What makes the film a must-see, especially for teenage girls and their mothers, is the true-to-life portrayal of Merida’s relationship with Elinor. Merida is left with just two days to either reverse the spell’s effects or lose her mother to bearkind for good. Instead Elinor is transformed into an enormous, lumbering bear. After some feuding, Merida escapes into the woods and meets a witch subsequently, she buys a spell to “change her fate,” but the spell, unsurprisingly, doesn’t work quite so simply. Merida is enraged when her mother, Queen Elinor, insists she must marry one of the doltish sons of her father’s fellow lords. The action of the film is fairly straightforward. Brave includes sly nods to the traditional princess plot and deviates just enough to poke fun at the formula her suitors, for example, are a collection of goofy, awkward, self-obsessed teenage boys with nary a square-jaw in sight. Merida is the delightfully free-spirited princess who would rather practice archery and explore the beautifully rendered Scottish highlands with Angus, her horse, than be groomed to be a proper wife. The arrival of Pixar’s Brave, in theaters now, moves away from the typical Disney princess formula.

By Claire McBroom Movie Review of Disney Pixar’s BraveĪnyone who grew up watching animated classics, like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid, can easily outline the plot of a typical princess film: our heroine is beautiful but woefully single, and after consulting her animal friends and meeting her square-jawed Prince Charming, she overcomes the various obstacles in her path-her evil stepmother, the jealous octopus queen, etc.-and lives happily ever after in wedded bliss.

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