3.5/5 Stars
The story and the screenplay are well and
truly, one of the biggest USPs of this film. Writers Mark Andrews, Steve
Purcell, Brenda Chapman (the 3 have directed the film as well!) and Irene
Mecchi have conceived marvellous characters. The film engages you throughout
its length, sans a single lull throughout its 100-minute duration. Another
positive is the score, composed by Patrick Doyle. Considering, that the premise
of the film is based in Scotland, a lot of Scottish instruments such as
bagpipes, harps, flutes have been used in addition to the electronic ones such
as the dulcimer and cimbalom. Besides Patrick Doyle’s work, the soundtrack also
features two original songs performed by Scottish Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis
and written by Alex Mandel, and one original song performed by Birdy and the
British band Mumford & Sons. Although the music cannot be termed as
memorable, it did tailor into the film perfectly. As far as the voiceovers are
concerned, the artistes donning the mic for the principal characters Kelly
Macdonald, Emma Thompson and Billy Connolly do a tremendous job, enunciating
with the required emotions.
The story revolves around the young
Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) who wants to defy customs set by her polished
mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). She is not your arch-typical princess at
all. She prefers eating with the hand, practicing archery and horse-riding, and
chooses to do away with attire associated with pristine princesses. Her
rebellious attitude leads her to approach a witch to change her mother, Queen
Elinor (she meant, change in attitude!) However, all hell breaks loose, when
the Queen does change, albeit into a bear. The rest of the film is about how
the ‘brave’ Merida rescues her mother from her father King Fergus (Billy
Connolly) and his troupe, and goes on to discover hidden secrets about the
Scottish kingdom of DunBroch.
The story and the screenplay are well and
truly, one of the biggest USPs of this film. Writers Mark Andrews, Steve
Purcell, Brenda Chapman (the 3 have directed the film as well!) and Irene
Mecchi have conceived marvellous characters. The film engages you throughout
its length, sans a single lull throughout its 100-minute duration. Another
positive is the score, composed by Patrick Doyle. Considering, that the premise
of the film is based in Scotland, a lot of Scottish instruments such as
bagpipes, harps, flutes have been used in addition to the electronic ones such
as the dulcimer and cimbalom. Besides Patrick Doyle’s work, the soundtrack also
features two original songs performed by Scottish Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis
and written by Alex Mandel, and one original song performed by Birdy and the
British band Mumford & Sons. Although the music cannot be termed as
memorable, it did tailor into the film perfectly. As far as the voiceovers are
concerned, the artistes donning the mic for the principal characters Kelly
Macdonald, Emma Thompson and Billy Connolly do a tremendous job, enunciating
with the required emotions.
The animation was breath-taking, with the
3-D making the visuals even more spectacular. If you thought ‘Madagascar 3:
Europe’s Most Wanted’ had amazing visual effects by the DreamWorks team, Pixar
raises the bar by several notches in their latest offering. The film would be
visually appealing in either formats – 2D or 3D. However, the best part about
the film is that it does not bank primarily on the visual appeal, but has a
well-etched plot to go with it as well.
There are laugh-worthy moments galore in this film with just a touch of drama, making it a highly entertaining affair!
The trailers of the film are indeed,
misleading to a certain extent. The film is not the story about a princess as
much as it is about courage! The kids in particular, will love this film. I am
going with 3.5 Stars for ‘Brave’! (First Posted in MSN)
Shivom Oza
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