Brave

So given the victory of rendering over writing, is the video game a better choice?

Just saw the movie some hours ago. It was okay, was mostly excited for the Hobbit trailer, La Luna was adorable, and that's all I have to say about that.

The video game was, well, you know. Merida's hair in the cutscenes is a sad mess.

Ah, yes, the Hobbit trailer. I also saw the Wreck It Ralph trailer, which was awesome.

Noted: this is also possible, and maybe even probable. Still, I feel this is the kind of detail that could have used more clarity, which the movie doesn't provide—the final, dialogueless scenes can be read in different ways, depending on how one kind one wishes to be—you can plausibly say that the women are discovering that they genuinely share interests, or conversely, you can interpret it as saying that their new relationship allows them to enjoy spending time together, regardless of their particular feelings towards what they're doing.

It was pretty good. Honestly, I think it deserves better reviews than it's getting.

I liked a lot of the side characters, like that really big suitor that no one could understand. Going in, I expected the predictability of the triplets to annoy the crap out of me, but I actually liked them. A lot of the jokes thrive on slapstick, which works for the triplets since they don't talk.

Merida herself wasn't exceptionally interesting, although looking at her hair is fun. She followed generic roles that are starting to feel pretty tired.

Does anyone have an explanation as to why Merida couldn't just go into the castle to get the tapestry herself and then come back out with it? Why'd her mom have to go with her? Also agreed with Sijo a few pages back - while it's nice to see Mor'Du finally having peace, that reveal shows that he'd been trapped inside the bear and potentially aware of his situation for how long? *shivers*

I liked Mor'Du's back story. Wish a little more time had been spent building it up.

A word of warning to anyone planning to see it - avoid toy stores. There was one toy that spoiled that the boys turn into bears.

All in all, it was a good movie, but not exceptionally memorable.

You know...that's a good question. I hadn't even thought of that.

Definitely. It was awesome.

Regardless of what people thought of Merida as a protagonist (Be she interesting, or sympathetic), there was one scene about the triplets, which almost shocked me. Discovering mom was a bear was really shocking, and groan inducing. While we see them see her and follow her, that's sort of understandable, because some of Elinor's commanding nature, crown, and disciplining of the boys for moving all of the carcasses around, that I liked. What I didn't like was when Merida told them to help her sneak the mom out of the castle, and they just glare at her, until she bargains away desert. Wouldn't they say something along the lines of "Oh My God! Oh My God! What Happened to mom?! Why is she a bear? Is she alright? Did dad see? (Well, maybe not, because they were voiceless) They know what the dad feels about bears (He bores them with stories about how much he wants to kill one, and has carcasses all over the castle, one of which they were just playing with). Their mom could possibly be killed by their father, and they want dessert (How many s's are in that word?), in order to help her out? They are old enough to understand their dad's hatred of Bears, and the potentially deadly situation that could ensue (and did eventually), and they are fairly smart for kids their age, so they should understand the gravity of the situation. They really seemed like brats in that scene.

Are they old enough to really get it? If I was their age, I certainly wouldn't have understood the gravity of the situation. The triplets really seemed to consider all of it a game, except at the very end, and after all it was right in front of them that time. Maybe they DID know what was going on, but were confident in Merida's and their own abilities to rescue Elinor. Or, you know, anything else. They don't talk, anyway. /shrug

Oh yeah, I groaned at THAT too. I let it pass, because the kids are so small and the situation probably too weird for them to understand, but still, damn it annoyed me they couldn't help willingly! (at least not then.)

Just got back from it and enjoyed it thoroughly, though I wish there'd been more fleshing out of Mor'Du. It was hard to feel a connection with the horror of his story without, well, more horror of his story.

ALSO, THERE WAS A CARVING OF A PICTISH BEAST. That made my night, seriously. My night was made within minutes of the movie starting.

I just saw this movie a second time with my 10 year old sister, and I liked it better the second time.

Now I'm just enjoying it for what it is, and not what it could be. I really think most of the problems people have with it comes from the misfire on what people were expecting.

Mor'du was seriously underused. Which is a pity, because I found him to be the only genuinely dark part of the film.

@Butchie I definitely felt a LOZ vibe from the movie as well...it must have been those will o wisp voices(which I found creepier than Mordu...though he was pretty scary as well).

edited 26th Jun '12 10:35:36 PM by blueflame724

Re: Toy Spoiler: The trailers have been "spoiling" that for a long time, actually. It's shown up since the early trailers.

You know, looking back after a day, the witch seems to be completely in contrast to the rest of the film; like she's from something else and just appeared in our dark fairytale. She feels more like a character in a Sam and Max game than something like this movie.

Because Merida didn't know where the needles and thread were kept, and Elinor couldn't very well tell her.

edited 27th Jun '12 6:12:14 AM by Karalora

Well, common sense would dictate that Elinor would keep the needle and thread in the same room she kept the tapestry.

I think Elinor got all the common sense in this movie.

Which reminds me: how is it that Merida and Elinor were gone for the entire day and no one noticed? Considering that Elinor was sick the last time they saw her, you'd think they would at least send someone to check on her.

edited 27th Jun '12 6:35:19 AM by Mort08

I was wondering about that, too. Apparently they just really like fighting.

Well, she could have just asked that handmaid for one of her needles. It's a lot less risky than taking a bear into the castle.

I think the thing is that the movie had a cool epic fantasy vibe but didn't really build up the "epic" part of it enough.

@Psyche Weeell, she did say they get away with murder. Maybe she wasn't exaggerating as much as we thought. In all seriousness though, that is pretty bad.

This is RIPE for a Nostalgia Critic rip!

Noooooooo~!

The Pixar-can-do-no-wrong-how-dare-you-even-imply-otherwise-I-will-cut-your-face fans would throw a legendary hissy! I'd be scared for Doug's life!

Well they better deal. It looks like Pixar's winning streak is over.

The Scottish fairy tale "Brave" opened as the top weekend attraction in theaters with $66.3 million, becoming the 13th-straight No. 1 debut for "Toy Story" creator Pixar Animation.

So that's what failure looks like?

Hmmm, Five-Man Band time. Merida as the chic/archer, Finn as the close in combatant, Anna (of Disney's Frozen) as the cleric, Beowulf as the lancer, and somebody from Sweden. Some sort of chef or something?

And what was the last successful Dreamworks animated film? Shreck Infinity?

edited 27th Jun '12 10:21:33 AM by hcobb

Cars 2 made a ton of money, too. Doesn't mean it was good.

Speaking of which, I'm not the only one who thinks Pixar's glory days coming to an end is a good thing, am I? Hear me out.

I think it'd be really great for other animation studios to have a bit of spotlight for a while. Dreamworks is obviously the most likely candidate for next best, if people will give them a chance.

I'm reminded of the time in the late 80's that Don Bluth was giving Disney a worthy bit of competition with An American Tail and The Land Before Time, and we all know what this led to, right? If militant Pixar fans could just get off their high-horse and admit that Dreamworks is a good animation studio and a worthy rival, and Dreamworks doesn't slip up with their recent string of successes, this could be the start of something great for them.

Of course, I say this as a Dreamworks fan, so I apologize if I'm being overly optimistic.

edited 27th Jun '12 8:53:17 AM by MuuMiuMew

Who wrote that WMG in the page for The Millennium Age Of Animation about how Toy Story 3 will signal the beginning of the end for popularity of CG? Well it DOES look like it signaled Pixar's last film that was both good and profitable. But it's too early to tell if Monsters University will surprise us.