Brave is not the annual Pixar event that enthralls us, and as an adult who takes great joy in being predictably overwhelmed by the tablelamp-hopping wizards each summer, it's a crushing disappointment, writes Raja SenDespite an insanely well-rendered crop of red-ringletted hair, Brave is a cute film that makes all the right noises. But just that many, mind you. Missing is the sense of joyous fulfilment -- and handkerchief-need -- brought on usually by Pixar films, as is the complexity in character. Brave is essentially Freaky Friday pretending to be Mulan: and both those Disney productions were decidedly more entertaining.
The tale of a rebellious princess who likes bows more than she likes boys, Brave starts off promisingly well as a young girl's story, veering unexpectedly into fairytale when she chances upon a witch with a woodwork fetish. Soon, we're knee-deep in fairytale territory, after which the film becomes a peculiar mother-daughter tale with surprisingly little eventual insight.
Scottish accents and backdrops are both accurate as well as charming, but by the time the film wraps up, it doesn't feel like its earned its happy ending.
As heroines go, Princess Merida is a plucky character, but her fantastically flaming
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