Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a ... Read allDetermined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 20 wins & 48 nominations total
- Merida
- (voice)
- Fergus
- (voice)
- Elinor
- (voice)
- The Witch
- (voice)
- Lord Dingwall
- (voice)
- Lord MacGuffin
- (voice)
- …
- Lord Macintosh
- (voice)
- Maudie
- (voice)
- Maudie
- (voice)
- Young Merida
- (voice)
- Young Macintosh
- (voice)
- The Crow
- (voice)
- Wee Dingwall
- (voice)
- Martin
- (voice)
- Gordon
- (voice)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKevin McKidd was particularly happy to work on this project because it was the first time in years that he'd been able to use his natural Scottish accent in a movie.
- Goofs(at around 7 mins) When Merida hops on her horse and takes her "day off" she is wearing a royal blue dress. However, when she climbs the rock next to the falls, and on the top of the rock, her dress is dark green. When she goes back home, she is wearing a blue dress again.
- Quotes
Princess Merida: [last lines; narrating] There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.
- Crazy creditsWhen Mor'du is killed towards the end of the film he turns into a will o' the wisp and we realise that they are the spirits of the dead. During the credits a will o' the wisp appears over the credit "dedicated with love and gratitude to Steve Jobs, our partner, mentor and friend."
- ConnectionsFeatured in AniMat's Reviews: Cars 2 (2011)
- SoundtracksNoble Maiden Fair
Music by Patrick Doyle
Lyrics by Patrick Neil Doyle
Performed by Emma Thompson and Peigi Barker
Gaelic translation by Donald MacLeod
That's not to say Brave is quite as visually astonishing as Sully's fur in Monsters Inc., the magical underwater world of Finding Nemo, or a landfill laden Earth in Wall-E. But, in some ways, it's not meant to be. We're dealing with a primarily human cast for once, and ones meant to look very different than the ones in Up.
Beyond the animation, the story is somewhat flat. The trailers do an excellent job of concealing the twists, but the twists are all easy to see well ahead of time. The story revolves around Princess Merida who is continually at odds with her Mother, Elinor. At the center of their arguments: marriage. Merida is to be married to the first born of one of the leaders of the other three clans. She'll have none of it as she'd much rather ride off on her own and perfect her archery skills than sit at home and be a proper Princess. In her more childish qualities, she's like her father: an overgrown warrior child who also happens to be King. It's not a bad story, but it's certainly a little too basic. Most people will most likely find the lack of creativity in the script's details the biggest disappointment in Brave. There's no moments where we marvel "how did these guys come up with this?"
It's a pity because Merida is one of the best protagonists Pixar has been blessed with. She's likable and hate-able in all the right ways. She has quite a bit of bratty teenager in her - as evidenced by the lack of morality she displays in trying to change her mother's mind about her upcoming betrothal - and yet heaps of bravery - as she shows when confronted with what she's done to her Mother. The best part about Merida and the story is that she's the one continually driving it forward and making the choices. That proves vital as the film doesn't really have a villain. This isn't a good vs. evil battle like all their other movies not named Finding Nemo.
Brave falls somewhere in the middle for Pixar. It's great that it's original (especially with Pixar selling out and giving us Monster's Inc. 2 and Toy Story 4 shortly), it's great the protagonist is female and so well rounded, and it's great the animation is somewhat subdued for once. I can't help but feel that Brave lacks some of the magic and creativity that really separate the upper echelon of Pixar's best work from the rest of it. Of course, that'll still probably be enough to make it the best animated movie of the year.
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Valiente
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $185,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $237,283,207
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $66,323,863
- Jun 24, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $538,983,207
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1