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Review

Review: Brave is About an Action Princess. Deal With It

by Zoe Chevat | 12:28 pm, June 19th, 2012


Like myself, and our chief editor, many readers of our site may have found themselves attaching undue importance to Disney/Pixar’s Brave. While it’s needless to explain that we’re fans of Pixar for their general quality and content (we can politely forget about the Cars franchise), it meant something different, something special, to have a female-oriented (and female-sourced) vehicle as their next big feature. I do not believe we were alone in this. The little girl inside of me who was once Joan of Arc for Halloween (ask my mother about the grey Eileen Fisher sweater I stretched out because it ‘looked like chainmaile’), who once built a sword out of PVC pipe, foam, a dead tennis ball, and duct tape, and who devoured Tamora Pierce’s Lioness Quartet like a starving person, needed Brave to be so many things. That is a tremendous price to ask of any movie, especially a high-budget movie, and one from a studio that must hit so many parts of the ambiguous (and dubious) “family” demographic.

So, both the over-excited tiny girl knight inside of me, and the grumbling, jaded critic that is my adult guise, are pleased to inform you that Brave is very, very good.

As you may have gleaned by now, Brave tells the story of plucky Princess Merida, firstborn to a king of vague Olde Timey Scotland. She’s also a bow-and-sword wielding, comfortable-dress-wearing tomboy to boot, more enthralled with riding around the highlands on her trusty stallion, Angus, than practicing how to be a proper future Queen with her mother. Incensed at learning of plans to marry her off, an upset Merida seeks out a solution from a forest witch, a bid that has always worked so well for characters in her situation. What follows is magic, curses, mayhem, lots of arrows, and yes, a few giant bears.

The story dutifully hits its marks, sometimes more formulaically than one would hope. It’s clear that Disney/Pixar was determined to stick to a clear-cut fairy tale format, and were only comfortable with slight deviations. What Brave has is not a daring and original plot, per se, but an earnest sense of delight and joy in the telling of a tale. It concerns me less that a story might be standard if I am genuinely enjoying the journey. Brave begs the indulgence of the kid inside all of us, and does so without a shred of irony or cynicism. Here is a fable unhampered by the need to revise it into something darker, a lot to ask of a modern adult audience weaned on grit and grimness. Take it for what it is; a beautiful fairy tale with fairly unobtrusive contemporary touches.

Brave looks fantastic, in both senses of the word. Starting with the fake ‘helicopter’ shots of medieval Scotland at the film’s opening credits, it’s easy to tell we’re in good hands. Every detail of the backgrounds is textured with loving care, maintaining a tight stylization that never suffocates. The first look at concept art last year had made me skeptical, left wondering how a more realistic pass at facial features and materials would jive with the exaggerated proportions of the characters. Watching the models finally move, my fears were put to rest. The level of attention to each main figure is admirable, such as Queen Elinor’s subtle facial wrinkles, or the rough weave of cloth evident in close-ups. Merida’s iconic hair deserves special mention, being a bouncy mass of luminous, saturated yarn that practically needs its own render engine, and does not give a dirk about the laws of physics.

Hair like that needs to match its bearer, and Merida is a standout, memorable character. She’s strong, smart, and spunky, while obstinately remaining a teenager. Sometimes a petulant girl, sometimes a rebel defying her parents, she morphs into a mature young woman when the situation calls for her to take charge. It is notable that, in a plot bent on marrying her off for the sake of tradition, her prowess as a warrior is never once called into question. Not a single character ever second-guesses her physical abilities, or worries over risks taken specifically because she is female. Even when she announces that she’s scaled a massive cliff-face for fun, the reactions she receives are a mix of pride from her father, and a dismissive wave from a mother who wishes she would concentrate on her needlepoint.

I tend to avoid reading reviews until I get my own in the can. But I was surprised to hear from other friends in the media that Brave was getting mixed responses, and some harsh feedback. When I asked a fellow critic to clarify, he said that he found the negative responses on Brave to be less a notation of disappointment from viewers (as it had been on, say, Cars 2), and more of a brutal take-down. Why the ire, I wondered, from a normally forgiving audience that’s been overwhelmingly charmed by the studio in the past?

There are a lot of reasons this could be the case. Brave is both epic in landscape, and more intimate in number of locations, giving it a smaller feeling despite its sweeping vistas and many wide shots. The film’s centered around a family unit, but, unlike The Incredibles, one that isn’t equally involved in the action. Merida’s father, King Ferguson, is loving, but mostly there to produce laughs. The same is true of the occasionally useful, mostly comedic, slapstick antics of her triplet younger brothers. Could it be the repetitive, fairy-tale nature of the story, with its revisiting of landmarks, and rudimentary story structure? All of these are possible issues for audience members.

If I dared to posit a theory, I’d say that the hard detractions might be because Brave is about a princess. More than that, it is a about a princess and her mother, the queen. It is a movie that contains action, and magic, but one centered on the evolving relationship between two generations of women. Brave is loosely about family; it is really about mothers and daughters.

Brave deserves credit for not demonizing Queen Elinor. Instead, the film takes pains to show that both sides of the argument between her and Merida have some validity, just as both parties are blinded by the same stubbornness. Elinor is a well-rounded character that has hopes, a past, and dreams for the future. She speaks of being a young woman herself who was bound to marriage, and clearly feels a sense of duty, even when it’s superfluous. She’s not beyond reason, and is, surprise, surprise, won over fairly easily once things get rolling. In fact, the Queen’s steadfast insistence on Merida’s more ladylike studies is the one element out of sync here. No other characters seem to terribly mind Merida’s breaks with tradition. Their entire culture is presented as steeped in violence, song, and drinking. (One wonders what the Scottish viewers think.) What use did Elinor think Merida would have for embroidery in all this rollicking madness? Though it’s hinted at that war will break out if Merida doesn’t marry the son of one of the clan Lords, the film’s subsequent events make even that threat seem like an empty plot catalyst. It’s a piece that doesn’t fit, and one that could have been solved by having another speaking female part, or several, (besides the witch, who doesn’t hang around for long) just for contrast. But perhaps, with two lady leads, the story team already felt they were pushing things.

The attention given to, not the femininity, but the female gender as portrayed by the movie, is unavoidable in this case. Brave is not just a film with gendered characters, but a plot about the gender of its characters. It is, in its best moments, about complete, flawed women of different ages and mindsets, trying to meet each other in the middle. Neither is perfect, especially protagonist Merida, whose agency in the film is also the cause of all the havoc. Perhaps it is her flawed nature, her more realistic nature, so different from that of the typically poised and unchanging Disney archetypal princesses, that has lured the most negative criticism. I for one, am supremely glad that Merida doesn’t talk to songbirds, that she has a flaring temper, and that she has the capacity to realize when she’s messed up. That’s what equality really means; that female protagonists can make big mistakes, and seek redemption, just like their male counterparts.

The little sword-wielding girl I was would have been proud to dress as her for Halloween.

Zoe Chevat is a Contributing Editor for Animation World Network and VFXWorld, as well as a feminist pop culture commentator on various websites, including The Mary Sue and Anime News Network. She holds an MFA in Film and Animation from CalArts, where she was part of the Experimental Animation program. She lives and works in Los Angeles as both a writer and animator, and, as a relocated East Coaster, still finds the first part of this sentence to be unnerving.

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R7GVNIKWG3S2UTHEQOMSZXT4M4 Anna B

    It sounds like it’s living up to our expectations. Everything we wanted to see in Brave.

  • Tamora Pierce

    Thank you for the mention!  I’m looking forward to seeing this, now more than ever!

    Tam

  • http://maco.myopenid.com/ maco

    I blame your character Kel for getting me into archery (and your books in general for getting me into the SCA). Now we might see some little girls getting into it because of Merida.

  • http://skemono.blogspot.com/ Skemono

    So torn between wanting to attend the midnight premiere of Brave and the midnight premiere of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter…

  • http://twitter.com/loquaciousmuse All Things Fangirl

    I have a feeling that the debate surrounding this movie is gonna get strange and mildly nasty. But this is one of those rare situations where I actually don’t think gender bias plays a role. I love everything, am super forgiving, and have wanted to be a sword wielding princess my whole life myself! But Brave is a mess. It doesnt know what story it’s telling and almost feels lile three in one, it doesn’t allow you the time to truly invest in the relationship, it is cliche and overall, kind of boring with only a couple chuckles. And way too dark to even see the gorgeous animation. I was horrified. I wanted this movie to be amazing and prove that Pixar could do a female lead successfully, but it just seemed to me a massive storytelling failure.( I should note, i am not a fan od cars so i didn’t even bother seeing cars 2.) Despite all of that, I still cried at the end so felt enough of a sneak attack attachment for that to happen, but I really dont think the hate for this movie is coming from sexism or gender bias. I wanted it to be great but it was so all over the place. I hope folks can debate the merits of the film here and not simply brush off reactions as “you’re a girl so you liked it” or “you’re a boy so you didn’t like it” – im a girl! I didnt like it! But i did love her hair, the animation was unbelievable on hair and fur here! Silver lining?

  • http://twitter.com/amusedmuse Rachel

    I confess I only read the first half, because I fear spoilers so, but hearing it’s very good from a woman who was once a Tamora Pierce hooked little girl, as I was, is good enough for me!

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/5ZXIEGCAFZ4F7LBI6QTTN3YJCY Ashe

    A trend I’ve noticed in criticisms toward Brave tend to revolve around ‘it’s not Pixar’s finest’, ‘ew a princess!!!’, ‘it’s too scary for youngsters’, ‘feminist propaganda nooo’, ‘it’s good, not great’ and ‘well, it’s not THIS Pixar movie and it’s not THAT Pixar movie’. Always Up and Finding Nemo.

    While I’ve seen the occasional level-headed deconstruction of the plot or dissent over the evenness of the film’s tone, there’s way too much prejudice and fanboyism being lobbed back and forth under the guise of critique. And that’s great. On top of this thoughtful and spoiler-free review, I want to see it even more now.

  • http://twitter.com/allilevine allilevine

    My sister and I can’t wait to see Brave — we storyboarded our own Alanna trailer in desperation: https://vimeo.com/37870698

  • Anonymous

    Out of curiousity, why the jump to thinking other critics dislike the movie because the stars are female?

    Most of the detractors I’ve read were more films snobs. They seem to be disliking the slapstick humor and straightforward plot solely because this is Pixar and they demand more.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1232957605 Leah Nardo

    See, your wide range of female characters is the kind of bar most fantasy worlds *should* be aiming for.  Kel is the female protagonist I most identify with, as a fellow giant who lived in a tiny, stoic Oriental society.  You can always count on Tortall for lady fighters.  However, you also have the clever girls, like Aly and Beka.  The beauty is in the range of portrayal.

    Can’t wait to see Brave.  I have been squeeing about it for years.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Gorillazfan Emily Hill

    I want to see this with my niece so much

  • Zoe Chevat

    It’s not critics so much as it 

  • http://twitter.com/ChampagneThurs ChampagneThurs

    My out-laws are threatening to visit this weekend, even though my partner promised to take me to see Brave.  If they show up, I’m going without them!

  • Anonymous

     I have a hard time buying into that ire. It’s not like they mislead people before the movie by promoting her brothers as the lead. People know what they are in for. I also don’t really know anyone subconsciously hating Alien(s) because Sigourney Weaver is the hero.

    It feels like fearing and anticipating a gender argument is on the horizon. It might be something that the media picks up on because they need content to fill space. But I don’t think it’s there. Then again I could be wrong and people online are dicks. I’m holding out hope that humanity is better then that.

    I agree it is strange that the whole studio would be viewed in the same way as a single director. But I think it’s about the leadership of John Lasseter. In the same way Apple was lots of different products, but Steve Job’s was the one focusing them. I could see something similar happen is Joss Whedon’s Mutant Enemy keeps making movies. People would expect a certain quality from that as well.

    Sorry for the rambling. Like just to have the discussion sometimes.

  • Anonymous

    “One wonders what the Scottish viewers think”

    I’m betting…
    “It’s aboot time ye go’it right, jimmeh!”

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Charlotte-Varlet/1092450197 Charlotte Varlet

    You’re my idol. Would it be possible for me to contact you by email, or facebook, or something? I promise not to squee too much, but I’m a medievalist and a writer, too because of my exposure to your books, and I want to thank you!

  • Zoe Chevat

    I always hold out in the hope that humanity is better than that. :) Unfortunately, the internet doesn’t always live up to those expectations. (Civil) discussion? Always appreciated.

    As someone /in/ the media, I don’t think that we’re filling space by discussing something that is evidently an issue for some people. (As I am seeing more and more of this crop up as the week goes on.) I’d rather see responsible discussion, if only to say, “Hey, this shouldn’t still be an issue.”

  • mildred louis

    This is essentially where I stand with this movie. I haven’t seen it yet but you’ve pretty much confirmed a lot of my weariness towards it (in that the story in itself might not be as cohesive and streamlined as I would have hoped it to be). I have a feeling that the majority of any backlash this movie is getting isn’t directly connected to the female lead but the simple fact that it might not actually be as good as people hoped/expected. I personally feel like it’s easy to jump the gun about the negativity a movie like this could get and make correlations where there might not be any. I do plan on seeing this movie but I’m not holding my expectations particularly high on this one. I feel like this might be a big disappointment.

  • Anonymous

     Thankfully(?) the internet is rarely representative of the rest of the world. Or else Snakes on a Plane would have been the highest grossing film of all time.  :)

    I think there is definitely a place of the discussion in media. I more fear less responsible outlets leading with the headline “Did Brave’s Heroine Spell Doom for Pixar?” cause that’s pretty much baiting an uncivil discussion.

  • http://twitter.com/jenrubel Jen Rubel

    As a person who has spent most of my life wanting to be like Kel, this comment made me get far too excited.  I really hope Merida inspires girls as much as Alanna, Kel, and Daine inspired me and my friends.  

  • Zoe Chevat

    I may have choked on my coffee when I saw this. 

    No; Thank YOU for giving YA readers (and continuing to give them) flawed, fascinating, and heroic female characters to look up to, identify with, and inspire them to go on their own adventures. A mention is pretty much the smallest token I can give in return.

  • Anonymous

    Ever since I sent my mom a link to the Brave Mothers’ Day video last month, she has been looking forward to seeing the movie. We’re planning to see it together, I’ll be making a two hour drive to do it. After seeing this review, I’m more sure than ever it will be worth it. :~)

  • Anonymous

    It seems that a lot of the criticism has to do with the fact its a fairy tale and sticks to those tropes and cliches.  Even though part of the point of a fairy tale is to follow the formula.  Many critics automatically judge something as lacking if it isn’t original or unique, no matter the quality.  MovieBob actually did a video a few weeks ago about the subject that is way better than anything I could type.

  • Anonymous

     Oh my goodness it’s Tamora Pierce! /swoon

  • Life Lessons

    I can’t wait!

  • http://profiles.google.com/andreakhost Andrea Höst

    I thought it was a really enjoyable movie, but wobbled a bit in the story it was trying to tell, and problematically the society does not fit the central conflict.  No-one except the Queen seems to give a damn about Merida’s behaviour.

    If it was the King forcing the good behaviour/marriage and the mother struggling to protect her daughter by pushing her to comply, and if Merida had any female friends/rivals/anything to spark off except her mother…

    It became a story about Mum needing to lighten up, not the society’s expectations of girls.  Because only the Mum was shown to care.

  • Carmen Sandiego

    The negative reviews I read seem to think it’s a heavy-handed Obey Your Parents story.  I’m really hoping it’s not.

  • http://profiles.google.com/thegneech John Robey

    Well this review has made me a lot more interested in seeing it than I was. Thanks! I’ll definitely check it out.

  • http://www.facebook.com/katharine.tapley Katharine Ellis Tapley

    My three year old daughter is a fierce little thing with curly red hair. The first time she saw a “Brave” trailer, she turned to me and said “Is dat ME?”

    There’s her Halloween costume!

  • Lisa Wardle

    Brave was excellent in all of the ways that you described, Zoe, but I was expecting more grown-up comedy from a Pixar movie. Pixar usually mixes many kinds of humor into their movies, but the comedy in Brave seemed to revolve around juvenile humor and slapstick, leaving me with slightly less joy than I had gone in expecting.

  • Anonymous

    My fiance and I are seeing Brave together. It’s his present. :)

  • http://vita-ganieda.livejournal.com/ Ganieda

    Aww, I love the way you do her faaace. 

  • http://twitter.com/embiguous Emily O.

    I just got a chance to see this last night and w/o any spoilers, I will just say that it’s very different than what the trailers lead you to believe. I walked into it not knowing much about the story or plot and I’m glad I did. It was very enjoyable (and yes, I cried) and I especially thought they did a great developing the main characters. I definitely thought it had a lot of heart and emotions in the movie and I would still consider it a “pixar quality” movie in my eyes!

    http://www.thestylishgeek.com

  • Anonymous

    In late! But when I see articles like this one 
    http://www.thejanedough.com/lee-aronsohn-women-and-tv/ (while it may not be representative) it does make me concerned about critics judging the film because it’s female led too.

  • http://twitter.com/Chickfighter1 Molly Whipple

     I think that was my reaction as well, Andrea. While I found the movie enjoyable enough it just wasn’t quite up to my expectations which were admittedly very high. As you say the story seemed more about mom than Merida. To me there is something vaguely sexist about making the story center entirely around the whole forced marriage bit as if women can’t have other concerns. I guess I would have preferred seeing Merida save the clans from the bear, Mor’du, in some more standard adventure style manner with her physical skills and bravery, maturing as a person along the way. As for her archery the only thing she ever stopped with an arrow was a fish or two for mom to eat. But instead the movie is all about mom and her character development. Essentially in the end Merida is saved from Mor’du by her mother rather than vice versa. For me this symbolically undercuts the sense of empowerment I was hoping to see Merida experience despite any narration to the contrary at the conclusion. If this is a children’s movie then shouldn’t the girl, Merida, be the triumphant heroine?

  • http://twitter.com/DoctorOddfellow Doctor Oddfellow

    I really loved the mature angle this movie took. This is a film for teenagers and 20 year olds, not a film for kids. Kids won’t connect with the characters the way the teens will, but that’s ok. Its a refreshing change for once.

  • Adam R. Charpentier

    I saw Brave and liked it as much as every other Pixar (except Cars, Cars 2) film, as much as Tangled, and I don’t think it’s as far off the beaten path as the marketing has lead us to believe. We’ve basically seen half this story told before in the Gummi Bears cartoon –a princess rejecting the duties of her station in favor of adventure, excitement, and being able to move outside the strict confines of a corset– so, i’d be surprised if there’s much of a freakout. It has most of the standard fairytale tropes, fits the same plot line as several other animated films that Disney has made, albeit with the gender of the protagonist flipped, and wasn’t strictly more innovative than Tangled or the Princess and the Frog, but more like just about the same amount of innovation. In other words, I see it as a stepping stone a tier ahead of those that have come before it, in the right direction, but not strictly reaching the plateau. There’s still room for plenty more outside the box thinking and while the movie takes a few risks, it doesn’t burn the house down, which should probably have eased the migraines of Disney execs that green-lit it. In order words, while it takes place in a slightly more mature world that deals with sex and inequality, along the lines of a few other Pixar films that I remember, this is still a princess movie and they’ll be able to sell plenty of dolls…but, hopefully, they’ll also sell some bows too.

  • Jen Roberts

    After seeing it and thinking about it for a few hours…I dunno. I liked the characters, but it felt really short. I know, it’s a kid’s movie, etc. but I just didn’t really get that sense of being transported that I usually get with Pixar movies (Cars being the exception – and I didn’t bother with Cars 2). The film kinda felt like it was in a hurry to be somewhere else.

    I really liked Merida and her mother and the way their relationship was characterized. I just…guess I wanted more from it. I still like it, but it’s not my favorite Pixar movie by a long shot.

  • Anonymous

     O.M.G. Tamora Pierce posted on the Mary Sue about Brave. *DIES OF DELIGHT*  Pardon me while my internal self just babbles endlessly about the quartet, and you know, everything. *dies again*

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  • http://www.thedungeoncrawl.blogspot.com/ Sean Samonas

    There is a reason that none of the trailers gave you any information about the true plot of Brave.  Cause if they had it would have destroyed almost all the hype surrounding this movie.  Seriously, the entire point of this movie is “family is important”.

    My take on this movie is that the characters deserved a better plot then what was given them.  Going off of the trailers, my own assumptions about the plot of this movie was the following:

    Merida finds out about the competition for her hand.  Unhappy about this, she secretly enters the competition and does the whole bow shooting thing which pisses off all the other clans and almost starts a war.

    Her mother, in an attempt to appease the other clans, says that Merida will marry the guy who made the best shot.  This appeases the clan that wins, but the others cry out for a new competition.  Some wise old druid speaks up and says that tradition says that Merida can choose her own fate if she can hunt and kill the demon bear in the woods.  If she comes back without it, or dies in the attempt, her clan looses the crown and a new king will be chosen.

    Instead we got a very poorly written story that barely has any depth or grandeur to it.  And really that was what was missing the most from this movie.  Any sense of size to it.  It was a small movie for large characters.  Pixar, for whatever reason, completely dropped the ball on this and made a simply good Dreamworks movie.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=507060871 Kristy Rochelle Kalin

    Oh my God. 

    Congrats Zoe.

  • laura henry

    I mostly enjoyed this movie but would have enjoyed it more, way more, if Merida hadn’t cried stormily like 4 times and if the mother wasn’t portrayed as a stereotypical nagging fishwife. I agree with the commenters that said it ended up being a movie more about the mother and that the plot was a bit all over the place.  

    you know the critiques of the Thomas the train franchise? the trains are total assholes for 20 minutes and then learn a lesson and are nice for only 5 minutes. kids mostly take away the asshole behavior.

    I felt similarly about this film. She spends most of the film acting from panic and desperation and is rescued from the bear by her mother THREE times. I would rather see a plot where somewhere in the middle of the movie she gains her confidence and strength and learns to act on it. I mean, up until the very end of the movie she is still unsure if her solution to fixing her mother will work.

    They tried. i think they tried really hard but still somehow it fell flat for me.
     it’s a step in the right direction for sure though.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sgraffwriter Stephen Graff

    Zoe: I couldn’t agree more with your review.  I think, though, that the backlash against Pixar and BRAVE has more to do with lack of irony in the film–a point that you made–and its traditionalist bent (sticking with the basic fairy tale arc).  Critics expect a certain kind of film from Pixar. And I’ve like many of Pixar’s so-called classics, but they all have flaws.  The middle 40 minutes of UP was a tired action/adventure plot, in my opinion.  BRAVE holds up very well when compared to other more mythic animated features like HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and some of the Disney classics.  It’s a much better movie than the somewhat similar TANGLED.  

  • http://twitter.com/Steambrew Bruce Townley

    Kate Beaton’s take on Merida:  http://twitpic.com/a1i0h3

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