Brave

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

All her life, Merida has been groomed by her mother to be a fine young lady eligible to marry one of the princes of three other rivaling clans, all this in order to sustain peace in their realm. Taking more after her father, Merida is more interested in archery and maintaining her freedom rather than marriage. In an act of defiance, she bends the kingdom’s rules and joins the contest to win her own freedom against the three princes in contention for her hand. When this countermeasure fails, she is led to a witch whom she convinces to cast a spell to change her mother’s mind, which ends up with dire consequences that would test their bond as mother and daughter.

Perhaps the puzzling thing is why the marketing slant seemed to highlight the tomboyish twist, when the theme more prevalent throughout the movie is the endearing relationship between the mother and daughter tandem. Perhaps Pixar was trying to woo the male crowd which would rather skip this film if they knew that the story would be more like a mother and daughter bonding chick flick. What offsets this though is the presence of action scenes that are just enough to keep you entertained regardless of your gender. In the end, Merida is still your archetypal rebelling princess given some fiery curls and an Irish brogue for a change. Oh, and a bow and arrow too. At least she is not a damsel in distress.

The movie is fun to watch because despite the silliness evident all over the place, everyone is just so adorable that you end up rooting for them and loving them anyway, from Merida’s father all the way down to those mischievous triplets. In spite of the seemingly ridiculous turns in the story, the consequential air of annoyance that would just be logical is replaced with never ending cuteness that just makes you smile. Yes, it is that visually appealing. It is because of this that the movie seems to cater more to the younger generation rather than the old.

Unlike Up or some other Pixar movies that make you reflect on some relevant issues in life simmering underneath all the CGI, Brave is more like a family affair that one would see because you want to entertain the kids whilst teaching them an important lesson. As already mentioned, it is a perfect movie for mothers and daughters out there who currently have issues. Maybe this movie could help. It seems more like a Disney princess movie rather than a Pixar film which lets adults enjoy the beauty of the message with all due subtlety. Here, everything is made obvious from the very start, and you do not have to be Einstein to see how everything eventually falls into place.