Brave Review: Falls Just Short of Masterpiece

Screw it; I’m doing a Brave review. Gary is our movie reviewer, but worst case scenario, you’ll get two Brave reviews here on At The Buzzer. And better yet, they will no doubt be dissenting.

I barely went to go see Brave. It took a fun group of people and the promise of nachos with six sides of jalepenos to get me out the door. Pixar is normally very solid, but the film opened to tepid reviews, and the trailers failed to capture my attention. Yeah, we get it; the red headed protragonist, Merida, is stifled song bird who just wants to fly. And sing. My own metaphor confused me. If you think the base plot sounds strangely similar to Disney’s recent work, Tangled, you’re not wrong.

However, as the film began to pick up, I realized that I was slowly yet surely buying into everything happening on screen. This is due to three aspects of Brave that are done very well.

Brave Triumphs

Animation

It seems like every new Pixar release ups the quality of animation, and Brave is no exception. This film is absolutely gorgeous. The Scottish-inspired setting allows for some breathtaking backdrops, and the texture and flow to Merida’s hair will leave you wondering how they managed to make it so lifelike (hint: it wasn’t easy). The film is just a wonder to look at, and worth the price of admission alone.

Humor

One common complaint directed at Brave is that it’s comedy is slap-stick…to which I respond since when is that a problem? Since when are we as audiences too sophisticated to laugh at physical comedy? Correct me if I’m wrong, but Looney Tunes built an empire off this sort of stuff, and it’s nice to see a throwback to these animated hijinx of old. In my opinion, it’s just another piece of evidence in the argument that modern day reviewers are too pompous and out of touch for their own good, but that’s an argument for another day.

Rest assured, there is plenty of wit and charm to go around that supplement the physical humor you’ll find. Without giving too much away, Merida finds herself journeying with a bear, and the animations and physicality they use to sell this bear are hilarious. I can safely say Brave is one of the funnier Pixar films released, but I’ll leave the final verdict up to you.

Characterization

Watching the trailers, you think you’ll know exactly where Brave is headed. Turns out, you sort of do. But it’s the way the characters evolve and change over the course of the film that will really take you by surprise. The film establishes and defines the flaws and strengths of their great cast of characters in the beginning, providing an anchor for the audience to make an emotional investment. From there, it’s a joy to watch them interact and grow together. Like most Pixar offerings, there is an impressive amount of heart and tenderness in Brave, and they really sell a relationship that you don’t often see tackled in this light in animation, especially in princess movies. If you don’t find yourself moved by the climax in Brave, you have no soul….I’m sorry, that was harsh.

All these positives aren’t to say the film doesn’t have its issues. Pixar has made it clear this is their first interpretation of a “princess” film, and the idea that this film is experimental is written all over it. For the most part, it succeeds, but the musical choices feel strange as often as they do inspired, and the pacing in the first half feels off, especially when whole, major scenes were already spoiled in the trailers. Furthermore, the plot is extremely generic, and serves simply as a vehicle to place their characters in situations where they can interact in dynamic ways. For characterization, it worked, but this comes at the cost of the story feeling like an afterthought, where it’s clear they want to get from point A to point B without much forethought or consistency. Disappointing from a Pixar film, but when the characters are so strong, it’s hard to complain.

Review recap

Do me a favor; don’t listen to the critics, and see Brave with the right expectations. It’s not the most ambitious Pixar flick ever made, and it fails to push any sort of envelope like The Incredibles and Walle so expertly did, but it’s definitely in the upper tier of Pixar films, and I would argue it’s one of the more enjoyable.

Since I don’t know how to do Gary’s fancy star scale, I give Brave a 4 out of 5 kitty faces.