Greensburg —
For its thirteenth animated feature, Disney’s Pixar stretches into new creative territory, treading into a heretofore unexplored genre for the studio: The historical epic.
The result is “Brave,” an entertaining, largely successful endeavor whose greatest fault — ironically enough — is a lack of scope.
At times, “Brave” doesn’t feel big enough for its sweeping, historical backdrop, but rather, it feels strangely confined and limited; it feels at times, in fact, as if the story here might be just as well suited to one of Pixar’s short films.
“Brave,” however, successfully trades sweeping grandiosity for a narrowly-focused, satisfying, and relatable narrative about the unbreakable ties among family and — more specifically — between a parent and a child.
Kelly Macdonald (“No Country for Old Men”) voices Merida of Clan DunBroch, a free-spirited, red-headed teenage princess in the medieval Scottish Highlands.
Emma Thompson is Merida’s prudish, doting mother, Queen Elinor.
Merida has reached the age of betrothal as “Brave” opens, and although Merida’s free-spirited father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), is inclined to allow his daughter to follow her heart in matters of love and governance, Elinor won’t hear of it.
The Queen’s determined to see her daughter betrothed and married — regardless of love — to the oldest son of one of DunBroch’s three allied clans.
Such an arrangement, Elinor tells her daughter, will strengthen the alliance among the clans, helping avoid war and thereby keeping the realm intact and DunBroch in power. Such marriages, the Queens explains, are a princess’ duty.
Merida, however, being the fiery young woman she is, wants no part of the betrothal and tells her mother so — in no uncertain terms. Mother-and-daughter conflict ensues and quickly escalates into an epic war of wills, which ultimately finds Merida turning to a dodgy old witch (Julie Walters) for help.
The witch’s solution, unsurprisingly, turns out to be more than Merida bargained for.
Will Merida be able to save her mother before the witch’s spell becomes irreversible? Will she want to?
Anyone with teenage children and, especially, any mother who’s battled a strong-willed teenage daughter will readily relate to “Brave.”
On one level, Merida and her mother severely resent one another, and yet, in the end, the love between them is unavoidable and undeniable, and is ultimately greater than any antipathy between them. “Brave” manages to humorously and effectively convey that theme of “family as the most important tie” without becoming overly sappy or sentimental, and I suspect it will resonate for both parents and children alike.
More, although it suffers from a lack of scope, it also benefits from the same. This film breezes through its runtime and feels almost as if it might be a Pixar short.
“Brave” is lean and funny, efficient and heartfelt; it’s weaknesses certainly aren’t sufficient to recommend against it. It’s truly a film “for the whole family” in every sense of the term.
Rating: Howl-and-a-half
Score: 85/100
Runtime: 93 minutes
Rated PG for cartoonish violence
Rating System Explained: Rabies = 0; Yip = *; Bark = **; Howl = ***; Lone-wolf howl = ****; Leader of the pack = *****
Contact: Rob Cox at 812-663-3111 x7011.
Entertainment
“Brave” charts new territory for Pixar
- Entertainment
-
-
SDES Fine Arts Spring Fling gives young artists a chance to shine
-
Movie preview: “Star Trek Into Darkness”
Plot: When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within that has left Starfleet in ruins, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.
- Young artists showcased at St. Mary’s Art Fest
- Adult Big Wheel race to return to Greensburg
-
Movie preview: “The Great Gatsby”
Wide-eyed Midwesterner Nick Carraway has just moved to New York City in pursuit of the American Dream. Settling into a home next door to wealthy Jay Gatsby, Carraway grows increasingly fascinated by the elaborate parties held at his new neighbor’s estate.
-
Movie preview: “Peeples”
Plot: Wade Walker may not be a blue blood, but he loves Grace, and he’s eager to propose. Convinced that his best bet is to make his move while Grace’s entire family is present, Wade boldly invites himself to her family reunion, and does his best to make a good impression.
-
Split review on the determined “The Place Beyond the Pines”
On the heels of the summer movie season, we finish off the spring movie run with the indie drama “The Place Beyond the Pines” (Rated R).
-
Movie preview: “Iron Man 3”
Plot: Brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man faces off against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a quest to find those responsible.
-
SDES staging an evening “Under the Sea”
South Decatur Elementary School (SDES) will stage a production of the Disney musical “The Little Mermaid” from 7 to 9 p.m., April 25 and 26, at the school.
-
Oblivion lacks the punch to achieve sci-fi greatness
This week we checked out the latest Tom Cruise action film, Oblivion (PG-13).
- More Entertainment Headlines
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
