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Author Topic: Brave Stu Jamieson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 524 From: Buccan, Qld, Australia Registered: Jan 2008 posted 06-16-2012 07:16 AM                     Given the maturation of animated story-telling that was occurring with Wall-E and Up, it's a little disappointing that Brave marks a return for Pixar to a mere, simple "kid's movie". While there's nothing inherently wrong with "simple kid's movies", Pixar (with Toy Story) and Dreamworks (with Shrek) showed that adult's and kid's films need not be mutually exclusive and they thus raised the bar for future children's entertainment. The problem with Brave is that aside from it's Scottish setting, there's little that's new in it. Indeed this kind of girl's coming-of-age story and her quest to break with tradition and assert her independance was done better not so long ago with Brave's stablemate, Tangled. Brave is not a bad film, and it is very entertaining, but it lacks the innovation we've come to expect from Pixar. Predictably the film features a who's who of high calibre British thesps. After her success in Trainspotting, Kelly McDonald has turned up in all manner of supporting roles, sometimes sporting an American accent, but she is never more gorgeous than when she's speaking her own native tongue and her voice alone makes our protagonist, the spirited Princess Merida, instantly likeable. It's a rare delight to hear McDonald utter habitual Scottish phrases such as "Michty me!" and "Jings crivens help ma boab!" in a mainstream American movie; a suitable antidote, perhaps, to her southern drawl in No Country For Old Men. You can hardly have a funny Scottish movie without Billy Connolly in it so he's there as well voicing Merida's father, Fergus. Emma Thompson tries on her best Scottish elocution and doesn't embarrass herself. Fellow Trainspotting alumni, Kevin McKidd, gives a notable dual performance as both Lord MacGuffin and his son and heir, Young MacGuffin, whose dialect is so obscure and accent so broad that even his own father struggles to understand him. Given that many english speaking people find all Scottish dialects largely incomprehensible, this marks one of the films funniest recurring jokes. Even though Pixar isn't changing the world with Brave there's still plenty of enjoyment to be had and I'm sure that after a couple of watches with my 5 year old, I'll be enjoying this as much as any of their other movies. But while any other animation studio could be rightly proud of Brave, by Pixar standards it's a little underwhelming. On the Pixar scale, I'd say it rates about the same as Cars. 7.5 out of 10.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-16-2012 11:53 AM                     I HATED IT!!! just kidding, Stu -- I haven't seen it  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-16-2012 03:01 PM                        Wall-E and Up bombed at the box office maybe they just want to make money with this one rather than lose it. Neither film made back production cost!  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 06-16-2012 05:14 PM                     quote: Wall-E and Up bombed at the box office maybe they just want to make money with this one rather than lose it. Neither film made back production cost! What the hell are you talking about? Those movies made back their production costs plus a lot. Wall-E made $521.3 million worldwide ($223.8 mil domestic) compared to its production cost of $180 million. Up made $731.3 million worldwide ($293 mil domestic) compared to its production cost of $175.  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-17-2012 01:07 PM                        By Disney standards in the USA these films were not what was expected. I was not talking world wide though Wal-E and UP did make more than cost in the USA it is total the films were nowhere near other Pixar films. They were disappointments for Both Disney and Pixar.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-17-2012 02:03 PM                        I doubt you would find anybody at Disney or Pixar who would say a half-billion or three-quarter billion dollar gross were disappointing. Neither one of those films were mainstream like the Toy Story films, so it's not surprising they didn't do quite as well domestically.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 06-17-2012 05:46 PM                     quote: Ron Funderburg By Disney standards in the USA these films were not what was expected. While this is true, you claimed that the movies didn't make back their production costs which is patently false.  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-18-2012 10:29 AM                        Which I corrected in the last past. I know they bombed here and all the theaters in this area were playing to quarter full or less on weekends. Of course we could discuss Car's 2 but I would rather not for it was just awful.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-18-2012 02:47 PM                        Oh come on, now. "Awful?" I will grant you it wasn't Pixar's best effort, but "awful?" No. "Home on the Range" was awful. Maybe we can get back on topic Friday when "Brave" actually comes out. Maybe the moderators would like to delete the discussion (except the first post) up to now?  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-18-2012 02:55 PM                        Oh come on Mike disagreement between us is what makes the site interesting. How boring would it be if we all had the same opinion? After all variety is the spice of life and this can be a pretty spicy place at times. I found Cars 2 unwatchable to me I just couldn't get into it even in short burst. I loved UP and found Wall-E enjoyable but to me neither were up to the standards of the past. I have hopes for Brave but know it might not fair well because of the female hero thing and little boys not being all that crazy about a girl hero. Who knows maybe it will be best thing since Monsters Inc.  |  IP: Logged Stu Jamieson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 524 From: Buccan, Qld, Australia Registered: Jan 2008 posted 06-18-2012 06:14 PM                     Brave hasn't come out there yet? Did we get it before you guys? It doesn't formally start here until next week but there were sneak peeks everywhere last weekend, do you guys not get those?  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-18-2012 11:16 PM                        Well...WE don't get those, but I know it sneaked in some places here last week -- or there were press screenings, not sure which. Maybe both?  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-19-2012 08:35 PM                        Just judging from the trailer, I'm going to predict that the three "little brothers" are going to be Pixar's new most-annoying movie characters. Hope I'm wrong.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-19-2012 09:36 PM                     $223.8 mil domestic and $293 mil domestic is a bomb?  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-20-2012 01:00 AM                        I think Ron just meant they bombed at HIS boxoffice!  |  IP: Logged

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