When it comes to 3D animation, there are no safer hands than Pixar, and I use the word ‘safe’ because Brave, the studio’s new feature film is solid by anyone’s standards but maybe not quite exceptional by theirs.
In the medieval highlands of Scotland, Merida (Kelly Macdonald) – princess of the area’s ruling clan – finds herself betrothed to one of three young suitors. This set of affairs doesn’t chime well with the fiery young tomboy, who would rather gallop through the forest shooting arrows at things than be tied down to a husband and tied in to tight royal clothes. Her mother Queen Eleanor (Emma Thompson) isn’t at all patient with this attitude and finds her daughter’s disregard for the traditions of the clan incomprehensible. Meanwhile, King Fergus (Billy Connolly) appears to empathise with both Merida and the Queen but would of course rather be either regaling other clans with tales of fighting ferocious bears or else actually fighting ferocious bears.
First off, as expected, the animation is just brilliant – as usual. The exposition shots high above landscapes are rich and inviting. Perhaps the Scottish Tourist Board should look into buying the rights for a 5-second clip as nothing could make the highlands look more appealing. The other standout animation highlight is Merida’s curly red hair, each strand of which seems to have been worked on by its own personal artist.
The casting is equally strong and full of genuine Scots thank God. Kelly Macdonald is a perfect choice for Merida with the light voice and clear enunciation required for the lead in a children’s film. Good to hear her back in her native dialect too after recent turns in Harry Potter 7B (as a posh English ghost) and No Country For Old Men (as a stoic Texan).
For me, what gives a Pixar film the potential to push for something really special is its range of characters. Brave has three clear leads and the conflict between the main two especially does thejob of giving the film its narrative:
- Merida – Strong-willed, defiant, stubborn, childish, idealist.
- Queen – the archetypal ‘strict mother’ who wants to mould Merida in her image and extinguish her childish whims. Both are a little one-dimensional but the story needs that to push on.
I’m not sure whether the wrong vs. right story is too straightforward to allow for more layers or whether the writing is just not quite up to scratch but neither of these characters get close to striking the rich nuance that Pixar productions like Shrek and Toy Story emit effortlessly. It is actually Billy Connolly’s peripheral King Fergus who comes closest to matching this. A good patriarch, strong and protective, he is a little oblivious to domestic matters but does his manly best to comprehend the female conflict going on around him while not pretending to grasp it fully. He is oddly the most well rounded character of the film.
The rest of the cast members suffer a little from being handled more as agents of slapstick humour than anything else. Which is fine and funny – just not tapping into Pixar’s proven track record of making audiences really care for each and every character.
In fact, what helps layer characters up into believable shapes in films like Shrek is comedy – especially humour in the shape of verbal quips and jokes. Brave doesn’t deliver in this department; its makers seem to have over-worried about wordy humour going over children’s heads. It needn’t have done. While there was plenty of giggling from little people going on in the cinema during the film, I like to hope that the under-10s present felt slightly patronised by Brave’s over-reliance on characters falling over for laughs. But who really knows?
On the female empowerment thing: This is yet another film that reckons its boyish heroine (who doesn’t rely on men for anything and won’t be told what to do by them either) makes it a champion of feminism (although don’t say the word out loud). Snow White and the Huntsman tried a similar tact. I suppose both films have their hearts heading towards a good place, it would just be nice to see a female-character-driven movie that doesn’t propagate the idea that women can only be strong by doing what men do to look strong.
Like a few others from Pixar, Brave features a short animation before the main feature begins. Lasting just under 7 minutes, La Luna is the story of a boy who is introduced, by his father and grandpa, to the unusual family business of giving the moon its phases. It is very impressive, especially as all communication is non-verbal; animation is now so advanced that complex messages can be passed between characters through gesture alone. This effectively makes La Luna a silent film. I would be really keen to see Pixar produce a full-length film that takes advantage of this dialogue-less route; it could be fantastic.
Overall, Brave is fun and perfectly fine. It lacks the extra-specialness of its studio’s predecessors but it’s worth a watch. I’m done.
Jon Bates Writes 