Pixar's Brave - Part II

KACENAID · Post by **KACENAID** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:39 am

I went this afternoon at a theater that was more packed than usual. I thought it was pretty good, I can hear what other people are saying as stated above, but I found it to be enjoyable. Not Pixar's best, but certainly not towards the bottom of the pack either. La Luna was great, I just wish the toddler behind me wasn't making so much noise during it.

Maerj · Post by **Maerj** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:25 am

Kyle wrote:
Maerj wrote:Is it worth seeing in 3D?
I want to preface this by saying I like 3D and dont think of it as just a gimmik, it can add to a film. That said, I felt similar coming out of this one as I did during How to train your Dragon. While there are some parts that use it to great effect the color pallet of this movie is simply too dark to warrant the compromise of tinted glasses. This one is probably better seen in 2D so you can get the most detail out of the darker parts of the film, because there's a lot of that.

Okay. thank you. I may just see it in 2D then.

SWillie! · Post by **SWillie!** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:55 am

I agree about the 3D. It was good in some parts, but for the most part very subtle and doesn't add a whole lot.

La Luna, on the other hand, is great in 3D.

Patrick · Post by **Patrick** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:18 am

I'm really annoyed with the number of reviews that criticize the film based on its advertising or Pixars previous films. Just because Toy Story was an amazing solid movie doesn't mean Brave is a let down. Just because it was advertised as being more of an action film doesn't mean that the emotion felt between Merida and her mother is any less endearing.

Poody · Post by **Poody** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:54 am

I quite enjoyed it. In my opinion, it was much better than most of the other Pixar films.

Tristy · Post by **Tristy** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 10:16 am

I saw it yesterday and I thought it was pretty good. Was it the epic the teaser made it out to be? No. Does it feel like a Pixar film? No. But for those complaining about the simplicity or how small it feels, I'm going to rush to the movie's defense here. Brenda Chapman has said that she was inspired by the tales of Hans Christian Anderson (I think we can guess which one) and those stories along with the tales of the Brothers Grimm have all been noted for their simplicity and not being exactly vast and sprawling. Anyone else notice that the events that happen in the fairy tales take place pretty much within one area? Happens in Disney films based on fairy tales as well. The dwarfs' cottage is slightly close to the queen's castle, most of Cinderella's story takes place within her house. Aladdin's tale was pretty much in one solid area (The farthest they got was the Ends of the Earth but that was brief.) So I don't think that's really a disadvantage to the movie as it's more about the falling out and reconciliation between mother and daughter. Though I do agree they should have made the reconciliation a bit longer instead of just the one scene but oh well. The humor wasn't as terrible as the trailers made it out to be. Most of it was there to serve the story. The only time when it didn't really work was the Witch's answering machine cauldron. It kind of felt out of place with the rest of the movie (though I did find the Wicker Man reference pretty funny.)

All in all a good effort. It's not the greatest but i don't think it was striving to be that. On a side note, the first GOOD animated feature that Patrick Doyle worked on.

Oh and stay after the end credits! There is a really funny scene.

jediliz · Post by **jediliz** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:41 pm

I wasn't going to see this (the scene where there's obviously a man mooning someone else is a HUGE turn off...saw it in the previews) but I am giving it a chance and probably going to take two nieces, 8 and 10, to see it next week...maybe thursday.

sunhuntin · Post by **sunhuntin** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 3:06 pm

was thinking about this film last night and suddenly realised the difference between this and about every other pixar and even disney film... theres no obvious "bad guy". even mordu cant be considered a villain; had merida not fallen through the roof, he might have stayed there for another 100 years.
it feels more in vein with studio ghibli as theres very few villains in those films as well.
the only film i can compare with from pixar is finding nemo. they encounter danger, but theres no villain who deliberately set out to make their life harder or cause trouble.

Maerj · Post by **Maerj** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 4:43 pm

I really enjoyed this film, glad that I went to see it. Am I going to compare it to other Pixar or Disney films? No. Why should I??

Some may say 'Well Pixar made it, so you should compare it to the others!'

Okay, the same studio made it. It is different than the other films. So what? Drop your expectations and take this film, this story, on its own merit.

'But wait!' you say. "It has a Princess in it! Doesn't Disney do Princess movies? This is more like a Disney movie!'

Yes, Disney does make Princess movies and stories. But they do other stories as well. also, Brave isn't like a traditional Princess story. If anything, you could call it a Pixar version of a Princess story.

****** minor******SPOILER ALERT!!!*****************************************
Hidden below!

Very minor spoilers but you should see this movie as fresh as possible.
But really its a relationship movie. Between a mother and a daughter. Some will compare it to Freaky Friday or say it has elements of Brother Bear. Yes, it has some of the elements from those but its a great movie in its own right. It has warmth and humor and mystery and adventure. You can feel the Ghibli influence, which isn't a bad thing.

So if you haven't seen it, why not go? Its a great movie!

Semaj · Post by **Semaj** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:31 pm

My girlfriend and I caught Brave yesterday at the local drive-in, where dozens of families brought their kids to see. (And I swear one man there must've been cosplaying, because he was wearing a kilt.)

The film wasn't a knock-out like Pixar's best films (Wall-E, Ratatouille among others), but they did bring an interesting spin to the princess story, a genre that Disney once held a "secret" to. As a slight spoiler, there is no token prince. Merida doesn't get married off, and is not even interested in romance like Disney's famed princesses.
Merida may remind some of any given princess, but she sorta reminded me of Jasmine. Jasmine also had a hang-up about royal etiquette, but unlike her, Merida actually does something when she runs away, since again, no token prince.

One thing I will say about Pixar's bears is that they know how to make theirs look dark and dangerous, as opposed to Disney's (usually) cute and cuddly. And this is not just a 2D/3D thing.

Also, does anyone remember why the title was changed to "Brave"? It's just me, but the film didn't waste much time establishing Merida's bravery in breaking tradition; it already seemed to be established from the beginning.

It seems like there was some healing behind the directorial change, since this is still technically Brenda Chapman's story. She faired better than Chris Sanders did on American Dog.

Overall, very good movie. Not Pixar's best, but steps above Cars 2.

8.0/10

The only real problem I had was the kilt gags. Is it possible for movies or TV shows to have men wear kilts WITHOUT mooning someone?

SillySymphony · Post by **SillySymphony** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:47 pm

**Warning: First ramblings might make no sense whatsoever.**

Hit the 3D midnight showing with my sister. There was a reasonable amount of people, mostly college age, but there were a handful of kids.

I want to say up front if you have the choice between 3D, I highly recommend against it. The movie has very subtle tones and lighting. With 3D glasses it just looks too dark. One reason why I didn't enjoy the film as much as I could have was because darker images made it hard to see the details of the woods or the ruins. I also think that the 3D for this film was pretty weak, although it did work well for the other movie trailers and La Luna.

Before seeing Brave I had watched more trailers, sneak peaks and known more spoilers than both The Princess and the Frog and Tangled combined. I knew the gist of the storyline from start to finish and for me it hurt my viewing enjoyment. The whole time I was also comparing the movie to lots of other movies, which I admit wasn't entirely fair, but the film in my eyes touches many nuances of past Disney features. I wanted Brave to travel far off path into un-adventured territory and I let myself down, knowing well beforehand that it wasn't going to happen.

Like other letdowns I'm going to be stuck for a while on "what it could have been" instead of appreciating "what it is." Example: The slapstick bits. I did like the comedy, but I keep egging myself on by thinking it would have been better with more serious or epic scenes. I don't know that and it'll just haunt me if I dwell on that.

What bugs me the most is the last few sequences. There needed to be a stronger scene that showed that the characters' hearts had changed, otherwise everything looks like it went back to how things were. And I knew this wouldn't happen, but I wanted Merida to free Mordu somehow, as in change him back to human, not have someone kill him. I personally would have enjoyed a Merida/Mordu storyline more, but then I'd probably be one of those griping about how similar it was to Beauty and the Beast.

I will be seeing it again, mainly because of La Luna. Such a sweet, gentle short. Oddly it made me want to go play Mario Galaxy.
Rating (Brave+La Luna): ✰✰✰✰

Disney's Divinity · Post by **Disney's Divinity** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:53 pm

Semaj wrote:One thing I will say about Pixar's bears is that they know how to make theirs look dark and dangerous, as opposed to Disney's (usually) cute and cuddly. And this is not just a 2D/3D thing.

Disney knows how to, if The Fox and the Hound is any indication. But I don't think they wanted Baloo or the cast of Brother Bear to look dangerous, so that's probably why they don't.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:13 pm

Semaj wrote:It seems like there was some healing behind the directorial change, since this is still technically Brenda Chapman's story. She faired better than Chris Sanders did on American Dog.

Based on what exactly? They were contractually obligated to give her credit. The end result wasn't hers.

Semaj · Post by **Semaj** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:57 pm

Kyle wrote:
Semaj wrote:It seems like there was some healing behind the directorial change, since this is still technically Brenda Chapman's story. She faired better than Chris Sanders did on American Dog.
Based on what exactly? They were contractually obligated to give her credit. The end result wasn't hers.

The movie retains her characters and setting choice. American Dog erased all except the basic structure of Sanders' trace on the film.

DisneyFan09 · Post by **DisneyFan09** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:27 am

Overall, very good movie. Not Pixar's best, but steps above Cars 2.

Don't take this personally, but I'm tired of people constantly bashing Cars 2. I know that everyone are allowed to entitle their opinion, but the constant bashing of Cars 2 is becoming really boring and tiresome. While Cars 2 was far from perfect, I genuinly enjoyed it and I thought it has gotten more hatred than it actually deserves.

estefan · Post by **estefan** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:26 am

I think a large part of the criticism towards it seems to be that the story is rather simple. But, in my mind, just because a story is simple, doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I thought it being simple was part of its fairy tale charm and didn't detract from the film at all.

qindarka · Post by **qindarka** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:27 am

DisneyFan09 wrote:
Overall, very good movie. Not Pixar's best, but steps above Cars 2.
Don't take this personally, but I'm tired of people constantly bashing Cars 2. I know that everyone are allowed to entitle their opinion, but the constant bashing of Cars 2 is becoming really boring and tiresome. While Cars 2 was far from perfect, I genuinly enjoyed it and I thought it has gotten more hatred than it actually deserves.

Agreed. It may not have much depth and the final act is poor but it is very entertaining. I sometimes get the impression that many who bash Cars 2 (not necessarily on this site) have not even watched it and are just basing it on the reviews.

DisneyFan09 · Post by **DisneyFan09** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:41 am

qindarka wrote:
DisneyFan09 wrote: Don't take this personally, but I'm tired of people constantly bashing Cars 2. I know that everyone are allowed to entitle their opinion, but the constant bashing of Cars 2 is becoming really boring and tiresome. While Cars 2 was far from perfect, I genuinly enjoyed it and I thought it has gotten more hatred than it actually deserves.
Agreed. It may not have much depth and the final act is poor but it is very entertaining. I sometimes get the impression that many who bash Cars 2 (not necessarily on this site) have not even watched it and are just basing it on the reviews.

Thanks. I'm sorry if I seemed like a bitch, but I'm tired of Cars 2 haters.

Maerj · Post by **Maerj** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:43 am

estefan wrote:I think a large part of the criticism towards it seems to be that the story is rather simple. But, in my mind, just because a story is simple, doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I thought it being simple was part of its fairy tale charm and didn't detract from the film at all.

I think that you're right but what people forget is how much they loved Finding Nemo. And look at that story. Guy searches for his son. That's it...basically that is the plot. That's as simple as it gets. Yet no one seemed to have a problem with that.

DisneyFan09 · Post by **DisneyFan09** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:53 am

Maerj wrote:
estefan wrote:I think a large part of the criticism towards it seems to be that the story is rather simple. But, in my mind, just because a story is simple, doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I thought it being simple was part of its fairy tale charm and didn't detract from the film at all.
I think that you're right but what people forget is how much they loved Finding Nemo. And look at that story. Guy searches for his son. That's it...basically that is the plot. That's as simple as it gets. Yet no one seemed to have a problem with that.

My problem with Brave isn't its simplicity, but how the story was executed. And it was very poorly executed and poorly written. I'm sorry, but that's how I see it.

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Pixar's Brave - Part II