~:: Brave ::~

I haven’t written anything on a blog or in a journal for weeks.  I’ve been self-publishing like a crazy person, and now I have all the book promotion to figure out.  I HATE being behind like this, and being out of communication. I can’t seem to settle down to write about anything – partly because I don’t know where to start explaining it all.  So I’m trying to get back in the saddle with a little review of Pixar’s new and brilliant Brave.

On Tuesday night, we took a break from the daily mayhem and treated Murphy and wife to a movie: Brave, the Pixar project that started production just about the time Murphy interned with them. M didn’t get to work on this film; he was assigned to Cars 2.  But he has dear friends who did things like managing the rendering of the film, so we were Team Pixar, headed to the theater to cheer for the good guys.

The reviews of the film were not stunning. Review after review (mostly written by men) complained that, while the film was technically astonishing and the art of it beautiful, this movie was nothing but a spiffed up Disney Princess story—a beautiful but vapid package.

Boy, are they wrong.  The cable-strong themes running through this story were old as earth: the strength of family, the aching of children to make their own choices in a world they think they understand, the coming-of-age, the odd and seldom discussed bond between daughter and mother.

Visually, the film is, to overuse a word, stunning. Gorgeous scenery. I don’t think there was a second in the film that I was actually aware that what I was looking at was all simply painting-with-pixels. I am not naïve.  And I am not easily pleased.  Nor do I often gush. But even my grumpy husband was moved to tears by the deeply evocative imagery.  And the celtic music, the soundtrack, did nothing to diminish the almost primal response we had to the package.

Chaz sat beside me, face wet because they had taken her back to Wales.  It looked like, felt like, sounded like our Celtic beginnings.  Color, texture, lighting, fractals—all contrived transparently and powerfully to become leaf, stone, moss, fabric, water, fur. Result: we were transported. And this was only the setting for the story.

Middle-aged male critics may not find much meaning in the plot, but anyone who has been a child in a real family, or had children, or has invested in the character and future safety and happiness of children will find much meaning here.

By the way, this is NOT a princess film.  In princess films, there’s always a romantic theme. While love is central to this story, it isn’t that dumbed down.  Far more seminal are the bonds explored in this tale. And the fierce commitment of parent to child.

There are the usual plethora of gags—there is always something going on in the corners of the screen – hilarious but subtle little easter eggs I’m going to need to watch for very carefully after I’ve bought the DVD.  And they actually go a little overboard for me with the kilt jokes. (Spoiler: your family may see just a few seconds more of the clans’ underpinnings than you like at one point.) But generally, you have this good-natured, brawling, testosterone-soaked kingdom of Scottish warriors acting as a backdrop to the real story; a good time is had by all.  Maybe it’s this comic light turned on the macho aspects of “civilization” that bothers the reviewers – because it is the female plot line that is central.  One reviewer complained that this was not a Nemo, that had us crying at the beginning, or a Toy Story 3 that had grown men weeping at the end. But I will tell you—this story certainly had us all weeping, and at several points.

Anyway, I found the script engaging, the timing wonderful—it was a skillful, engaging, fascinating, beautiful piece of work that we will want to own and watch often over the years.

Is this film high art?  The answer is simple: our red-headed protagonist’s best friend is one of the finest animated horses I have ever seen in my life.  And where there is a great horse, there is high art. They did give him an odd, rather dog-like running gait – horses don’t usually propel themselves by pushing off both back feet simultaneously at every stride.  But aside from that, the horse was VERY horsey; we were delighted.

There are tense and frightening scenes.  I’m not sure I’d take really small children to see this. I can’t say much about it without ruining the story. But there is violent sword-play and there are some scary animal scenes.  I hate the idea of anyone assuming their innocent little child will be “fine” seeing some of this stuff; Bambi and the fire still bother me, even now.  But for middle-aged kids on up (6? 7?), the film will be a delight.

Pixar tells a good story, and they almost always ground their work in very compelling human truths (Cars 2 being the only exception I can think of).  Pixar is definitely a class act. And through their work, they’ve made more of themselves than just another animation studio: they have made friends of our families.

Do I recommend the movie? Aside from the tiny caveats I have shared above, you betcha I do.

Oh – and one last thing – the short they have paired with Brave is now, along with For the Birds, my very favorite thing they have ever done.