when the trailer for brave came out
nobody knew what to think of it it was
mostly shadowed in secrecy but that just
made us all the more intrigued it didn't
look like anything that Pixar had done
before the tone looked different the
environment looked different the designs
look different it looks like something
almost out of the Miyazaki film so
naturally a lot of audiences got excited
and as more trailers came out we got
less and less information about what the
film was actually about all we knew is
they had elements of the mystical and
fantasy and legend and lore and Wow this
looks really fascinating so what did
everybody think of the film when it
finally premiered and what did I think
of the film when it finally premiered mm
ish I think I'm a little bit more
optimistic about the stuff that's good
in it but yeah there's a lot of stuff
that seems really rushed and kind of
cluttered and I heard the film went
through like a lot of directors and
writers and tossed from person to person
and the kind of shows and doesn't mean
it's not worth checking out
not necessarily ie let's look at the
story alright so the story that looks so
different and new is about a princess
gee haven't seen that from Disney yet
but this particular one doesn't want to
be a princess gee haven't seen that from
Disney yet but she's adventurous and
free-spirited she haven't seen that from
Disney before she has to be forced to
marry somebody she haven't seen dirt
Thunder oh and the mother turns into a
bear oh for god sake that whoa wasn't
even a hat why are you ripping off stuff
you already know failed then perhaps I'm
rushing in a bit okay the slower version
there's a princess in Scotland who
doesn't get along very well with her
mother where at least she used to until
she turned into a teenager and decided
that she wants to do things her way and
not her mother's way her father who's a
bit of a likable barbarian could really
care less but her mother believes in the
old traditions and holds them very close
to her heart just as much as her mother
did so it's not really the case of just
evil parent as much as extreme
misunderstandings the princess of course
doesn't want to follow her mother's path
and wants to be allowed to choose who
she wants to marry
so she comes across a witch in the woods
who tells her that she can get her away
if she has her mother eat a certain
magical dish she tricks the mother into
trying it and what do you know she turns
into a bear they tried to have the which
change her back but sadly she has
disappeared and is nowhere to be found
so it's up to the daughter and the
mother to figure out exactly what they
had to do in order to get her back to
normal the marketing also shows our main
character constantly holding a bow and
arrow like she's adventurous and she
gets stuff done a real badass that is
not the case well I certainly wouldn't
describe her as weak she still doesn't
do anything particularly different or
really that kick-ass ish she's just sort
of nice but rebellious complains but
wants to do things right honestly just
like every other Disney Princess aside
from her design which is a very cool
design there's not a whole lot to her at
least not as much as the marketing was
leading on now in this movie's favor I
do give a credit for tackling a
relationship you don't see much in
Disney films or even in fairy tales for
that matter the mother-daughter
relationship it's usually the daughter
father or sister brother brother brother
sister sister bottom line the mothers
usually dead I'm not sure why there's
not a lot of mother-daughter
relationships out there do they just
assume mothers and daughters always get
along and there's no conflict well this
one does address it but the downside is
that through a lot of the film just like
with everything else it does seem kind
of rushed and half-assed at times for
example there's a scene where she goes
riding out on a horse and enjoys the
landscapes of Scotland now this could
have been a very large beautiful scene
but instead it's chopped together so
quickly that you barely even remember
what you just saw why couldn't the film
go a little slower create a little bit
more atmosphere or mysticism to it the
same thing can be said about the witch
why couldn't they create a really
inventive witch like you see these
sprites earlier that was great that was
going in the right direction but the
witch is definitely sort of a modern-day
witch again with the fast editing and a
lot of in jokes and a lot of modern-day
references even when I start telling
some of the legends I mean that should
be really fascinating but again it's
almost like the film is on fast-forward
it just goes by too quick
there's actually a short on the DVD that
goes much more into detail about one of
the legends they tell and the rest of
the movie was like this I think we would
have had a pretty damn good film in the
stuff they do focus on is stuff that
we've seen a million times before the
complaining princess the parent that
doesn't want to listen the prejudices of
the world bla bla bla bla bla
so yeah this films a complete
forgettable dud right well I was
thinking so at first until we got to the
last third this is where I thought the
film really starts to stand out there's
a twist they if they don't get the
mother back to human not only she gonna
stay a bear but her mind is gonna become
more of a predator so there's a constant
battle between keeping her humanity and
giving in to her inner carnivore but on
top of that the resolution of the film I
actually think is very clever
usually films like this always have the
same climax the prison who's taught to
be peaceful and polite ultimately at the
end has to use violence to get what the
person wants then they're done that but
this film creates a little bit more of a
mixture without getting too much away
it's not just the violence that wins the
day in fact the action prone princess
actually has to use a diplomatic way
using peace and logic to calm everybody
down
and the mother prone to peace and logic
has to use force and wit in order for
her to survive now that works out well
because it shows that there is time to
use the peaceful route and there is time
to take action and both sides of the
extreme have to use the other side in
order to survive I also like the fact
that you're kind of waiting for her to
see the one thing in one of the suitors
that's gonna win her over and yeah
that'll be the perfect match but no in
the end it's still decided she'll marry
when she's ready and who she wants to
marry if she marries at all I thought
that was good stuff that they touched
upon without having to rub it too much
in your face but the downside is you do
have to get through two-thirds of a
movie constantly rubbing everything else
in your face well it's not the worst it
just sort of seems like everyone's
trying to tell their own side of the
story in their own particular way and it
just comes out as a bit of a mess
some jokes work some characters are
memorable some of the shots of Scotland
are incredibly pretty to look at but I
think the film just needed more focus if
they took out some of the stuff we've
seen before and instead replace
with maybe just taking those few
elements that work really well and
expanding on them I think we would have
had a more decent film but for what it
is it's not horrible I dare even say
it's not even really that bad I think
getting to the third is worth it it's
just sort of sitting for a lot of
mediocrity in order to get there and the
stuff that does different I think
actually does deserve more credit than
it gets I'm glad I saw it I don't think
I see it again but I think it's worth at
least once it