Brave

Pearl, Grandma Karen, and I had a movie date this week to watch Brave, the perfect choice for an all-girl summer outing, although this is a movie that boys should enjoy too. We left three-year-old George at home primarily because the trailer showed some scary bear scenes. This was a good call, we all agreed, as the nightmarish Mor'du made his ferocious appearance onscreen.

The reviews for this film have been mixed, and some have criticized it for having a thin plot, or showing less innovation than Pixar's earlier works. What is notable, however, is that this is the first Pixar feature in 13 to have a female protagonist. What?! Yes, that is right, and it's about time, although the fact that the female lead is, of course, a princess, and serves to feed the Disney princess marketing behemoth, has also been the subject of criticism. No doubt, the predominance of princesses in films for girls continues to frustrate parents seeking alternative role models for their daughters. Peggy Orenstein's best-selling book Cinderella Ate My Daughter gives some context to this issue and is on my summer reading list.

Merida, the princess in Brave, however, effectively and refreshingly breaks the traditional mold, as a fiery, self-confident, daring young girl who is an expert archer and horseback rider. She delights in riding her trusty steed, Angus, through the Scottish highlands, and hitting targets with her bow and arrow. All the while, her magnificent mane of red curly locks billows around her with a life of its own, a wonder of animation in a film full of gorgeous scenes and expertly rendered details.

The film's main conflict develops when Merida's mother, Queen Elinor, tells her daughter that the time has come for her to marry, and that the first-born sons of her kingdom's clans are on their way to compete for her hand. The furious Merida refuses to play along, until she cleverly schemes up a way to win her own hand in marriage. After this plan fails, Merida looks to a witch for a spell that will change her mother, and let her pursue her own fate.

Her mother changes, but not in the way Merida had expected, and the girl's efforts must now turn to saving her mother, and ultimately the kingdom. This is the part where, to me, the film gets really interesting, in large part because it explores and actually gives some insight into the timeless, sometimes thorny, and complicated topic of mother-daughter relationships.

Queen Elinor has given her life to training her daughter in the feminine arts, knowing that she will one day take the throne. For the sake of the kingdom, whose clansmen expect that their sons will have a chance to share that throne, Elinor must offer her daughter's hand in marriage.  So, we see her strictness and insistence on bending her daughter's will as not simply cruel acts, but rooted in larger concerns and the responsibility she feels for the kingdom itself. A selfish break with tradition, we learn from a legend Elinor tells in the beginning, can lead to the demise of all. This is to say that Elinor is a more complex and sympathetic character than so many wicked mother and step-mother figures we've met in other stories.

As the story unfolds, compromise and the art of listening emerge as redemptive forces. The mother-daughter bond is threatened, but both Elinor and Merida go through major transformations that allow them to see each other in a new light. I actually found it quite moving.

The men and boys in the film serve mainly as comic relief: Merida's raucous and fun-loving father, King Fergus, seems more boy than man; her brothers, red-headed triplets, bounce around, impishly pursuing their own fun; and the clansmen, with their thick brogues and love of food, wine, and fisticuffs, play to every stereotype of ancient Scots you can imagine. The male characters in this film lack the depth and complexity found in Merida and Elinor, and  it seems Pixar is betting that's OK. The film targets a female audience, but boys who like a good fight scene will find satisfaction. Hopefully boys will also enjoy and be moved by the story of a girl determined to make her own way in the world. Merida is certainly struggling with issues that all young people encounter at some point.

I asked Pearl what she thought the main messages of the film were. She said, "To find strength inside yourself, to do what you want to do, and to be brave." I thought that was a pretty amazing take-away and I am happy for Pearl to have seen this film. Yes, this is a princess tale, but it has heart, and Merida serves as a perfect anti-Cinderella. For girls, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

If you go see Brave in the theater, be sure and arrive on time to catch the animated short La Luna, which precedes it. Directed by Enrico Casarosa and nominated for an Academy Award, it is a sweet story about a boy going out one night with his father and grandfather, whose job is to sweep stars on the moon's surface, changing its phase. With a simple but magical premise, and no words, the film, like Brave, sheds light on generational differences and a child's desire to do things his own way. A delightful short film!