Brave (2012) - 8 stars out of 10

Brave (2012) - 8 stars out of 10
700th Review

"Brave" is not your average Pixar film.  It has the breath-taking visual animation that you would expect and incredible voice acting, but it is much darker than previous Pixar films.  This is the company's first telling of a fairy tale and it is easy to see that they chose to tell it in the style of Hans Christian Anderson instead of taking a light-hearted approach.  While the story is interesting, this is not a ground-breaking Pixar film like "Toy Story" or "Finding Nemo."  As far as the Disney canon is concerned, I don't even like it as much as "Tangled" (it's computer-animated Princess equivalent).  And yet, there is something special about "Brave" that sets it apart from other films, and it is simply its originality.  Despite the obvious parallel to "Brother Bear," this film uses a unique Scottish setting, a great musical score to match, a kick-butt heroine (contrasted by some anti-prince-charmings), and a focus on the mother-daughter relationship that we don't often see in animated films.  The script does an amazing job of building tension between the two from the very start (without us really noticing) so that when they have their big fight, neither party seems guilty and all actions seem reasonable.  They then use the repercussions of that fight to create an overwhelming amount of empathy for the characters.  The audience's emotional progression is very methodical by the writers and so effective that you are bound to cry at one of two scenes (or probably at both...)  Interestingly, I was disappointed with this story 45 minutes into the movie and never predicted that I would feel any attachment to these characters, and definitely did not see myself crying at the climax of the film.  The use of comedy in the script is also different than your typical Disney film.  Most Disney animated features are comedies with several dramatic moments that build suspense and emotion, but this film is definitely not a comedy.  Instead, I would classify this film as a drama that uses several humorous moments to break the tension before returning to its dramatic focus.  As always, the animation is impeccable, particularly the stunningly detailed Scottish setting, the slow-motion shooting of arrows, and Merida's curly red hair.  Even though the characters aren't the most memorable (I can't really even tell you the names of the majority of them), they are just really cool and fun to watch on screen.  Kids will enjoy the jokes and the three little brothers, adults will enjoy the character development and mother-daughter themes, and the whole family is sure to love this tale-as-old-as-time that has now been told for the first time, "Brave."