Saw "Brave." Love Merida. Wish the movie was just a little better.

[serene56]

I saw it yesterday with my daughter (6), stepmother, And brother (17), and all of us loved it. I really liked that the story was focused on being true to oneself and not getting a man. I ink Tangled did a good job with that, too, with e getting a man being a side note rather than the focus, but I thought the message was much stronger with Brave. There were some weak plot points that could have been improved, but overall I thought it was great.

I liked it because it did not teach my 6 year old grand daughter that she needs to find a prince by the time she was 16=18.

When it was over and we were walking out- she says-- I almost cried there--LOL

I liked it.

 

[Hoosier37]

I loved it. In fact, it ranks for me solidly in the middle of the Pixar movies, well above Cars, Cars 2, Ratatouille, and Bug's Life. Not as good as Wall-E, the Toy Story movies, Up, and Nemo. It kind of ties for me with Incredibles and Monsters Inc.

And the spoiler that was posted totally missed what the movie was actually about, so don't worry about that if you haven't seen it yet. It was a beautiful film and Merida is my favorite Disney princess.

 

[disney_bob]

I wasn't terribly interested in this movie but saw it because my wife wanted to. I generally love Pixar films - with the exception of Toy Story 2 & Cars 2.

This movie ranks higher than both of them (and probably ratatouille) in my book but it still wasn't particularly good. As many others have written it was visually impressive but it fell very short in the story aspect - at least from what I've come to expect from most Pixar movies. It was very predictable and unoriginal. I also didn't care too much for the "moral of the story". I don't feel it pertains to 1/2 the audience (male) directly and is therefore not a particularly 'accessible' or 'moving' movie for us in the way the other Pixar films can be. They should also have had more of the triplets. Hilarious!

I'd also like to mention that for those waiting for the end scene: The credits seem so long for the payoff. The 'end scene' is mildly amusing - not very. The "touching" moment.. well, maybe if you misunderstand the importance of a man.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I loved this film! It's definitely in the top of my personal choices for Pixar. Is it the strongest, no, but I found the entertainment value to be quite high. Even though I have all of their films on DVD, I don't watch some just because they aren't entertaining for me, and I found one to be preachy *cough Wall-E cough*. My favorite is Ratatouille and time will tell if this one becomes my next #1 from Pixar. I'll need the DVD to evaluate those two together.

 

[XGrumpy1]

After reading some online reviews I was not expecting a whole lot. My wife and I really liked the movie.

I must admit having the local bagpipe and drum corps saranade us before the film started was a huge and wonderful surprise for us. Everyone should experience that, it was wonderful and we just lucked into the performance.

 

[PrincessCastMember]

I also very much enjoyed Merida and appreciated the beauty of the film (and the music!)

I did feel like there was a lot of under developed characters:
- The witch: after Merida goes back to the cabin with her mom we never see or hear of the witch again!
- The triplets: I don't think the triplets spoke ONCE in the entire film!

It also seemed the adventure was restricted to such a small area. It's hard to explain this idea, but looking at other Disney films, it seems the characters had a lot more environment to travel (ex. Marlin and Dori travel from the reef to Sydney Australia and back, in UP they go on a crazy journey to South America...but in Brave it seems like everything just takes place in her backyard)

I still enjoyed the story. Definitely not the direction I thought they were going to take it. I just think they could have done a little more with it.

 

[vickalamode]

Definitely not my favorite Pixar movie...I thought the movie looked really pretty for the most part, but I didn't really like the art style of the human characters. I thought they looked, dare I say...kind of ugly! The plot felt kind of weak to me. I liked it well enough, but it was overall pretty forgettable.

Since it was brought up in the OP, I have to add my .02 and say that I thought Tangled was MUCH better. I felt like it was a better story, better characters, better art direction-I just LOVED Tangled! Brave was just alright in my opinion.

 

[Merida]

I wasn't terribly interested in this movie but saw it because my wife wanted to. I generally love Pixar films - with the exception of Toy Story 2 & Cars 2.

This movie ranks higher than both of them (and probably ratatouille) in my book but it still wasn't particularly good. As many others have written it was visually impressive but it fell very short in the story aspect - at least from what I've come to expect from most Pixar movies. It was very predictable and unoriginal. I also didn't care too much for the "moral of the story". I don't feel it pertains to 1/2 the audience (male) directly and is therefore not a particularly 'accessible' or 'moving' movie for us in the way the other Pixar films can be. They should also have had more of the triplets. Hilarious!

I'd also like to mention that for those waiting for the end scene: The credits seem so long for the payoff. The 'end scene' is mildly amusing - not very. The "touching" moment.. well, maybe if you misunderstand the importance of a man.

Why wouldn't Brave pertain to a male audience? The majority of Pixar movies focus on male relationships. Plenty of women have found meaning and enjoyment in movies like Finding Nemo and Up, why can't it work the other way around? It seriously boggles my mind that a story exploring the relationship between a mother and daughter is 'less accessible' than something dealing with fish, superheros, bugs, or a rat that can cook.

 

[disney_bob]

Why wouldn't Brave pertain to a male audience? The majority of Pixar movies focus on male relationships. Plenty of women have found meaning and enjoyment in movies like Finding Nemo and Up, why can't it work the other way around? It seriously boggles my mind that a story exploring the relationship between a mother and daughter is 'less accessible' than something dealing with fish, superheros, bugs, or a rat that can cook.

Well then I'll let you continue to be boggled. I really wasn't trying to get into a discussion where I have to explain the male perspective. Note that a PP also mentioned that her husband and boys weren't terribly interested in the story so I know I'm not alone but I also don't claim to speak for ALL men.

 

[crocko]

I have never seen Tangled and had no desire to see it. I'm eagerly awaiting Brave, though.

No. I actually have a vague recollection of a school play somewhere back there. It just didn't grab me as something I wanted to see. Probably ought to see it anyway. I felt that way about Hunchback and it's one of my favorites.

As a fellow Oklahoman, I'm so saddened by this. Of 51 Disney movies, Tangled may very well be my favorite of them all. Hard to explain exactly why, but this movie was Disney at its best, in my opinion -- music, humor, great villain, teary moments...

I admit Tangled seemed to have a lot more action but one thing I really liked about Brave (I don't think this is a spoiler but if it is someone scream out so I can edit) - I liked it that there wasn't really a "bad guy".

This is one of the things I love about Pixar movies that sets them apart.
Lack of villains (Finding Nemo)...or lack of a pure, evil villain (Toy Story, Ratatouille). (POTENTIAL SPOILER: Brave has a "villain" but he really isn't the main "antagonist" of the story)

Oh a happier note I thought La Luna was fantastic!

Loved the short!!!!!!!!

Also adored the La Luna shot at the beginning.

For all the talk about Brave, I think more attention should be given to La Luna. I've heard so much hype about Paperman which will be introduced in front of Wreck-It Ralph, but La Luna was an amazing piece by Pixar. For those who question Brave and think Pixar has "lost a step", La Luna shows that Pixar has still got it.

Speaking of Wreck-It Ralph...maybe this is the guy in me, but I am super pumped about this movie...more so than I normally do for a Disney movie.

 

[thelionqueen]

Definitely agree with OP on most points. Brave lacked a lot IMO. The animation is amazing in some parts..I even looked twice..the scenery and her hair were unbelieveable..but honestly it was boring! This is the FIRST Disney movie I EVER considered leaving early because it just wasn't engaging at all to me.

The story didn't seem to "jive" together. Vikings, Witches, mom turning into a bear, triplets..bare bottoms..none of it worked for me. There weren't a whole lot of really funny moments or those "adult humor" snippets I so enjoy. And mostly no villains or music.

Although I love the premise of the character Merida..and she is spunky and beautiful..the movie itself rates very very low of my Disney movie favorites. Honestly..I think I'd watch Valiant again before Brave...pretty neck in neck there

 

[Hoosier37]

What Vikings? There were no Vikings in Brave.

 

[My2Pixies]

I saw it last week and while it was visually stunning (Merida's hair in particular was just amazing!), and I enjoyed the characters, I felt it was lacking story wise. I liked it, but I didn't love it. My dh is, however, incredibly excited about Wreck-It Ralph. And I loved La Luna.

 

[Alifay]

After all the hype, high expectations from Pixar, I was disappointed.

There was a lot of hype and clips about this movie, and after seeing it, I feel like they gave all the best away up front. Almost all the clips of the triplets were featured in previews, leaving me unfulfilled when I hoped for more of their antics. The shorts that didn't appear in the film were highly entertaining.

Also, with the title Brave, I expected .... well ... more bravery! I expected a princess to be proud of through and through, a single independent woman who would really strike home the goodness of not needing a "prince". Not a teenager who threw a MASSIVE temper tantrum and then spent the rest of the film fumbling to recover from her own stupidity.

I agree with what a former poster said, the movie is lesser than the sum of its parts. Scenes individually are captivating. The animation is inarguably beautiful. The story line left me wishing for a rewrite.

 

[Geodesic]

While I enjoyed Brave, this thread has got me thinking about how one-note it was and (by comparison) how much more interesting and layered the storyline of The Princess & The Frog was.

 

[g8torphan]

We saw it last weekend. My almost 3 yo DS was hot and cold about it. The bear scared him a bit, and the story was a little lacking. Just too direct, not enough other stuff going on. Better than Ratatoullie or Up, but no as good as the TS series. I wasn't a big fan of Up, too sad.

My wife LOVED it however.

And BTW- Tangled is great, watched it again yesterday, just an awesome story, multifaceted, funny, visually stunning, great songs.

All the talk of the Princess and The Frog makes me want to see it. Never have

 

[jennyjinx3]

I loved it, I 'got' the story, and I loved how it ended without the Princess marrying a Prince for once.

 

[knitster]

I *love* Merida and I adore the animation and characters in Brave - simply marvelous. However, I found the film as a whole to be...meh. I like the *idea* of the story, but I didn't love the execution of that idea. It seemed thin to me - when it was over, I was left thinking, "That's it?".

The characters, music, and beauty of the film, however, overshadow the less than stellar story telling IMO and I hope Merida finds a permanent place in the land of Disney Princesses!

 

[squigglybee]

I haven't read through all the posts here so I apologize if someone has already mentioned this but I think Brave was a good movie but it was just very similar to Brother Bear in my opinion. They could have called it Mama Bear or Queen Bear instead of Brave. In my opinion Brave was more of a Disney movie than a Pixar movie and the upcoming Wreck it Ralph looks more like a Pixar movie than a Disney movie.

 

[TavieP]

I loved it. I went in not having read too much about it, so I was really taken by surprise by how much of a mother/daughter story it was - that made me cry, especially at the end. The line "I want my mummy back" really undid me. My sister felt the same way afterwards.

I thought it was gorgeously animated and found the story charming and engaging.