'Brave' - Beautifully animated and fun!
Disney/Pixar's 'Brave' is probably one of the more beautifully animated features in sometime; with lush visuals and near lifelike movement, 'Brave' is a marvel to take in. The story, while family friendly and heartfelt, seems to have taken more from the Disney manual than the Pixar manual.
Merida (Kelly Macdonald - 'Boardwalk Empire') is the eldest daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connelly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), a skilled archer and headstrong Merida is determined to make her own fate in life when she defies the traditional custom of marrying into a neighboring Scottish clan. Merida is wonderfully animated, with her fiery red hard and soulful eyes, she is nicely rounded by the excellent voice casting of Kelly Macdonald. Merida is strong willed, full or mischief and wonder, taking more after her King father than mother - or so it would seem. It is refreshing to see so strong a female lead in what could be very easily a male centric adventure. The first half of the adventure is fresh, with fantastic visuals as well as a soundtrack that brings life to very scene. It is during the second half that Merida becomes more Jasmine from Disney's 'Aladdin' and the usual strong storytelling of Pixar fame falls into typical Disney mode.
Perhaps this is inevitable since Disney purchased the fledging animation studio 6 years ago. Known for it's upstart nature and edgy storytelling; Pixar seemed the perfect acquisition for Disney; marred with disagreements between Steve Jobs and Michael Eisner, the deal while troubled, moved forward with great success. Pixar has produced 13 films since 1995, all of them have been financial successful and nearly all of them have been critical successes (the exception was 'Cars 2' - an effort that seemed to be more of an "eh, let's do it'). And with the exception of 'Brave' (it's too soon to tell), all of the Pixar films are in the top 50 most grossing animated films of all time.
It's no wonder why Disney wanted to buy this animated juggernaut. But the Disney mark is felt strongly in the second half of the film and while it was a fantastic movie, that should be seen; I was a little disappointed that the 'Pixar edge' was missing. Instead of focusing on Merida's strength and character, the story begins to wander into typical Disney territory as Merdia visits a witch to gather a spell that will change her mother's mind concerning the arranged marriage.
The witch (played by Julie Walters) is even animated as a Disney witch, the movements more jerky, the facial features less real; even the dialogue was more typical of a Disney feature at this point, the tongue and cheek humor of Pixar was suddenly lost in the second half. The focus becomes less of Merida and her character and more of a 'love thy mother' tale; even the tones and the colors of the animation dull a bit. The power and beauty of Merida is lost in this second half sub plot that trods along like typical Disney fair until the final third of the film where we begin to see the lushness and beauty of Pixar animation again. it's almost as if the sub plot was demanded by the Disney Execs.
Now don't get me wrong - aside from the middle of the film, it is a wonderful animated feature that needs to be enjoyed on the big screen. And despite the 'Disneyesqe' middle, the voice talent is strong enough to carry us through it. Macdonald, Connelly and Thompson are perfectly cast and they bring apparent joy to the production.
While not the best Disney/Pixar feature; it is certainly one of the most stunningly beautiful in some time. I am not sure if I would pay the up-charge for 3D on this one, but this 3 1/2 star Pixar effort is certainly worth the full price of admission at your local movieplex!