Verdict:
Let us get it out of the way first: the animation looks tremendous. The atmosphere, the design, the movements – it all looks breathtaking, and it is a shame we do not see more. The characters are distinct, likable and cute. Patrick Doyle created an emotional Scottish score for some authentic atmosphere. A good foundation was set for this movie. However, the hype for Brave actually seems to have carried it far higher than its own wings. Instead of soaring, it crashes and burns in one of the most disappointing cop-outs.
In true 21st century fashion, the story centres on a teenage girl who is rebellious and stronger than her society wants her to be. Several chieftains’ sons compete in a tournament for her hand in marriage but, as the trailers already showed you, the princess enters the tournament to compete for her own hand. This could’ve been cool, if she disguised herself as a foreign prince. She doesn’t disguise herself, so someone should’ve immediately yelled: “You can’t do this, because this doesn’t make any f*cking sense,” but that doesn’t happen, of course. You know what, can we just write “strong independent woman” on her back, put her in pants and call it a victory against the patriarchy. Why do we need to see this conflict played out for the 10th time? Please, just anything else. Let anything else be the main conflict of these animated films.
The plot somehow ends up being both nonsensical and formulaic at the same time. It’s formulaic because it’s a tapestry of modern clichés, weaved together. They are mixed up, but just because you mix the clichés up a bit, doesn’t mean that the product is going to be original. The parts that are new and less predictable, on the other hand, are absolutely random, like someone just casually scribbled words on a piece of paper and then called it a script.
Brave has a malfunctioning gearbox, which switches gears at the wrong time and into the wrong gear. The movie then tries to set up a moral conclusion to the story, which it absolutely did not earn. The ending feels rushed. When in doubt, the movie uses magic to make the plot move forward.
I could mention the talented voice cast that brings so much life to the characters, especially the two female leads, but all that talent is thoroughly overshadowed by this childish excuse for a plot.
There was so much opportunity here! You have a cool Scottish setting. You have the opposing clans demanding the hand of the main character, which presents plenty of opportunity for conflict and growth, but this opportunity ends up materialising as a throwaway joke in the middle of the movie. All these opportunities are squandered on a dumb imitation of a Disney story.
The bottom line: while the animation and characters are fine, the plot is insulting. It comes off as preachy without any good message to preach. Brave is strikingly average and disappointing. You have to watch it with your brain turned off to enjoy it.