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Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#1526: Feb 9th 2014 at 3:04:14 PM

[up][up]Show me a historical woman who didn't say "I want to marry another man" but instead said "I don't want to marry at all, or have any responsibilities, I want to have the same freedom like my five year old brothers and spending my time lazing around in the woods"

NoName999 Since: May, 2011
#1527: Feb 9th 2014 at 3:10:24 PM

Guys, if the movies that has Disney princesses was similar to their real world countries/time periods, 75% of them would be dead for simply having an opinion.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#1528: Feb 9th 2014 at 3:24:15 PM

True, but that's my main problem with Brave...nothing really fits. The backgrounds look realistic, the characters look cartoony. They try to tell a serious story about impending war and taking responsibility, but I never get the feeling that a war would be something truly bloody because all the male characters are such stupid ruffians. They create this world full of customs, make a point of showing that Merida is educated following said customs, but she acts like a modern (and very rude) teenager. They try their best to add somewhat Scottish lore and then suddenly the witch turns up and talks like the Genie.

DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#1529: Feb 10th 2014 at 12:19:22 PM

Almost every single Disney princess since the 80s acts far more modern than they should... just look at Rapunzel: Would a completely isolated eighteen-year old girl in the 18th century who's had absolutely no contact with anyone other than her emotionally abusive foster parent be anything like the (at most) mildly naive, ridiculously multi-talented, charming and very sociable young girl we see in the movie, peppering her speech with "like"s? Merida at least has an excuse in that it's made clear that her father has kept her on a considerably looser leash than is considered the norm in their culture and has no problem with her having typically masculine hobbies. And as for Merida being rude, she at least learns and develops a bit throughout the film and admits her mistakes. That's kind of the point.

edited 10th Feb '14 12:26:35 PM by DrDougsh

Wackd Since: May, 2009
#1530: Feb 10th 2014 at 12:21:33 PM

Honestly, I think it's likely all the princesses act more modern than they should, but the further back we look the harder it is to tell. Most of us don't have in-depth knowledge of 1940s gender politics, after all.

Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#1531: Feb 10th 2014 at 12:24:08 PM

I was originally going to say "all Disney princesses", but I determined that the personalities of Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora were pretty much timeless, in that they're largely nonexistent.

Servbot Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1532: Feb 22nd 2014 at 2:29:23 PM

Interesting interview with John Lasseter here. Apparently, Brave was started before Pixar was bought by Disney, as a reaction to Disney at the time deciding that they won't be doing Fairy Tales anymore.

swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#1533: Feb 22nd 2014 at 3:07:36 PM

All DP movies are a little bit a product of their time, though they have nevertheless a timeless feelings...mostly because they are set "once upon a time". Rapunzel can act however she wants because Corona is a fictive place. It's always problematic though when they try to set a movie to a specific time or at a specific place, because the moment they do this, they limit themselves (that was also a problem with Pocahontas and Princess and the Frog....and it could have become a problem with Mulan (and the movie really skirts close to the edge there) if they hadn't just thrown together elements from totally different periods, making it pretty clear that this was supposed to be a fictional China).

The thing with Brave is that it tries to be realistic - the landscape, the Scottish accent, the actual myth...and in this frame they suddenly put cartoony looking characters, a princess who acts like a modern teenager and the witch. It just clashes.

Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
Nyanpasu~
#1534: Feb 22nd 2014 at 3:18:07 PM

Do we really want a princess for a family film that acts so old fashioned kids probably wouldn't even understand her thought process? I think it's better for the protagonist to be relatable.

Really, I think those are things that would only bug a handful of people, not actual bad decisions on the writers' or designers' part.

Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.
DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#1535: Feb 22nd 2014 at 3:57:30 PM

[up][up] Other than just having a real country name instead of a fictive, vaguely defined one, I don't see Brave as setting itself up as all that much more "realistic" than Tangled. My point about Rapunzel earlier was't just that she's way more modern than her time period, but also way more normal and well-adjusted that you'd expect from someone who's been locked in a tower and emotionally abused her whole life. Merida's personality is at least pretty consistent with her having taken after her easygoing, non-tradition-enforcing father, never mind your pre-set expectations from before watching the film.

Shota Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Dancing with myself
#1536: Feb 22nd 2014 at 4:19:43 PM

Actually I thought it was clear that Brave takes place in a fictitious Scotland. The uniforms they wear aren't quite accurate to any one time period.

MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#1537: Feb 22nd 2014 at 8:11:59 PM

In fact, I heard that one of the clan's tartan is actually impossible to weave with period-appropriate technology.

PrettyCoco Since: Jan, 2013
Aceotaku Since: Jan, 2011
#1539: Aug 27th 2015 at 4:46:11 AM

okay adding a post for an old thread for a like 3 year old movie, however someone's comment about princess jasmine was a little inaccurate. She did NOT 'run away' she was exploring the street and seeing the world outside her gilded cage, and she herself was mainly pissed about her suitors treating ehr like a thing rather than a person, and not just randomly rebelling against her daddy. In fact, she likes Aladdin when she first meets him, but HATES him after his initial Prince Ali persona.

And I myself did not like Brave. I felt it was, at best, So Okay, It's Average.

However, one thing that was never discussed on this thread: what did everyone think of Mordu's animated short on the DVD? Personally, I think Brave should've been more like THAT in tone, and it mad eit seem like Mordu should've been WAY more villainous and diabolical than he was in the movie. Like, imagine a demonic looking bear actually in charge of a kingdom with armies and crap! But I digress.

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