11/18/2023 0 Comments Brave movieSet in the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland, Disney-Pixar’s “Brave” follows the heroic journey of Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald), a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Big Brother has been getting more excited about the film too, especially after meeting Merida at Disneyland Resort last week! And, about 10 years ago, while studying abroad at Oxford, one of my best friend’s and I traveled up to Scotland for a few days–even doing a “William Wallace” tour around the country! It was fabulous–I love the history, the views, the accents )!! So, I’ve been excited to see this one. For many years, “Braveheart” was one of my favorite movies. Nevertheless, the film should be given a second chance to shine - as a princess movie, Brave is severely underappreciated.Ever since first hearing that Disney-Pixar was making a movie with a female heroine (it’s first by the way) set in ancient Scotland, I’ve been intrigued. Much like Merida herself, Brave has flaws. Its positive qualities are often overlooked, despite Merida and Elinor’s story being unique, interesting, and heartwarming. While Brave is far from a perfect movie, it is certainly worth a watch. Such a dark possibility is rarely seen in Disney princess movies. One of the most tense moments of the film comes when King Fergus attempts to kill what he thinks is a demon bear who killed his wife, not knowing that he comes within inches of killing Elinor himself. There are still demon bears to fight, mysteries to unravel, and clans to satisfy. Just because repairing the familial bond between mother and daughter is a given, that doesn’t mean the tension is low. When a viewer can tell where the story is headed, it’s still possible to be intrigued with how the characters will eventually get to the end. When all is said and done, telling a story that is predictable isn’t always a negative thing. Being magically turned into a bear caused Elinor to become trapped in a situation that, for once, she had no control over therefore, she had to trust Merida to help her, a decision that, while forced upon her, did help her to grow as a person. RELATED: Every Pixar Movie Ranked from Worst to BestĮlinor herself learns to get back in touch with her wild and free side by taking the time to understand Merida’s viewpoint. It’s clear that even though Merida never appreciated her mother’s ability to take charge of a situation and act as the only responsible and reasonable voice in the room, she still learned from Elinor’s poise. Throughout the course of the story, Merida learns the benefits of being calm and assuming responsibility, and she demonstrates this new skill by mediating an argument between her suitors’ clans. Her wild spirit and strong desire to take charge of her own life set her apart from many other Disney princesses, even though these same positive traits can become negative. This scene makes their central conflict crystal clear.ĭespite her flaws, Merida is still a fun protagonist to follow. As the scene plays out, the cuts between locations and characters become more frequent and quicker, eventually leading into a two-sided discussion, though neither Merida nor Elinor are able to hear the other side of the argument. As Merida complains to her horse that her mother won’t listen, Elinor complains to her husband Fergus about the same issue involving Merida. This strong point of the central conflict, Merida and Elinor’s misunderstandings of each other, is expertly displayed using a scene that goes back and forth between two conversations. ![]() Merida and Elinor begin the story unable to listen to or understand each other the mother-daughter relationship is messy and lacks effective communication. ![]() The story centers on familial tensions instead of romantic ones, a welcome change from the classic princess formula. In stark contrast to the classic but unfortunate Disney trope, Brave’s more modern story not only allows Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) to have a relationship with her mother, Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), but also centers the conflict of the plot on their struggle to understand each other.
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