cameron, my 2 year old didn’t seem one bit phased by them. But each to their own.
In the way that fairy tales of yore cemented themselves for future generations, Brave does the exact same. It really is the first digital fairy-tale and is simply wonderful. I can’t recommend this highly enough.
