The Pixar brand has lost some of it’s luster recently. Mostly due to it’s last movie, the mediocre at best Cars 2. That movie wasn’t the worst kids movie ever, that distinction probably belongs to The Stupids, but it seemed like a movie made for toy reasons rather than the story-driven approach that Pixar has become famous for. Their latest release, Brave, isn’t going to restore Pixar to the artistic pedestal they were once on, but it does stop the bleeding. Pixar’s first movie featuring female protagonists does pass the Bechdel Test, while still being a movie about Princesses and getting married to a Prince. So, let’s see who’s being brave.

Princess Merida is a lot like her Daddy, the King of DunBroch, but her Mom (Queen Elinor) is training her to be a proper Princess. While Merida loves riding her horse, Angus, while shooting with her bow, Queen Elinor is training her in proper Queenly tasks, such as projecting her voice while speaking. Then the day comes when the 3 lords of the kingdom come with their first born sons, to determine who shall win the hand of the Princess, who isn’t thrilled about the idea. Merida uses her archery skills to win the contest and thrown the kingdom into a state of near war. When the Queen points out the problem she’s caused, Merida runs away and finds (led by the will o wisps) a witch. The witch gives Merida a snack that will help change Merida’s fortune if the Queen eats it. The snack turns the Queen into a bear*. The rest of the film has Merida trying to work out how to get her Mom back and in the end learning about responsibilities to her family and the kingdom.Along for comic relief, are Merida’s triplet brothers who wreak havoc wherever they go (as well as getting turned into bears themselves).
*Digression. In the prologue, the king fights a bear that is attacking the Queen and Merida. As a result of this fight, he loses his leg and swears to kill that (and all) bears. The Queen becoming a bear is then the worst thing that could happen to Merida.

For the most part, I enjoyed the movie. The heart of the movie is the relationship and growth of Merida and Queen Elinor. That part is extremely well done. We grow to understand both of their viewpoints while they struggle to undo the witch’s spell.  The plot is well done with the stories from the Queen and the King turning out to be related to each other as well as the story (and theme of the movie). The scenery and animation is utterly gorgeous and the characters are well drawn. The only part I wasn’t thrilled about was the resolution. It seemed like the Princess learned a lesson and then the resolution went against the lesson. Brave was a decent kids movie, but not really close to any of Pixar’s best. Recommended.