Brave is Pixar’s thirteenth feature film. Set in 10th century Scotland, the story focuses on Princess Merida, who inadvertently curses her family in an attempt to escape her fate.

I was really looking forward to this movie. Maybe that’s the reason it disappointed me.

Brave‘s trailers made me expect something along the lines of a defiant princess going on an epic quest, but I was wrong. It turns out Merida’s adventure was hardly epic; there was just a lot of running back-and-forth between her family’s castle and the nearby woods. For a Pixar film, I felt the story fell terribly flat. The whole princess-does-not-want-to-be-a-princess plot is just too simplistic and cliche, and none of the film’s visuals or musical merits seemed to make up for it. As one of the film’s reviews at IMDB says, it feels like a Disney story, not a Pixar story.

Even with the cliche and rather shallow storyline, I wouldn’t say Brave  is a film kids of all ages will enjoy. I think film’s humor and darker, foreboding scenes make it more appropriate for older children (around ages eight and up).

I’m not saying Brave is a bad movie. Brave has its share of enjoyable moments and interesting characters, plus it has the most beautiful visuals and fantastic music you’ll ever encounter in a Pixar film. I’m just saying if you’re expecting something as epic as Wall-E, The Incredibles, or Toy Story 3, you’re in for a huge let-down.

El

El Santos is a marketing & advertising professional by day and gamer/bookworm/tarot reader by night. She’s prone to sudden fits of fangirling over her varied interests: video games, fiction, art, folkore, anime, and tarot. She currently lives with her husband and 2 rescue cats.