Brave

This is one of my favorite Pixar offerings that is not a sequel in some time. I like it better than Up, Wall-E, Cars, Ratatouille just to begin with. Then I would have to really think about the films I like the most and make an in depth voting system to help me accurately determine where Brave would stand overall. Initially I am thinking 4th behind the Toy Story franchise (Lumped together), Monster's INC, and Finding Nemo. I liked it that much. I liked that I didn't know what the sub plot was going to be. All we know from the marketing campaign is that the heroin wants to change her fate. What is her fate? Well, she is a King's daughter and she is now old enough to be betrothed to someone she has never met. This is where the old adage "Be careful what you wish for" is instituted to the fullest. I thought it was going to be similar to "It's a Wonderful Life", but it couldn't be further from that. I am not going to get into what actually changes in her life, but it turns into a tale of fixing what you have already done, and not taking for granted the people most special in your life. Brave is the most vibrant film since Nemo in my opinion. The ocean has so much to offer as far as color and scenery, and Brave used beautiful landscaped from Scotland along with using very understandable accents and set in the 10th century make this comedy so much fun to enjoy visually alone. The story is fantastic as well, and lots of people were telling me it was dark and my 3 year olds may be frightened. I think I disagree with this. It has one or two scary moments involving a big snarling bear, but when I heard it was dark, I immediately thought of black magic and faces melting ala Raiders of the Lost Ark. That was not the case and my kids were not frightened. I loved it and cannot wait till I can buy it on DVD and wear the disc out from overuse. To me, it was a refreshing rebirth of what Pixar is capable of.


NBM rates Brave - Phenomenal