For many, the number 13 often bodes a negative connotation and is considered to be “unlucky”. Such is not the case here, however, with Pixar’s 13th animated feature, BRAVE. Raising Pixar’s already astronomically high bar for level of excellence even higher, writer/director Mark Andrews and co-writers/directors Steve Purcell and Brenda Chapman, take us into the mystical, magical world of ancient Scotland to a time of kilts and Celts, celebrating its famed beauty and fabled lore with stunning visuals, a strong confident story and a Scottish Princess named Merida - the first female protagonist to grace Pixar’s palette. Also the first time Pixar has traveled back in time to days of yore, Andrews ices the cake with all the fantasy and imagination we have come to expect from Disney fairy tales, while grounding BRAVE with life lessons and one of the most endearing mother-daughter journeys we have seen on screen in many a year.
The flaming curly-haired Merida is the apple of her father’s eye. A princess born to rule, from small on King Fergus teaches Merida the important things in life - self-preservation, honor, defending oneself and the kingdom, riding, shooting, and above all, having fun. From the moment Fergus gifts Merida with a bow and arrow for her 7th or 8th birthday, her destiny is written. Or is it? Shortly after receiving her gift, Merida is mesmerized by the magical will-o’-the-wisps she sees dancing on air in the forest. Already fearless and a wild lass at heart, she follows their lilting blue glow, setting out on her own birthday adventure. But screams and cries call her back to her birthday picnic just in time to see her father lose his leg to a ferocious bear many thought to be mythical.
Fast forward to an adolescent Merida. Still her father’s daughter, Merida now has three toddler triplet brothers, all with the same curly ginger hair - and just as rambunctious and energetic - as Merida. Content with living out her life riding, hunting, gallivanting and seeking adventure, life takes a downward turn when Merida’s mother Queen Elinor demands that the time has come for Merida to learn to be a proper lady so that she may marry a proper man from another clan, further strengthening the bonds of the kingdom. Marriage? Merida? “Yuck” is Merida’s only response. Nevertheless, Merida embarks on a stringent regimen under tutelage of Elinor, grousing every second of every day until she can find time to steal away and celebrate her waning days of freedom.
Deciding to hold a contest for eligible suitors from the three other leading clans in which to win Merida’s hand in marriage, the pickings are beyond slim. Getting more furious with her mother by the minute, Merida sparks an idea - she will compete for her own hand. And the challenge will be archery. Believing that she has outsmarted her mother when she wins her own hand in marriage, what Merida has actually done is set events in motion that could destroy the peace of the kingdom that Fergus long ago achieved.
Tired of being lectured by her mother, Merida races off on her trusty steed, Angus, and just as when a wee lass, the wisps again appear before her and Merida again follows them deep into the woods. Coming upon a woodcarver’s cottage, Merida meets the proprietor, a toothless weathered old witch who entices Merida to not only buy her entire shop of wood carvings, but to cast a spell on Elinor guaranteed to transform Merida’s fate; change mom’s mind and Merida can change mom’s plans for her. As comes as no surprise, one must be careful what they wish for as Elinor is changed - into a huge black bear. Still with Elinor’s mind, heart and prim and proper manners but unable to speak, things take a grim turn when Elinor’s bear body starts to finish the transformation into a growling, snarling, clawing beast. And of course, when mom changes into a bear, so do Merida’s little brothers (and I must say, the cutest little bears you will ever see).
Can Merida save her mother? Can she even save herself? And what about her kingdom?
Written and directed by Mark Andrews together with Steve Purcell and Brenda Chapman, with co-writer Irene Mecchi, based on a story by Chapman, there is no stone left unturned in bringing this story to life. According to Andrews, “We knew we wanted this relationship between the parent and child, mother-daughter. By making them a queen and a princess and royalty, you have this very traditional society that [Merida] wants to break with...by having her mother, i.e., society, be in her way of what she’s not ready to accept yet, she gets a little selfish and she gets desperate. So that advent of magic in the story was there so we can illustrate visually the consequences of a mistake. In the great traditions of folk tales, it’s breaking that dynamic that puts us in a situation where people can actually see their true selves and what everything is really about.” Expounding on Andrews, producer Katherine Sarafian goes a step further, noting that by making the bear Elinor mute carries through with the “core issue in this movie [that] they don’t listen to each other. All they can do is listen.”
While there are some standard Disney fairy-tale tropes at play (and nods to other Disney and Pixar films; just take a good hard look at the witches’ wood carvings for some adorable “Pooh” creations), not to mention strong elements of female empowerment, all of which are guaranteed to appeal to young and old alike, BRAVE plays it “safe” and steers clear of the tear-jerking sentiment of “Toy Story 3" and “Up”; something which may play well to children, but leave a small hole in the heart of adults. A cautionary tale, there is no Prince Charming to save Merida and for the first time, we see a young girl learn, grow and try to solve her own problems, although I was hoping for a bit more gravitas to the situation, especially given the PG rating.
Chock full of story challenges Andrews on the difficulty “just to get the balances right. Just to make this mother and daughter appealing so that you didn’t hate the mother because she was too ‘Mommie Dearest’ and you didn’t hate the daughter. To get those appealing things right so we understood where they were coming from and we cared about what happened to them.” And going into an ancient time period is something new for Pixar. As Sarafian notes, “Stuff looked different then. Teeth were crooked in this region. There’s something growing on everything. The castles are worn and rundown. No clean sharp surfaces and the computer likes clean, sharp surfaces, so this was as difficult as you can make it.” In past Pixar films, even the costuming was simpler, cleaner and unfettered. With BRAVE, the imagineers have been able to not only add new fabrication textures, but design up to 9 layers within a costume, with each layer a different fabric type, including fur. The result is enough to make any fashion designer green with envy. And kudos to the designer/animator of Merida’s flaming curls which achieve a look of bouncy softness that I thought only possible in a Loreal hair commercial.
In order to raise the bar ever higher, extra attention was paid to basic elements in order to achieve increased depth of texturization and characterization that we see in BRAVE. Sarafian attributes much of the excellence to “research, research, research. We went to Scotland twice and we went way, way, deep in. We touched everything. We stole heather. [We] talked to locals and heard the rhythm of the language. Sketching, drawing, photographs, video. And then we tried to create this world that was very much hand-in-hand. Like Merida says, ‘The land is as much a part of us as we are of it.’ We really wanted the character in the movie of Scotland. You’ve got that tie to the land and the ruggedness of it, and the change of it. You’ve got a diverse landscape.”
Important to Andrews was avoiding a design that was “super graphic and slick because then you wouldn’t get a sense of Scotland at all because it is such a place of texture and variation. That became part of the look. Just achieving that and doing a hyper-realistic sense of that, [for example] the trees twist in Scotland, we twisted them even more; the standing stones are big, we made them gigantic. There’s mist around everywhere. I smoked the set. We put atmosphere in every aspect of BRAVE to get that look because here we have an opportunity to not just put in some fantasy place. It’s Scotland and it’s an ancient Scotland and we want to transport the audience there.” And he succeeds brilliantly. Celebratory with a touch of mystical magic are idyllic verdant forests, cascading waterfalls, delicate heather fields, knotted woods of trees and underbrush. Impeccable sound design led by Supervising Sound Editor Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, enhances the visual experience with whistling winds, crackling twigs, crunching leaves and the soft lull of a waterfall making it truly immersive. Conversely, when the story darkens, winds howl and we hear the icy sound of claws as if on a chalkboard just as defined and nuanced as a breaking dish, the snip of fabric or the “thrum” of a newly released arrow.
Adding to the sensory delights are the voicings. Calling on true Scotsmen (and women) for authenticity, we are blessed with the brogues of Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson, Kelly Macdonald (her first time voicing) and Kevin McKidd as King Fergus, Lord Macintosh, Merida and Lord MacGuffin/Young MacGuffin, respectively. For McKidd, who tackles the junior and senior MacGuffin, he called upon his own father’s timber to help create distinctive voicings for the two. Joyous is Emma Thompson who brings perfunctory elegance to the voice of Elinor, not to mention enabling the animators to capture some of her own facial expressiveness in visualizing Elinor’s emotions. The true Scottish accents make it a pleasure to actually listen to the dialogue. Adding to the mix is the divine talent of Julie Walters who easily tackles the craggy old witch. And of course, what would a Pixar film be without the work of John Ratzenberg who voices Fergus’ trusty servant, Gordon.
Adding to the journey is an energetic and buoyant score by Patrick Doyle.
Be BRAVE. Be transported to ancient Scotland and a land of magic and adventure. The most visually stunning animated film of the year (yes, Oscar should be calling), BRAVE soars! Move over Katniss! Merida’s in town!
Merida - Kelly Macdonald
King Fergus - Billy Connolly
Queen Elinor - Emma Thompson
Lord Macintosh - Craig Ferguson
Lord MacGuffin/Young MacGuffin - Kevin McKidd
The Witch - Julie Walters
Written and Directed by Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell and Brenda Chapman, with co-writer Irene Mecchi, based on a story by Chapman.
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