Sometimes when I’m snuggling with my daughter, she will put her hands on both cheeks, look into my eyes and say, “I never, ever want to turn you to a bear!” The reference, of course, is the DisneyPixar movie, Brave that we saw last spring and she has been talking about ever since.
A heartwarming tale of following your heart and of mother-daughter love, Brave is one movie I can really get behind. Knowing it would be coming out in time for the holidays, I knew this would be one movie we had to own and have been eagerly awaiting the release date.
I firmly believe all young girls should watch Brave as it’s got some great lessons and extremely colorful characters. Instead of a movie about a girl who wanted to be a princess, Merida is a princess who would like nothing more than to be allowed to have freedom that princesses aren’t usually given. Merida is a strong character that target shoots, rides horses, climbs, and explores like some sort of adventurer, not at all what you would expect from a princess.
And, in addition to a very different type of princess, I also love that Brave doesn’t have a prince. Well, technically it’s got a lot of princes, but not one that’s a love interest. No meeting the prince and falling in love at first sight or overcoming a wicked-something-or-other as love conquers all, instead Brave is all about choosing the road less traveled to be true to yourself.
Although Merida is the undisputed star of the film, Queen Elinor and King Fergus are not the typical King and Queen role, either. With multi-dimensional roles and strong background stories, they are a wonderful characters that add so much to the film. Throw in the mischievous and adorable triplet brothers who are always looking for fun and excitement, and the colorful family is complete.
Beyond the great cast of characters and the action-packed plot-line, you can’t talk about this movie without raving about the animation. Set in the lush, green Highlands of Scotland, Brave is a magical transportation to majestic castles, sweeping skyline, sparkling sea and magical knolls. Merida’s fiery red hair is such a beautiful contrast to the darker hues of the scenery and it truly has a life of its own. With curls you just have to see to believe and ringlets that often steal the show, her hair almost deserves a movie all on its own.
And, now you get to see that amazing hair in the comfort of your own home as Brave hit shelves today and is now available at retailers everywhere. I would highly recommend picking it up as one for the Disney movie library or as a gift for a special little girl this holiday season. I know we will be watching it over and over again as the weather turns cold and rainy and it will be really nice to have a princess adventure awaiting us each time we pop it in.
A big thank you to DisneyPixar who provided the movie to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.
I think it is a good theme for a movie. Time to stop the brainwashing of princesses looking and behaving a certain way, especially when much of that does not match the real world experience.
You hit the nail on the head with the remark about the princesses usually falling in love at first sight. That’s ridiculous and women who hear too many of those tales actually grow up believing crap. They don’t take the time to evaluate someone’s suitability in terms of character, and base relationship decisions on looks.