Set in theScottish Highlands, the film tells the story of PrincessMerida of DunBroch (Macdonald) who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed. When Queen Elinor (Thompson), her mother, is turned into a bear, Merida must look within herself and find the key to saving the kingdom. Merida is the first character in theDisney Princess line to be created by Pixar. The film is also dedicated to Pixar chairman andApple co-founder and CEOSteve Jobs, who died before the film's release.
Brave is Pixar's first film with a femaleprotagonist, and the first one animated with a new proprietary animation system, calledPresto.[3] Originally titledThe Bear and the Bow, the film was first announced in April 2008 alongsideUp (2009) andCars 2 (2011). Chapman, who had just wrapped up work as a story artist onCars (2006), drew inspiration for the film's story from her relationship with her own daughter. Co-directing with Andrews and Purcell, Chapman became Pixar's first female director of a feature-length film.[4] To create the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years.[5][6][7]Brave is the first film to use theDolby Atmos sound format.[8] The filmmakers created three originaltartan patterns for three of the four clans in the film.Patrick Doyle composed the film's musical score.
Brave premiered at theSeattle International Film Festival on June 10, 2012, and was theatrically released in North America on June 22. Receiving generally positive reviews, it was a box office success, grossing $539 million against a $185 million budget. The film won theAcademy Award,[9][10] theGolden Globe,[11] and theBAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature Film.[12] Preceding the feature theatrically was a short film entitledLa Luna, directed byEnrico Casarosa.[13]
InMedieval Scotland, a young Princess Merida ofClan Dunbroch celebrates her birthday and is given abow and arrow by her father, King Fergus, dismaying his wife Queen Elinor. In the forest, Merida encounters awill-o'-the-wisp and follows the other wisps to her family and Mor'du, a huge demonicbear, attacks the family. Fergus and his men fend off Mor'du, though the fight costs Fergus one of his legs.
Ten years later, Merida discovers she is to bebetrothed to the son of one of her father's allies. Failure to consent to the betrothal could harm Dunbroch; Elinor reminds Merida of a legend of a prince whose pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes destroyed his kingdom.
The alliedclan chieftains and their first-born sons arrive to compete in theHighland games for Merida's hand in marriage. Twisting the rules, Merida announces that, as her own clan's firstborn, she will compete for her own hand. She easily bests hersuitors and, after arguing with Elinor, runs away into the forest. She encounters the wisps again, who lead her to the hut of an elderly witch, where she bargains for a spell to "change" Elinor. The witch gives her an enchanted cake.
Elinor eats the cake and is transformed into a bear, unable to speak but retaining most of her humanconsciousness. Merida returns to the deserted witch's cottage, and discovers a message from the witch: she must "mend the bond, torn by pride" by the second sunrise, or the spell will become permanent. Merida and Elinor encounter Mor'du and realize Mor'du was the prince in the legend. Merida vows not to let the same thing happen to her mother, and concludes she needs to repair the familytapestry she deliberately damaged during their argument.
They return to the castle to find the clans on the verge of war. Merida intends to declare herself ready to choose a suitor as tradition demands, but at Elinor's prompting, she instead allows the firstborns to marry in their own time to whomever they choose. The clans agree, breaking tradition but renewing their alliance.
Losing her humanity, Elinor attacks Fergus and flees the castle. Mistaking the Queen for Mor'du, Fergus pursues the bear with the other clans, locking Merida in the castle. Merida escapes with the assistance of hertriplet brothers, who have become bear cubs after eating the enchanted cake. She repairs the tapestry as Fergus and the clans capture Elinor. Merida thwarts them before the real Mor'du arrives. Mor'du targets Merida, but Elinor intercedes, causing Mor'du to be crushed by a fallingmenhir. This releases the spirit of the prince, who thanks Merida for freeing him and transforms into a wisp. As the sun rises for the second time, Merida covers Elinor in the repaired tapestry, but she remains a bear. Thinking it was for nothing, Merida reconciles with her mother begging to have her back, unknowingly fulfilling the true meaning of the witch's message. This reverses the spell's effects on her mother and brothers.
With Mor'du gone, Merida and Elinor work together on a new tapestry, bid farewell to the other clans, and ride their horses together.
Emma Thompson as Elinor, Queen of Dunbroch,[4] Dunbroch'squeen and Merida's mother, whose respect for protocol and tradition brings her into conflict with her daughter.
Billy Connolly as Fergus, King of Dunbroch,[4] Dunbroch'sking and Merida's boisterous father.
Announced in April 2008 asThe Bear and the Bow,[18]Brave is Pixar's firstfairy tale.[19][20][21] Writer and directorBrenda Chapman considers it a fairy tale in the tradition ofHans Christian Andersen and theBrothers Grimm.[22] She also drew inspiration from her relationship with her daughter.[23] Chapman conceived the project and was announced as the film's director, making her Pixar's first female director,[24] but in October 2010, she was replaced byMark Andrews after creative disagreements between her andJohn Lasseter.[25][26] Chapman found the news of her replacement "devastating", but later stated that her "vision came through in the film" and that she remained "very proud of the movie, and that I ultimately stood up for myself."[23][4] Chapman then stated in an interview in 2018 that while she was still bittersweet about being taken off the film and believed that there was no reason to do so creatively, she felt that it "opened more doors for me to have that happen".[26]Brave is also the firstPixar film with a female protagonist and Pixar's first film to have two credited directors.
Following his hiring as director, Mark Andrews did a major overhaul of the story to give more focus on Merida and her troubled relationship with her mother. Among others, he cleared away many magic elements, which he found affected the environment.[27] However, he wanted to stay truthful to Chapman's story. He said: "The bones of the film were totally fine. That was not the issue. What was hanging off the bones, there were problems. There were things that were not working. The focuses and balances that were out of whack."[28]
The end credits include a special tribute to Pixar co-founder and CEOSteve Jobs, who died in 2011.[29]
Brave is the first Pixar film starring a female protagonist.[4] In that respect,Brave was followed byInside Out,Finding Dory,Incredibles 2,Turning Red, andElemental, all of which featured female protagonists. In 2010,Reese Witherspoon,Billy Connolly,Emma Thompson, andJulie Walters joined the cast, with Witherspoon set to voice Merida.[30] According to Andrews, Witherspoon was on the project for "quite some time. She was getting herScottish accent down, she was working very hard and it was sounding great but as we were continuing with the movie she had other movies lining up, so unfortunately we were unable to continue with her and had to get a replacement."[31] Instead, in 2011 it was revealed that Merida was to be voiced by Scottish actressKelly Macdonald.[32] In 2017, during a press junket forIllumination'sSing, Witherspoon mentioned that she had to leave the film due to failure to master a Scottish accent.[33]
Doyle also composed several songs for the film. The lullaby duet between characters Princess Merida and Queen Elinor entitled "A Mhaighdean Uasal Bhan (Noble Maiden Fair)" appears on three occasions in different variations within the fabric of the score, and uniquely includes Gaelic vocals by Emma Thompson and Peigi Barker, the first Disney film with music featuring the language.[citation needed] The drinking song "Song of Mor'du" (lyrics by Doyle and Steve Purcell) sung byBilly Connolly, Scott Davies,Patrick Doyle, Gordon Neville,Alex Norton and Carey Wilson, features a rich variety of words, sung authentically inScots, which is distinct from Scottish Gaelic. (Scots being aGermanic language, while Scottish Gaelic isCeltic.)
In addition to Doyle's music, the film features three other original songs; "Learn Me Right" written byMumford & Sons and performed withBirdy, "Touch the Sky" (music by Alex Mandel, lyrics by Mark Andrews & Mandel) and "Into the Open Air" (music and lyrics by Alex Mandel). Both "Touch the Sky" and "Into the Open Air" were performed byJulie Fowlis, as Merida's off-screen musical thoughts. These two tracks were produced by composer and arranger Jim Sutherland, who is also featured as a performer.
Along with introducing Doyle to a number of specialist Celtic musicians who feature in the score, Sutherland was responsible for discovering the youngGaelic singer Peigi Barker; the voice of young Merida.
Walt Disney Records released the soundtrack on both CD album and digital download on June 19, 2012.[36]
Pixar created three originaltartan patterns for the film for three of the four clans – DunBroch, Dingwall, and MacGuffin. (Clan Macintosh wears a red tartan similar to the nonfictionalClan Mackintosh.)
The Walt Disney Company registered the Clan DunBroch tartan within theScottish Register of Tartans upon the release of the film. The tartan consists of ocean blue for theNorth Sea, subdued scarlet for bloodshed during the clan wars, deep green for theScottish Highlands, navy blue for the eventual unity of the four clans, and gray for theScottish people. In selecting the color scheme, Pixar took historical considerations, stating that "[t]here was a concerted effort to use hues that were indicative of the less saturated dyeing techniques [used] during theancient period in which the fantasy film is set."[37]
The registration was celebrated at the film's British premiere inEdinburgh, whereScottish First MinisterAlex Salmond presented a certificate to director Mark Andrews. However,Member of the Scottish ParliamentAlex Johnstone criticized the registration (as well as other fiction-based entries such as one forPeter Rabbit) as "shallow and irreverent." Johnstone contended that the 2008 legislation that created the Scottish Register of Tartans was intended to prevent such entries and protectScotland's heritage.[38]
The registration was not the first for Disney; the company also registered a tartan pattern for theClan McDuck in 1942.[39]
Brave was released onBlu-ray,Blu-ray 3D,DVD, and digital download on November 13, 2012. It includesLa Luna and a new short film,The Legend of Mor'du, which explores the history of Mor'du, from The Witch's perspective.[54][55] The DVD contains audio commentary by director Mark Andrews, co-director/screenwriter Steve Purcell, story supervisor Brian Larsen, and editor Nick Smith.[citation needed]Brave was released on4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 10, 2019.[56][57]
Disney threatened a lawsuit against a British company, Brightspark Productions, that had packaged a low-budget 2005 Canadian film calledA Fairy Tale Christmas as"Braver". Disney claimed the DVD cover was too similar to that ofBrave.Braver was sold in supermarkets in the United Kingdom.[58]
Brave earned $237.3 million in North America, and $301.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $539 million.[2] It was the 13th highest-grossing film of 2012,[59] the eighth highest-grossing Pixar film,[60] and the third highest-grossing animated film that year behindIce Age: Continental Drift ($875.3 million) andMadagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ($746.9 million).
In North America, pre-release tracking suggested the film would open between $55 million to $65 million in North America,[61][62] which is slightly below average for a Pixar film,[53] as trackers initially suggested that as a "princess story", the film might not appeal as much to male audiences.[53]
It opened on June 22, 2012, with $24.6 million and finished its opening weekend with $66.3 million (the same amount asCars 2, Pixar's previous film), at the upper end of the numbers analysts predicted.[63] This was the seventh largest opening weekend in June,[64] and the sixth largest for a Pixar film.[65] Despite pre-release tracking indications, the audience was estimated to be 43% male and 57% female.[66] In North America, it is the ninth highest-grossing Pixar film,[60] the highest-grossing 2012 animated film,[67] and the eighth highest-grossing film of 2012.[68]
Outside North America, the film earned $14 million from 10 markets on its opening weekend, finishing in third place behindMadagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted andSnow White and the Huntsman.[69] Overall, its largest openings occurred in France and theMaghreb region ($6.5 million), Mexico ($5.53 million), and Russia and theCIS ($5.37 million). In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries were the U.K., Ireland and Malta ($34.9 million), France and the Maghreb region ($26.8 million), and Mexico ($21.6 million).[70]
Upon release,Brave received mostly positive reviews from critics,[71] although unlike most Pixar films released to that point, praise was not universal.[72][73] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 78% of 254 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Brave offers young audiences and fairy tale fans a rousing, funny fantasy adventure with a distaff twist and surprising depth."[74]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[75] Audiences polled byCinemaScore during the film's opening weekend gave it an average grade of "A" on a scale from A+ to F.[66]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. He wrote, "The good news is that the kids will probably love it, and the bad news is that parents will be disappointed if they're hoping for another Pixar groundbreaker. Unlike such brightly original films asToy Story,Finding Nemo,WALL-E, andUp, this one finds Pixar poaching on traditional territory ofDisney." He said that the film did have an uplifting message about improving communication between mothers and daughters, "although transforming your mother into a bear is a rather extreme first step".[76] Peter Debruge ofVariety gave a positive review of the film, writing that the film "offers a tougher, more self-reliant heroine for an era in whichprinces aren't so charming, set in a sumptuously detailedScottish environment, where her spirit blazes bright as her fiery red hair". Debruge said that "adding a female director, Brenda Chapman, to its creative boys' club, the studio Pixar has fashioned a resonant tribute to mother-daughter relationships that packs a level of poignancy on par with such beloved male-bonding classics asFinding Nemo".[77]
Conversely,Todd McCarthy ofThe Hollywood Reporter gave it a negative review, stating that the film "diminishes into a rather wee thing as it chugs along, with climactic drama that is both too conveniently wrapped up and hinges on magical elements that are somewhat confusing to boot".[78]Leonard Maltin onIndieWire said, "I'll give it points for originality, but that story twist is so bizarre that it knocked me for a loop. The movie tries to make up for this detour with a heart-tugging, emotional finale, but the buildup to that moment has been undermined, so it doesn't have the impact it should."[79]
Some reviewers saw the Merida character as a novel break from the traditional line ofDisney princesses. There were some dissonance and criticism among viewers and organizedfeminists when her character was scheduled to be "crowned" a Disney princess, only for artists to render her thinner, with less frizzy hair, and rounder eyes, more like the other princesses from previous Disney movies. This inspiredgirl-empowerment websiteA Mighty Girl to file a petition that Disney not alter their character.[80][81] One of the 262,196 signatories was Brenda Chapman, the director of the film, who felt that Disney had "betrayed the essence of what we were trying to do with Merida — give young girls and women a better, stronger role model",[82] and that the makeover was "a blatantlysexist marketing move based on money".[83] The online petition was considered a success, as shortly after it appeared Disney removed the redesigned image from their official website, in favor of Merida's original film appearance.[84] Disney later clarified the situation, assuring that Merida would remain in her original form.[85][86]
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In 2013, Scottish publicationThe Scotsman asked director Mark Andrews about the possibility of a sequel. Andrews said:
I don't know if there will be another one. We never make a film at Pixar to have a sequel. It is always nice when you do and we kind of have a philosophy that if we find the right story then we will. Surely the marketing and success ofBrave says that you can have one and they will come.[102]
Merida appears as a recurring character in thefifth season ofOnce Upon a Time (2015–16), where she is portrayed byAmy Manson,[103] with otherBrave characters appearing in minor roles.
Merida makes an appearance in a 2015 episode ofSofia the First titled "The Secret Library", where she is voiced byRuth Connell.[104]
Merida makes an appearance in the Lego Pixar anthology series,LEGO Pixar: BrickToons, in the second episode "Patience is a Bear", with Ruth Connell reprising her role.
Merida is a playable character inDisney Infinity 2.0 andDisney Infinity 3.0. As with the other playable characters in the game, a tie-in figure for Merida was also released. In addition, a Toy Box Game based on the movie is available. Many items from the movie are also available to be placed in the toy box. With a power disc, Merida's horse Angus can be summoned.[106]
Merida appears as a playable character in the mobile gameDisney Heroes: Battle Mode.
Merida, Queen Elinor, King Fergus, Lords Dingwall, Lord MacGuffin and Lord Macintosh appear as playable characters in the video gameDisney Magic Kingdoms, in addition to some attractions based on locations in the film. In the game, the characters are involved in new storylines that serve as a continuation of the events in the film.[107]
Merida appears as a playable character in the mobile gameDisney Sorcerer's Arena.
Bravely byMaggie Stiefvater is a 2022 novel featuring an older Merida several years after the events of the film.[109]
Fate Be Changed by Farrah Rachon is a 2024 entry in theA Twisted Tale anthology series that features the Witch's spell sending Merida back in time to her parents' youth instead of turning Elinor into a bear.
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