Brave (2012 film)
Brave is a 2012 American animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman (in the former's feature directorial debut), co-directed by Steve Purcell, and produced by Katherine Sarafian, with John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter serving as executive producers. The story was written by Chapman, who also co-wrote the film's screenplay with Andrews, Purcell, and Irene Mecchi. The film stars the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of Princess Merida of DunBroch (Macdonald) who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed. When Queen Elinor (Thompson), her mother, falls victim to a beastly curse and turns into a bear, Merida must look within herself and find the key to saving the kingdom. Merida is the first character in the Disney Princess line to be created by Pixar. The film is also dedicated to Pixar chairman and Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who died before the film's release.
This article is about the film. For the video game, see Brave (video game). For the soundtrack, see Brave (soundtrack).Brave
- Mark Andrews
- Steve Purcell
- Brenda Chapman
- Irene Mecchi
Brenda Chapman
- Robert Anderson (camera)
- Danielle Feinberg (lighting)
Nicholas C. Smith
- June 10, 2012 (SIFF)
- June 22, 2012 (United States)
93 minutes[1]
United States
English
$185 million[1]
$539 million[2]
Brave is Pixar's first film with a female protagonist, and the first one animated with a new proprietary animation system, called Presto.[3] Originally titled The Bear and the Bow, the film was first announced in April 2008 alongside Up (2009) and Cars 2 (2011). Chapman, who had just wrapped up work as a story artist on Cars (2006), drew inspiration for the film's story from her relationship with her own daughter. Co-directing with Andrews and Purcell, Chapman became Pixar's first female director of a feature-length film.[4] To create the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years.[5][6][7] Brave is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format.[8] The filmmakers created three original tartan patterns for three of the four clans in the film. Patrick Doyle composed the film's musical score.
Brave premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 10, 2012, and was theatrically released in North America on June 22. Receiving generally positive reviews, it was a box office success, grossing $540.4 million against a $185 million budget. The film won the Academy Award,[9][10] the Golden Globe,[11] and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature Film.[12] Preceding the feature theatrically was a short film entitled La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa.[13]
Plot[edit]
In Medieval Scotland, a young Princess Merida of the celt clan Dunbroch celebrates her birthday and is given a bow and arrow by her father, King Fergus, dismaying his wife Queen Elinor. In the forest, Merida encounters a will-o'-the-wisp and Mor'du, a huge demon bear, attacks the family. Fergus and his men fend off Mor'du, though the fight costs the king one of his legs.
Ten years later, Merida discovers she is to be betrothed to the son of one of her father's allies. Failure to consent to the betrothal could harm Dunbroch; Elinor reminds Merida of a legend of a prince whose pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes destroyed his kingdom.
The allied clan chieftains and their first-born sons arrive to compete in the Highland games for Merida's hand in marriage. Twisting the rules, Merida announces that, as her own clan's firstborn, she will compete for her own hand. She easily bests her suitors and, after arguing with Elinor, runs away into the forest. Wisps lead her to the hut of an elderly witch, where she bargains for a spell to "change" Elinor. The witch gives her an enchanted cake.
Elinor eats the cake and is transformed into a bear, unable to speak but retaining most of her human consciousness. Merida returns to the deserted witch's cottage, and discovers a message from the witch: she must "mend the bond, torn by pride" by the second sunrise, or the spell will become permanent. Merida and Elinor encounter Mor'du and realize Mor'du was the prince in the legend. Merida vows not to let the same thing happen to her mother, and concludes she needs to repair the family tapestry she deliberately damaged during their argument.
They return to the castle to find the clans on the verge of war. Merida intends to declare herself ready to choose a suitor as tradition demands, but at Elinor's prompting, she instead allows the firstborns to marry in their own time to whomever they choose. The clans agree, breaking tradition but renewing their alliance.
Losing her humanity, Elinor attacks Fergus and flees the castle. Mistaking the Queen for Mor'du, Fergus pursues the bear with the other clans, locking Merida in the castle. Merida escapes with the assistance of her triplet brothers, who have become bear cubs after eating the enchanted cake. She repairs the tapestry as Fergus and the clans capture Elinor. Merida thwarts them before the real Mor'du arrives. Mor'du targets Merida, but Elinor intercedes, causing Mor'du to be crushed by a falling menhir. This releases the spirit of the prince, who thanks Merida for freeing him and transforms into a wisp. The sun rises for the second time, but Elinor remains a bear. Merida reconciles with her mother, begging to have her back, and unknowingly fulfills the true meaning of the witch's message. This reverses the spell's effects on her mother and brothers.
With Mor'du gone, Merida and Elinor work together on a new tapestry, bid farewell to the other clans, and ride their horses together.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Brave earned $237.3 million in North America, and $303.2 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $540.4 million.[2] It was the 13th highest-grossing film of 2012,[58] the eighth highest-grossing Pixar film,[59] and the third highest-grossing animated film that year behind Ice Age: Continental Drift ($875.3 million) and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ($746.9 million).
In North America, pre-release tracking suggested the film would open between $55 million to $65 million in North America,[60][61] which is slightly below average for a Pixar film,[53] as trackers initially suggested that as a "princess story", the film might not appeal as much to male audiences.[53]
It opened on June 22, 2012, with $24.6 million and finished its opening weekend with $66.3 million (the same amount as Cars 2, Pixar's previous film), at the upper end of the numbers analysts predicted.[62] This was the seventh largest opening weekend in June,[63] and the sixth largest for a Pixar film.[64] Despite pre-release tracking indications, the audience was estimated to be 43% male and 57% female.[65] In North America, it is the ninth highest-grossing Pixar film,[59] the highest-grossing 2012 animated film,[66] and the eighth highest-grossing film of 2012.[67]
Outside North America, the film earned $14 million from 10 markets on its opening weekend, finishing in third place behind Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Snow White and the Huntsman.[68] Overall, its largest openings occurred in France and the Maghreb region ($6.5 million), Mexico ($5.53 million), and Russia and the CIS ($5.37 million). In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries were the U.K., Ireland and Malta ($34.9 million), France and the Maghreb region ($26.8 million), and Mexico ($21.6 million).[69]
Critical response[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 256 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Brave offers young audiences and fairy tale fans a rousing, funny fantasy adventure with a distaff twist and surprising depth."[70] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[71] Audiences polled by CinemaScore during the film's opening weekend gave it an average grade of "A" on a scale from A+ to F.[65]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. He wrote, "The good news is that the kids will probably love it, and the bad news is that parents will be disappointed if they're hoping for another Pixar groundbreaker. Unlike such brightly original films as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and Up, this one finds Pixar poaching on traditional territory of Disney." He said that the film did have an uplifting message about improving communication between mothers and daughters, "although transforming your mother into a bear is a rather extreme first step".[72] Peter Debruge of Variety gave a positive review of the film, writing that the film "offers a tougher, more self-reliant heroine for an era in which princes aren't so charming, set in a sumptuously detailed Scottish environment, where her spirit blazes bright as her fiery red hair". Debruge said that "adding a female director, Brenda Chapman, to its creative boys' club, the studio Pixar has fashioned a resonant tribute to mother-daughter relationships that packs a level of poignancy on par with such beloved male-bonding classics as Finding Nemo".[73]
Conversely, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave it a negative review, stating that the film "diminishes into a rather wee thing as it chugs along, with climactic drama that is both too conveniently wrapped up and hinges on magical elements that are somewhat confusing to boot".[74] Leonard Maltin on IndieWire said, "I'll give it points for originality, but that story twist is so bizarre that it knocked me for a loop. The movie tries to make up for this detour with a heart-tugging, emotional finale, but the buildup to that moment has been undermined, so it doesn't have the impact it should."[75]
Some reviewers saw the Merida character as a novel break from the traditional line of Disney princesses. There were some dissonance and criticism among viewers and organized feminists when her character was scheduled to be "crowned" a Disney princess, only for artists to render her thinner, with less frizzy hair, and rounder eyes, more like the other princesses from previous Disney movies. This inspired girl-empowerment website A Mighty Girl to file a petition that Disney not alter their character.[76][77] One of the 262,196 signatories was Brenda Chapman, the director of the film, who felt that Disney had "betrayed the essence of what we were trying to do with Merida — give young girls and women a better, stronger role model",[78] and that the makeover was "a blatantly sexist marketing move based on money".[79] The online petition was considered a success, as shortly after it appeared Disney removed the redesigned image from their official website, in favor of Merida's original film appearance.[80] Disney later clarified the situation, assuring that Merida would remain in her original form.[81][82]