Near Miss

[Canadish]

I have an uncle who fills a bunch of roles at pixar. As he explains it Pixar is currently broken up into two halves each producing their own films. To put a point on it Cars was not completed by the same studio that created Toys.

Yeah this is the Cars studio. So no surprise that this is lacking in comparison to the other heavy hitters Pixar is known for.

That puts an interesting light on the situation.

So the Pixar B-team was on the job then?

I admit, I didn't think it would be very good when I saw the trailer. It's giving off that Dreamworks vibe.
I thought they might surprise us though (because it's Pixar) and put an interesting spin on the whole "Princess runs from a marriage" thing.

But from the reviews I can gather it goes for the lowing hanging fruit of "Our Female hero is empowered because all Men are silly poopy heads, isn't that interesting!?"

 

[RTK1576]

This reminds me a lot of the reviews for Promethous: a movie that strived for something significant and didn't quite make it. Almost everyone prefaces their reviews with "For Pixar, this is a letdown."

I suspect I'll still like it, but much like Promethous, my expectations have altered.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Wow I disagree with Bob on most everything but this review dead on like Merida's arrows.

Simply put not counting cars this is the worst pixar movie. Which is sad because it had a lot of potential as to turn the Disney princess thing on its head.

The movie had several good elements none of which were fully explored. The backstory of the clans, the magical elements like the witch and the wisps, the reasoning behind the importance of the traditions.

It felt like was two 45 minute tv show episodes stuck hastily together.

 

[Frankster]

Ain't gone to see it yet (still need to watch prometheus) but it's on my to watch list.

Shame to hear it's merely "good" as opposed to "stellar", but an ok pixar film is still better then 90% of animated films out there (very conservative estimate) in my mind.

 

[Nurb]

Given how much crap the studios are putting out, I see nothing wrong with the public and critics having much higher expectations and standards for one studio that has proven it is capable of producing movies that aren't safe, and easy.

Saying Brave is good, but a disappointment with it's handling of it's first female lead as another product for the Disney Princess Merchandise Machine? in an easy story with one-dimensional characters isn't asking too much of Pixar, because it's consistantly done so much better before.

The story for Pixar's first female main character is just too by the numbers with it's all too cliche "Girls/princesses just can't do that!" trope and the sitcom-like portrayal of every male character as one-dimensional buffoons or little boys is just too easy.

 

[Leemaster777]

Once again, I find myself silently nodding in agreement with Bob. I just got back from watching it, and after reading this, I can't help agree with Bob on pretty much everything he said.

The main character and her mom, as well as the interaction between them, is really good, and is easily the best part of the movie. But the pacing problems do get in the way a bit.

"Underwhelming for Pixar" is something everyone seems to be saying, and it's pretty accurate. I could really see this as a Dreamworks movie, it certainly feels like one. And I don't mean that as a knock against the movie, it's simply a matter of the tone the movie presents.

Brave is good, but definitely near the bottom of the Pixar list. But then again, the Pixar list is pretty much dominated by freaking awesome movies, so you could definitely do worse.

 

[Dirty Apple]

I would venture to say that we're witnessing commercial concerns trumping artistic ones. Cars may be lower on their acclaim list but it is undoubtedly their biggest money maker. I'm willing to bet 2 high-fives that this one will take second place.

Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Wall-E, and Up have bought a lot of leeway for Pixar. They haven't lost me yet, but I may have glanced at the door for the first time.

 

[Siberian Relic]

I wonder if anyone was nervous when 'Monsters, Inc.' was set to open in theaters. It was basically the first Pixar film released that didn't have John Lasseter at the helm. 'Brave' could have fallen short due to new directors given a crack at a film, which is something I neither dislike nor discourage. As others have mentioned, it could be that Disney stepped in and tangled around with inner workings.

As much of a letdown this may be, I don't think anyone should look at this as the start of Pixar's twilight period or something. 'A Bug's Life' doesn't stand up to most of the Pixar roster, but it certainly didn't spell the end.

Just hoping Pixar will be able to get far, far away from Disney and soon.

 

[Marik2]

Secondly, I think mention should be made of the "la Luna" skit that came on before the movie opening... still amazes me that pixar can, in the span of maybe five minutes, tell a better story about Finding Yourself, Passing on the Torch, Ingenuity, and the Bond Between Generations than most full length films or books.

Oh yeah I agree, that had to be the best Pixar short they ever made.

Lots of great symbolism and everything was told without saying one word

 

[Falseprophet]

Well, just got back from seeing it. I have to say, if Brave supposed to be disappointing for Pixar, no one else is fit to be the dung on Pixar's heels. I think the Io9 review was spot on, this time.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

For me, the biggest issue was how predictable it was. With the other Pixar films, you are left wondering: "just what are they going to do with this concept?" With Toy Story, the concept is living Toys, except it also delves into much deeper themes of mortality and rejection.

With Brave, you could telegraph every single moment in the film. If you've seen a princess film before, you know exactly what will happen, and when. It was good, but it was conventional.

 

[lacktheknack]

Well, just got back from seeing it. I have to say, if Brave supposed to be disappointing for Pixar, no one else is fit to be the dung on Pixar's heels.

What this guy said. I'd personally put it at number three of the best Pixar films (Up and Wall-E battle for first and second). It's gorgeous, it uses its main plot hook (which did come a bit late) very well, it made me cry a bit. AND IT USED CORRECT ACCENTS.

 

[fatguy925]

Finding Nemo was most profitable and cars 2 was 12th in the listing at http://www.businessinsider.com/which-pixar-films-made-the-most-money-2012-6?op=1

 

[PunkRex]

*STILL really likes the Cars movies*
Screw you guys im going home...
*weeps*

 

[rayen020]

I have really mixed feelings on this. Don't get me wrong they all say it's good it's just the how and whys. It seems to me there are two really good movies in there vying for attention. The mother daughter thing and the family unit thing.

 

[Neino Ranatos]

I was honestly very disappointed in this movie. It had a lot of potential to do something different or at least fun and interesting that we don't see often.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. It was a good movie, but not a Pixar movie.

I share the arrow analogy, Bob. Looks like Pixar won't win the princess' hand, but it was a very good try.

Spoiler: (Spoilers! ...No, seriously SPOILERS!!!!!) Also, did anyone else notice that...

Disney already made this movie? It was called Brother Bear. The only difference in plot was setting and a brother-brother relationship.

And with Monsters University on the horizon, is it safe to say that Pixar's era of innovation is either ending or on a down-curve?

 

[Daria.Morgendorffer]

You know, I didn't see the whole "girl power" thing when I watched this as some seem to contend.

The one instance Merida proved it wasn't to show "girls can do better" was just to get her out of having to marry someone she didn't want to. And it didn't seem like she learned archery because she wanted to be better than the boys - she just developed a passion for it because she learned it from her father as a little girl.

If there's one thing that was mighty refreshing about it, it showed a decent relationship between the girl and her father, and strained, but loving, between the girl and her (living and not evil) mother-figure (not even a stepmother, who knew).

I liked it, but I do agree with Bob that it wasn't what it could have been. (It was better than Cars, which I didn't hate, and Ratatouille, which I wasn't impressed with.)

Still, some of the best music I'm sure I'll hear at the movies this year, if only because I have a fondness for Celtic music.

 

[roushutsu]

Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect when I went in, cause the trailers only showed the parts from the beginning of the film. I was pleasantly surprised by the direction they took with Merida and Elinor. Pixar did say that this was going to be a fairy tale, and in the end that is what it felt like.

That being said, about the advertising, I'm not quite sold on the notion of "we didn't want to spoil the movie." I remember they did similar marketing with Tangled, where the trailers showed crazy hijinks, including the princess beating the crap out of the lead guy with her hair, all in a comical fashion. Yet that's only a small portion of the movie; the rest is a heart-warming fairy tale that you really didn't see coming. I remember Nostalgia Chick bringing this up and contemplating how Disney resorted to "Dreamworks advertising" to put asses in seats rather than try to entice the audience with what they really had to offer, and I can't help but feel as if they did the same thing for Brave. Merida and Elinor's plight was what made the movie enjoyable, not her reaction to the crazy boys. Should Disney really continue with this kind of advertising, especially when it gives people the wrong expectations?

 

[Zydrate]

I think I might enjoy this movie anyway. It sounds like it spends some decent time on character development, which I adore.

 

[Random berk]

Wait, Brave is set in medieval Scotland? Huh. From what I've seen of the artwork on posters and cutouts, I really thought it was going to be set in Ireland during the Iron age. I'm not sure why, maybe because of the clothing and the ropework in the logo, which reminds me a little of the High crosses, now that I think of it. To find that its set in medieval Scotland is slightly disappointing. The former would have been more original.