Disney/Pixar’s Brave was an interesting, beautifully done movie. Visually, it was probably one of my favorites that Pixar has done. From the first scene, the animation just blew me away. The scenery looked absolutely stunning, and so did the characters, from their hair to their clothing.

Merida stood out from the other Disney princesses (Yes, she is now counted as one). She didn’t want to be in love or any such traditions, and was willing to stand up for that. She fought for what she believed, and one of those things was controlling your own life (Or, in her words, “changing your fate”), whether tradition liked that path or not. The other characters, such as King Fergus, Queen Elinor, Merida’s identical triplet brothers, and the three Scottish clan leaders, had wonderfully different personalities. They were unique and beautifully crafted, bringing humor and interesting bits to the story.

Mor’du, the “demon” bear, was the main villain. Unlike many stories, he actually wasn’t as prominent as I expected him to be. When he was present, however, he was an excellent villain. Had he been a larger threat, he would have probably made the movie too frightening for younger children. He was perfectly ugly, with a nasty personality on top of it. I wish he had been there more, since he was so well done.

The story was good, and I enjoyed it greatly, but it felt incomplete, as if something was missing. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on what is missing, however. Apart from this, it was a very enjoyable, well-put together plot. It felt like it could have been longer and a bit more complex, but that would stop it from being a kid’s movie, now wouldn’t it? :] It got along very well without the usual element of romance that is in movies involving princesses, which was a lovely breath of fresh air.

The soundtrack was amazingly put together. It didn’t distract from the story, but instead added to it, just as it should. The bagpipes and other instruments gave it a distinctly Scottish feel, and I absolutely loved it. Luckily, the songs are already on Youtube, so I can listen to them anytime ^^ It melded into the film seamlessly, and I don’t think they could have done a better job with it.

Overall, Brave is a movie you won’t want to miss! Put together, the characters, story, and soundtrack make an enchanting film that makes you feel good to watch. Unlike many kid’s movies today, the characters were believable and excellent.

As with all Pixar movies, there was an unrelated short before the movie. It was called La Luna and was a very interesting. Many people enjoyed it, but I was one of those who didn’t particularly like it. While well done and animated in true Pixar fashion, I felt that it lacked the humor and whimsical story of their others. Partly Cloudy from Up still holds the spot of favorite Pixar short for me.

Talk to you soon!

-Roo

In this undated publicity image released by Disney/Pixar, Princess Merida, (voice by Kelly Macdonald), is shown in the 3D computer animated Disney/Pixar film, “Brave,” releasing June 22, 2012 in North America. Pixar’s first female protagonist, Princess Merida, is determined to forge her own future. This new breed of big-screen damsel not only reflects the independence and athleticism of young women today, but also Hollywood’s increasing willingness to tell their stories. — AP Photo

LOS ANGELES — A new Disney princess has ascended to the box-office throne with a No. 1 debut for Pixar Animation’s “Brave.”

The latest from the makers of “WALL-E,” ”Finding Nemo” and the “Toy Story” movies opened with $66.7 million domestically, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Brave” added $13.5 million in 10 overseas markets for a worldwide start of $80.2 million.

Featuring a feisty Scottish princess, “Brave” was the first of Disney’s Pixar animations with a female protagonist. And it left American hero Abraham Lincoln in the dust.

The 20th Century Fox action tale “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” opened far back at No. 3 with $16.5 million, behind “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.”

DreamWorks Animation’s animated “Madagascar” sequel had been No. 1 for two weekends and added $20.2 million to raise its domestic total to $157.6 million.

“Brave” is the 13th-straight Pixar release to open at No. 1 since “Toy Story” launched Hollywood’s age of computer animation in 1995.

“Their track record is just unbelievable,” said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. “The Pixar brand just carries so much weight with the audience, it doesn’t matter almost what the story is about if it has the Pixar name.”

The weekend’s other new wide release, Steve Carell and Keira Knightley’s apocalyptic romance “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” misfired with just $3.8 million, debuting at No. 10.

The Focus Features film, playing in much narrower release than other top-10 movies, stars Carell and Knightley as heartbroken neighbors on a road trip as a killer asteroid hurtles toward Earth.

Woody Allen’s Italian romance “To Rome with Love” pulled in huge audiences in limited release, debuting with $379,371 in five theaters. That gave the Sony Pictures Classics release a whopping average of $75,874 a theater, compared to $16,028 in 4,164 cinemas for “Brave.”

“Brave” features a voice cast led by Kelly Macdonald and Emma Thompson in a mother-daughter story of a young Scottish princess defying tradition that requires her to marry against her will.

The film proved that audiences will turn up for a female hero, not just the male protagonists of past Pixar flicks, such as Woody and Buzz of “Toy Story,” the robot of “WALL-E” or the rat and his chef buddy of “Ratatouille.”

“Brave” matched the $66.1 million debut of Pixar’s “Cars 2,” with male automotive lead Lightning McQueen, over the same weekend a year ago.

“It is a phenomenal thing, these guys and their mastery of big storytelling and character development, delivering something that plays well to adults as well as kids, to girls as well as boys,” Dave Hollis, Disney’s head of distribution, said of Pixar.

The audience for “Brave” did lean toward females, who accounted for 57 percent of viewers. Two-thirds of the film’s business came from families, who also continued to flock to “Madagascar 3,” making a rare weekend when two PG-rated movies led the box office.

The R-rated “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” was a clever idea — the 16th U.S. president waging his own civil war against the blood-suckers of the republic. But critics were unimpressed, and action fans had only a passing interest in the movie, which featured relative unknown Benjamin Walker as Lincoln.

Still, it was made for $69 million, a modest budget for a summer action movie, and 20th Century Fox had hopes it would hold up well over the next week or so before “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight Rises” swoop in to take over cinemas in July.

“It’s actually a good start for this movie,” said Chris Aronson, the studio’s head of distribution. “This is an interesting and untested genre that I think audiences are going to continue to seek out. Mash-ups have been done, but the historical mash-up has not been done.”

Estimated ticket sales were for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Brave,” $66.7 million ($13.5 million international).

2. “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” $20.2 million ($30.1 million international).

3. “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” $16.5 million ($8.1 million international).

4. “Prometheus,” $10 million ($12.7 million international).

5. “Snow White & the Huntsman,” $8.01 million ($22.6 million international).

6. “Rock of Ages,” $8 million ($2.9 million international).

7. “That’s My Boy,” $7.9 million ($900,000 international).

8. “The Avengers,” $7 million ($2.3 million international).

9. “Men in Black 3,” $5.6 million ($10.5 million international).

10. “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” $3.8 million.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” $30.1 million.

2. “Snow White & the Huntsman,” $22.6 million.

3. “Brave,” $13.5 million.

4. “Prometheus,” $12.7 million.

5. “Men in Black 3,” $10.5 million.

6. “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” $8.1 million.

7. “Dark Shadows,” $6.9 million.

8. “The Dictator,” $4.4 million.

9. “Tengo Ganas De Ti,” $4.3 million.

10. “Rock of Ages,” $2.9 million.

I saw the movie today with my 6-year-old and 4-year–old daughters.  I must say, I was a bit surprised by the story line.  While I had watched the trailers I really wasn’t sure exactly what this movie was about – which was ok – I like surprises.

Unlike just about every other Disney Princess movie this one isn’t about a love story.  Much to my surprise, this is really a mother-daughter movie.  Since I was watching the story unfold while sitting in between my two young daughters, I have to admit, there were a few parts that made me tear up.  It’s definitely not all mushy gushy though.  This movie is action packed and suspenseful.  There were two scenes in particular that had my 6-year-old in my lap with her face buried into my chest and my 4-year-old with her face buried into my arm!  lol  I’m sure being in the big theatre with the surround sound AND wearing 3D glasses didn’t help the situation.

Regardless, they both LOVED this movie and quite frankly so did I.  I think it’s a great flick for young girls and mothers with young daughters to enjoy.  There are many lessons in the movie but the one that rings true to me – one that I’ve repeated many times is – be careful what you wish for.

Disney hit the nail on the head with this one!

~Kim

Brave

And you thought you were all cool just hitting the target when you were learning about archery in gym class.

Steve Carell‘s got a new movie out, too. 

If you want to see a movie this weekend, Disney/Pixar has a new one out called Brave, and it’s pretty great. [photogallerylink id=130953]

Then again, we get excited about anything involving kilts and bagpipes so we might not be the best judge.

There’s also a Steve Carell movie called Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which is about exactly that.

It started off funny, then got sad, and then we fell asleep so again, we’re probably not good judges.

You can get tickets for those here and here.

And while you’re there get tickets for Jack’s Throwback Show next Saturday.

THAT show is gonna be great, and yes, WE ARE good judges for this one.

Here’s some trailers for you:

Here we have some delightful Brave concept artwork! Featuring Princess Merida, Queen Elinor, The Old Wise Woman and Lord Macintosh! The first image has only just been released! How beautiful!

A sequel of the highly popular action game, Temple Run, will be released on June 14, its makers Imangi has said. The game, developed in association with Disney, will beavailable for Android and iOS based devices.
The game is based on the character of the protagonist of the upcoming movie, Brave,who is known as Princess Merida. The gameplay is like the original Temple Run game but is based on the landscapes of Scotland. So in the new game, you as Princess Merida run, slide, jump, turn and shoot your way across the wilds of Scotland on an endless running adventure!
The new game introduces archery unlike in the original game where you can only run,slide, jump or turn. Also, in place of the evil monkeys, youhave to outrun Mordu, the demon bear, to earn running glory.
The game will be available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon App Store from June 14.

This is the first Disney “princess” movie that I actually want to go see. The girl who plays Merida at Disney’s Epcot is pretty amazing, she even has the Scottish accent down.

In between naps (I basically slept 24/7 last week) and drinking copious amounts of water, I watched TV. I have bedrest and television advertisers to thank for introducing me to BRAVE. I’m so glad this movie was made!

I don’t know if it was the medicine, my love for red hair, or my fascination/respect for Disney/Pixar; but every time this commercial came on I became overwhelmed with emotion!

Brave | June 22

Maybe I’m just a sap. Regardless, this movie is definitely on my must-see list this summer.

On May 8th, Oshima Yuko (23), a member of the popular idol group AKB48, appeared at a publicized post-recording event for Disney’s Brave (opens July 21st in Japan.)  She does the Japanese voiceovers for Merida, the protagonist of the film.  At the event, she expressed her excitement for the upcoming AKB general elections (June 6) and effectively dispelled internet rumors of her “Graduation Announcement”.

On May 6th, Oshima posted a video on the AKB48 APPEAL COMMENT Channel on Youtube in which she stated, “This is the last chance for me to be a center.”

With no official “Graduation Announcement” from AKB48, she denied that she was graduating on her blog on May 6th and on May 8th. She again directed fans to her blog when asked about this leaving the message, “It is as I stated on my blog. I have not made a graduation announcement, so please do not worry.”

For the recording, she voiced the protagonist Princess Merida with strong emotion. The movie depicts a world in which witchcraft is forbidden. When reporters asked  her, “If you could use magic, who would you use your powers on?” She laughed mischievously as she responded, “I would like to use magic on myself, and make myself be able to use magic freely. Then I could use magic for everything!”

Source : Sanspo

What do you think of Pixar’s new direction with this film? Feel free to tell me all your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you very much for reading and if you enjoyed this post please feel free to hit that follow and like button to show me some love.

Well, guess what? I made two! One to improve upon a flaw, and one to open my mind to something new.

RESOLUTION A: I will *permanently* beat my sugar addiction, and be able to painlessly refuse a piece of chocolate by June.
Don’t laugh. I do, indeed, have a tragic addiction to both simple and complex sugars (which has been scientifically proven to be possible). It has, I believe, led to the fact that I feel absolutely gross even when I eat something healthy, like a salad. My theory is, without sugar, there will be no guilt, and my food phobias will be significantly reduced. Sugar apparently can inhibit brain function, and I have candy at least once daily to curb my craving.

I understand this challenge will be painful. I could possibly experience withdrawal symptoms similar to an alcoholic’s hangover. Candy surrounds me in stores, malls, and even in the office. Learning to resist my favorite food in the Universe is going to kick my ass so hard I could possibly die an emotional death if I don’t do this right. That’s why I added the second part of this first resolution. It gives me a realistic time frame in which to overcome Stage A, which is sugar-toxification, and transition to Stage B: ignoring the cravings.

I’m also doing this not just to curb a bad habit, but to prove to myself that I can do it. I’ve always been convinced I have minimal will power. I will say I’ll wake up at 6AM to hit the gym, then hit the snooze button and lock my cat out of my room so he won’t disturb me when I sleep in until 8:30. I’ve always been a spur-of-the-moment type, and when it comes to laziness, I’m about as miserably and tragically endowed as they come. If I don’t feel it, I rarely press through the laziness and overcome it in order to do what I need to.

RESOLUTION B: I will take up archery, and shoot three bulls-eyes by the end of 2012.
I am TOTALLY not doing this because of Disney/Pixar’s Brave coming out next year, and doing this will completely make me the ideal candidate to cosplay Princess Merida…despite us having the same hair, same personality, same heritage, and same degree of epic awesomeness (and I can just tell this from the trailer).

No, I’m doing this to counter-act some of my lazy personality. In my area, the closest archery club is 15+ miles away. This one will help me built up my motivation, and take on a hobby that is actually active. You know, something other than reading, writing, and needlepointing. I’ve actually privately wanted to take this up for a few years, and now that I’m not afraid to drive anymore, I think I can make that trip 15 miles down the freeway once or twice a week. I went to a summer camp for several summers in a row as a child, and the camp had an archery range. I remember getting a bulls-eye on my second attempt, and was one of only a handful of kids who could even hit the target.

This will give me something to practice and perfect. It is something that will take me time, and again, this is why I added a second claus to the resolution that paints a realistic time frame.

Well, fair readers, wish me luck on this quest! I will probably keep you updated on it if you care to follow me! *deep breath*

ASIDE: The first resolution will not commence before January 1st to accomidate for consumption of holiday goodies, of course!

However, some of the comments about the recently released trailer for their upcoming feature Brave on a site that I frequent, and doesn’t need it’s name here (they get enough traffic ) rather incensed me.

The two that really bothered me were these:

1) Oh look Pixar is pulling a Dreamworks – it looks like How To Train Your Dragon.

and 2) Another female hero story? I’m tired of these types of films.

Now admittedly, the site runners for the website in question weren’t saying this, and for the most part, we share a lot of the same views when it comes to Pixar. What bothers me is that people who claim to be film fans can have this kind of attitude.

Let’s address the points in the order I’ve listed them, the easiest first…

“It looks like Dreamwork’s How To Train Your Dragon.”

Ummm, lets be honest here, until Dreamworks released Dragon, their works when compared to Pixar’s efforts were sadly lacking. Rough and mean to say, but true. While Dreamworks films seemed to focus more on splendor and a sense of “look at what we can do with our computer” effects, Pixar first and foremost put their characters and stories upfront, and then made their films look beautiful.

Dreamworks turned a corner with Dragon, adapting a series of novels (very well I might add) and concentrated on developing their story first!

And now, since they’ve done that once Pixar is copying them?

Please.

Another talking point that I think is being used is the fact that in Dragon, half the cast is Scottish, and Brave itself is set in Scotland. So of course, there is a wealth of Scottish accents flying around. This was one of my real problems with Dragon… since when our Vikings Scottish?? At least Pixar is keeping their accents correct for their film.

And let’s be honest, anyone who knows anything about animated films knows that it takes years for these things to be made, so Brave was well into development by the time Dragon came out. And I really don’t think, that either company is looking over one another’s shoulders to see what they are doing. I think they both, honestly, want to make money with what they believe are strong family films. Once again, Pixar is the real winner on that one.

And while, thanks to Cars 2, I won’t follow Pixar blindly, they have generated enough good will and faith in their work that I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their films. I can’t say the same for Dreamworks, they got me with one film, but the rest of their catalog I’m not such a huge fan of.

So if anything, I think Dreamworks is finally taking a page from Pixar, in terms of their films, and focusing on story first. So both of their most recent films have people with Scottish accents, before that they all had people with American accents, were they stealing then too? Silly trolls.

Now, for number two…

“Another Female Hero story? I’m tired of those types of films”

I’m not going to touch the inherent sexism that seems to reek from that statement, I can only hope that the troll who wrote it will enjoy his lonely life in his parents’ basement or garage.

It’s true that Disney has done a lot of female leads, whether they could be called heroes by today’s standards is something else, but Pixar has never had a female as their heroic lead, and to me this is a long overdue matter that is finally being addressed.

Now say they had created a passive heroine in Princess Merida, I might have a problem with that. A lead who lets everything happen to them, and then has a prince come along to rescue them (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White) I have a problem with, they’re too passive.

Pixar characters have never had that problem, their characters are completely realized, flaws and all, and it’s usually the flaw that gets them into their trouble, and then they pro-actively go out and change it themselves.

Merida, no doubt will be her own hero, and I myself am looking forward to it.

People have already whined about whether or not she will have some cute and cuddly sidekick, now it is a family film under the Pixar and Disney banner, sure there are gonna be some cute cuddly characters in it (those three bears look hilarious), but rushing to judgment on a two minute trailer from a company that’s a proven winner, even with Cars 2, is not only wall-smackingly stupid, but just reeks of troll stench.

If you don’t want to see it, don’t, Pixar will be fine without you.

I can tell you, I’ll be there.

sketches of Princess Merida in "Brave"

Before my daughter Merida’s accident, I might have (hyperbolically) called what happened today my worst nightmare:  Shopping at Target, I asked her which underwear she wanted to choose.  While I suggested Hello Kitty or Paul Frank monkeys, she grabbed the Disney Princesses.  I suggested several other options (“Look honey, these have the days of the week!”) but she was certain of what she wanted.  I bought them.

All her life, my husband and I have worked to keep her away from TV and mainstream junk.  I know, everyone says the Pixar movies are great, and I have seen a couple of them (not bad) but Merida thinks movies are the things we watch on youtube, most often short videos of the band Hot Club of Cowtown, or Mark Bittman cooking.

But next year, Disney/Pixar will release a film called “Brave“.  The heroine is named Princess Merida.  Princess Merida!  When I first found out about this last spring, I was horrified.  How dare they steal my child’s name?!  And how badly will they mispronounce it, adding to the confusion we already face each visit to the pediatrician’s office, when she’s called “Muhr-Ida” and other versions that are not her name.

Then came the accident.  Through the entire process, and still, my Merida has been unbelievably brave and strong.  A little warrior, future slayer.  (I’ve always wanted to raise a slayer, but that’s another story.)  Swirled in now with all the ambivalence I have about Disney and skewed, commercial images of what girls and women should be, I am now, strangely, okay with the naming of next summer’s princess.  I’ll take it!  If it gives my daughter a little pop culture validation that she is awesome and strong and amazing, who am I to argue?  I told Merida and a friend of hers about the movie, and was quickly convinced to take them both to the theatre next summer.  (It’s a date!  Robbie Coltrane does one of the voices, so it can’t be all bad.)

But next time she’s getting  the monkey underwear.