Disney Pixar’s Brave Movie – A Mom’s Review

I took my nine and six year olds to see the Disney Pixar movie Brave along with my mother in law. A brief review of the film is that it is a timeless classic that will be re-released in twenty years for another generation of mothers and daughters (and sons too). However, if you have a baby who goes to sleep during the movie, you should not bring a small child.

Pixar’s Brave is revolutionary for its incredible animation. It seemed to have a realistic feel to the animation similar to “Avatar”. The 2D version of the movie was just as immersive as the 3D version. The movie also didn’t seem to include scenes specifically for designer 3D effects. It’s a beautiful film with fine details and layered sets that are nice to watch. This makes the magical answering machine scene as beautiful as it is funny.

I like the fact that this movie is set in medieval Scotland without spouting an endless stream of pop culture references, a mistake that made Shrek dated and increasingly irrelevant. It included some magic, but magic is not glorified. To quote the ending, “Fate is what you make,” and this movie beautifully reaffirms personal responsibility for one’s actions.

The three troublesome little brothers provided much of the comic relief for this film. Fortunately, except for a couple of bare bottoms, there is no nudity. There’s little bawdy humor, though a tactful full moon scene had my son rolling through the halls. The movie also didn’t take the insulting tone that the teenager is always smarter, better, and more competent than the adults. The three young men from the other clans compete for the hand of the princess. This series of scenes is hilarious, from breaking stereotypes to the moon scene shown in many movie trailers. The post-pageant party is also full of hilarious scenes, including the warrior father who is reprimanded by the mother for fighting with grown men. When the men are stranded on the roof of the tower so the princess and her transformed mother can escape, her only solution is sure to delight little children.

That said, Brave is a great movie for mothers and daughters of all ages old enough to handle the scary parts. The daughter gets to see the mother’s point of view on why rules and responsibility are important. The mother learns to relax a bit, letting her daughter mature to adulthood and probably marriage at her own pace. Trying to sit down to a formal dinner as a bear and then jumping on the table to eat was a heartbreaking scene. Trying to mimic her daughter’s words to say while she was pretending to be a teddy bear was fun to say the least.

There must be a balance between personal choices and social roles, and we are happy when we work within them. This is also a very family-friendly movie, something that is missing from many modern movies. Brave also has hints of humor that adults can appreciate, keeping parents from getting bored while their kids get addicted to the movie.