2012, Movies

Brave (2012, Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell)

I’m glad movies like this exist. I can’t imagine how hard it was to be a girl in the past (or present) who had a mother (or a mother and a father) who believed that she should grow up to be a Lady. I think men had their struggles with male archetypes too, but it has always seemed like the pressure on girls to be Ladies has been much worse. So a film like this, about a girl trying to find her own way, is a good thing.

It does a good job of dramatizing the conflict between the mother who wants to prepare her daughter for the world and the daughter who wants to live life on her own terms. I can’t imagine what this is/was like, having only observed one such relationship close-hand.

The other thing that’s to the film’s credit is that it doesn’t pander to the parents like so many contemporary kids movies, which include pop culture “jokes” and adult jokes to entertain the parents. This is a real kids movie.

However, it is very much a kid’s movie, with a song or two and the kind of plot that entertains children. It’s not for me. (Why did I watch it? I have no idea how it got on my list.)

7/10

  • Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
  • Produced by Katherine Sarafian
  • Screenplay by Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi, Story by Brenda Chapman
  • Starring:
    • Kelly Macdonald as Merida, a sixteen-year-old Scottish princess
    • Peigi Barker as Young Merida.
    • Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor, Dunbroch’s queen and Merida’s mother
    • Billy Connolly as King Fergus, Dunbroch’s king and Merida’s  father
    • Julie Walters as The Witch
    • Robbie Coltrane as Lord Dingwall
    • Kevin McKidd as Lord MacGuffin and Young MacGuffin
    • Craig Ferguson as Lord Macintosh
    • Steven Cree as Young Macintosh
    • Steve Purcell as The Raven/Crow, A talking raven
    • Patrick Doyle as Martin, the guard
    • John Ratzenberger as Gordon, the guard
    • Sally Kinghorn and Eilidh Fraser as Maudie, the castle maid
    • Callum O’Neill as Wee Dingwall
  • Music by Patrick Doyle
  • Cinematography by Robert Anderson, Danielle Feinberg
  • Edited by Nicholas C. Smith
  • Production companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios
  • Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
  • Release date: June 10, 2012
  • Running time: 93 minutes
  • Country: United States
  • Language: English
  • Budget: $185 million
  • Box office: $540.4 million

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