Brave

When I first saw this in the theater, I thought it was a solid if somewhat predictable fairy tale. Not one of Pixar's best, but utterly enjoyable in its own right.

On a second viewing, I'm much more impressed. This time through I was able to soak in the epic grandeur of the location, pay more attention to the relationship between Elinor and Merida, and observe the deft plotting and character nuance. Part of it may be the difference between a first viewing, where (after spending weeks of viewing key moments in trailers and commercials) my mind was more focused on "oh, this must be where the bit with the three little bears comes in, oh, this must tie in with that bit that I saw yesterday", and a second viewing much later where I'm just... you know... watching the film.

So, all that said, let's talk about the film itself. As mentioned before, it's gorgeous. A lot of attention was paid at the time to Merida's hair, but it's incredibly easy to overlook the accuracy and the detail of the landscape itself. The moss, the trees, the water, the play of light, the changes of weather. From a technical standpoint, it's awe inspiring what they were able to accomplish. From an artistic standpoint, it's mind bending. Animation, I think, allows directors to more closely create on film what they have in their minds.

The character animation is also first rate, especially with Merida. I love the fact that she's cute, but she's not a "Disney Princess." She has a full range of facial expressions, to start with. Watch the film and watch her face. In most Disney films, if you freeze frame at any point the princess will look beautiful. Distressed and beautiful. Angry and beautiful. Amorous and beautiful. Sleepy and beautiful. It doesn't matter, they always look perfect. Freeze frame on Merida and you get goofy, cute, blubbery, derpy... for all that she has a bit of a doll face, it moves like an actual human being's. The animators and director have been very clear that they wanted to create a character that was a more real option for girls, and in my mind they absolutely succeeded. Not only is she the hero, not only does she have interesting and relatable character flaws, not only does she have interests other than cute boys... she is more interested in expressing herself than in looking perfect.

Let's look at the Bechdel test for quick moment. Yes, this film passes... but despite being focused on a mother daughter relationship, it might not have. The main plot point, after all, revolves around an arraigned marriage. The film could have quite easily been all about their relationship with their men. Fortunately, the writers clearly established that the whole suitor thing was just the tip of an iceberg in this relationship. The true power that held this kingdom together was the power of the queen... and that was what was truly at stake in all this. Yes, they talk about the suitors, and about the fear of marriage... but for a film set in 10th-13th century Scotland, the men are fairly unimportant to the story.

The film, in my mind, is ultimately about growing up, about understanding the need for compromise, about family, and about taking responsibility. Merida spends a good portion of the film denying responsibility, both her responsibility to the kingdom and her responsibility in what happens to her mother. Only at the end, when all her attempts to fix the problem have failed, does she finally move from it being the witches' fault to it being her own. In many ways, what Merida did was worse than what Mar'Du did. Mar'Du tried to change his fate by changing himself. Merida tried to forcibly change someone else. Mar'Du's reasons were for power, while Merida was ultimately trying to avoid power... so their reasons were opposite, but Merida's action was much more selfish.

This is getting long, so I'll just make one quick observation with this and the last film I reflected on: Paranorman. Both films had major themes about the importance of stopping and LISTENING to the person you were in opposition to. Elinor and Merida both have significant problems with listening to each other, and in my mind the true climax of the film in terms of their relationship is Merida's speech to the Lords while Elinor coaches her from the back. Everyone is listening. The Lords are listening to the Merida, Merida is listening to Elinor, Elinor is listening to Merida, the Lords listen to their sons... in many ways, the story ends there: the kingdom has been saved. All that really remains is the big action climax and showdown that the plot demands.