I think people have misunderstood this summer’s Pixar treat. Maybe because the previews make the film look like the usual tomboy-princess flic, I’ve heard people say the film’s predictable and nothing special.
It’s true there are a lot of stock elements here with rowdy brothers, a brave princess, a witch, a curse, a final confrontation with the arch-villain. And there are lots of clumsy fight scenes and suitor antics interspersed among beautiful scenery and standing stones. Though of good quality, all of that was to be expected.
But Brave draws on Pixar’s unique strength in finding an emotional heart in the story, a heart that most animation never aspires to. This movie isn’t about the princess who out-machos her brothers but about a daughter who arrives at the discovery that she isn’t a dependent child any longer, that she has grown up and that she is responsible for her acts and their effects on the world. Merida’s selfishness brings the kingdom to chaos, and while it’s not unimaginable that another company could do a story like that, what’s uniquely Pixar is that Merida also accidentally hurts her mother and nearly gets her killed. The neophyte princess has to learn through the film that she can’t act like a selfish child when she has grown up but needs to assume an adult’s place in the world, where her actions matter. I found the film tremendously touching in its portrayal of that transition from childhood to adulthood.
There’s no denying that there are some clunky aspects to Brave, but its sensitive portrayal of growing up makes it worthwhile viewing and another significant contribution to the Pixar canon.
