Brave

This week I saw Brave, Pixar's latest 3D feature. The fairy tale story is set in a pre-Christian, preliterate Scotland. Our heroine is a strong-willed princess being prepared for marriage, but she is really too young to be married, & the story instead turns into an adventure whose goal is the reconciliation of mother & daughter. A witch creates havoc by turning people into bears, &, in true Disney fashion, the characters are far more expressive & sympathetic as animals than as humans. The action scenes are violent, though bloodless. I was confused by an early scene in which rapid edits make it look like mother & daughter are arguing, even though they are actually in separate locations. The CGI rendering of the forest landscapes is amazingly realistic. During a gorgeous salmon fishing sequence, I thought for a moment they had simply inserted shots of a real river.

The movie was preceded by the whimsical Pixar short La Luna, featuring heart-warming Italian stereotypes.

§ Brave (2012)
USA, 100 minutes
Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell

§ La Luna (2011)
USA, 7 minutes
Directed by Enrico Casarosa