Usually I like the Pixar movies, so I found myself especially disappointed by Brave. FYI, this post contains spoilers.
It didn't start out badly. I liked that the character had hair that kind of looked like mine... I could relate to that part. The Scottish accents were cute. The Life of a Princess montage was fun.
But things went downhill after that.
The heroine, Merida, is a princess who has a free spirit, and is being forced to pick a husband against her will. She doesn't want to be in an arranged marriage and rebels against this idea. This is a pretty creative concept, which has never been done before. Except, of course, in every single Disney movie I've ever seen. I'm sick of it. At this point, it would be more creative to just have a princess who conforms and gets married.
Actually, I like that idea: the princess is looking forward to an arranged marriage, but she's so unattractive that none of the suitors will pick her. Disney, I'm looking at you. (They'll never do it. You can't merchandise ugly princesses.)
Anyway, Merida is so desperate to avoid marriage that she gets a spell that turns her mother into a bear. And somehow, being turned into a bear helps her mother to understand her better. Because whoever wrote this story was smoking a large amount of crack and it all made sense at the time.
What bothered me most was that Merida was acting like a spoiled brat, and her mother seemed really cool (for a queen) and loving. The reason for the arranged marriage was to avoid war. Not because her mother was just a bitch and wanted some grandkids. So turning her mom into a bear to make her into a better person was just... ridiculous. As ridiculous as it sounds. Seriously, if I were that mother, I would have been SO angry at Merida.
Also, the movie made my daughter cry. We were talking about it after, and she burst into tears and said, "I felt really sad when the mom was in trouble. I didn't like that movie."
Out of the mouths of babes...
Bears can be really understanding. I thought everybody knew that.
ReplyDeleteMy boys loved the movie. But boys are into action not feelings. They did archery in camp this year and this resonated with them. I did not see it, so appreciate your description. Proves once again that you need to screen every movie you take your child to, except, how? go watch it yourself first? When you can't even trust a kid movie to be about instilling good values, what choice do you have? I loved recent OMG comment who listens to italian kid songs with her dtr, b/c our kid songs are somehow about adult content (romance) and not kid stuff (fun, hilarious, humorous). Disney ! Where is your high quality cartoon productions that made you famous world wide? !
ReplyDeleteHow about throwing authority figure - parent under the bus? In my childhood days all movies and cartoons were about wise parents and children who eventually understood that parent was right. That's old fashioned of course. Nowdays the child dictates to the parent.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like that movie at all. The other bear was terrifying and several kids left the theater crying. I can't imagine there weren't kids with nightmares following that movie. What happened to those cute, fun movies like The Emperor's New Groove?
ReplyDeleteI love your idea for the movie. How about making the female protagonist -- attractive or not -- be interested in DOING something, like, other than getting married to anyone at all.
ReplyDeleteOr do an arranged marriage that the daughter is reticent about where it works out and results in world peace and a career as a diplomat?
Ugh.
Was watching the little mermaid a week ago and I have to admit the entire premise made me mad. And that's one of the better Disney movies, at least as I remember them.
(I do remember liking Eva in Wall-E though. That one they got right.)
Ariel was a total spoiled brat, even though I actually do like that movie just because it was well made.
DeleteI've said this before but I do think Mulan was a kickass heroine.
I liked Brave... mostly for the fact that in the end, she DIDN'T get married. Yes, it was a dark movie. So was Bambi. :P Most Disney princesses WANT to get married.
DeleteShe wasn't ready for marriage, and in the end, it was pointed out that the original alliance was NOT based on family ties, but ties of mutual respect. Whichever clans weren't picked might still have gone to war against hers and the one whose son she married.
I think both mother and daughter were in the wrong, and she had to learn to overlook her own pride and think about her mother's point of view. She was willing to give up her freedom to help her mother after seeing the wrong she'd committed, but her mother urged her to speak how she actually felt.
Black Cauldron was darker, and I loved that movie (and the books) too. :P Disney should have more princesses who realize that they don't *need* to be married young. Mulan was awesome for that reason too.
You know what movie is great though? Tangled. Instead of waiting for a prince to rescue her, Rapunzel rescues herself. And instead of a prince that she inevitably ends up with, its a thief. One of the best newer Disney movies out there. Both my son and I loved it and its not at all scary.
ReplyDeleteI liked Tangled too. Although plot hole: why would the witch tell her when her real birthday was?
DeleteYes, I didn't get that bit either...
DeleteThis was not one of my favorite Pixar movies but I have to defend the writers a little bit. My memory of the plot is that when the mother turns into a bear, she is not at all understanding but Merida immediately realizes that she messed up. The mother is forced to enlist Merida's help to escape. For the next part of the movie it is Merida who learns to understand that she has been acting badly and in fact chooses to go ahead with the arranged marriage. Only when the mother sees that Merida has changed and is about to accept the arranged marriage does the mother change herself and signals to Merida not to go along with the marriage after all. Then as the movie goes they grow closer to each other.
ReplyDeleteAs for ODMG, my take on the movie is that in fact Merida was not interested in marriage at the time at all but rather was happy spending time hunting with her bow and arrows.
I didn't think it made Merida more admirable that she didn't want to get married to prevent war because she just wanted to play at arrows all day.
DeleteIt still isn't clear to me why the mother changed her mind exactly. It didn't feel earned.
I liked the movie. Sure, it was a bit sad, but there's a lesson to be learned: your mother wants what's best for you, and sometimes when you're selfish and don't try to understand her reasons, you screw over your mother AND you.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, it's not my favorite.
I didn't see that as the message. I thought the message was that the daughter was right, and the mother had to learn that.
DeleteThat might have been part of the message, but it's not like the daughter was completely right either if she had to see her own mother become a bear which was her punishment, too (and not just the mother's).
DeleteHaven't seen the movie so I can't comment, but why can't they make a movie about the paper bag princess?? Now THAT'S empowering. At least, it was when I remember reading it as a child.
ReplyDeleteI was bothered that it took so long for Merida to apologize for transforming her mother into a bear. I believe it took two days of heartache to admit responsibility for her actions.
ReplyDelete"the film snob"
I also was disappointed. But at least Merida was wearing clothing. Not true of Ariel, Jasmine, and oh lord Tinkerbell.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, that movie was foul. Also agree with ahyesplans: PAPERBAG PRINCESS!!!! Best kids book ever, and totally deserves a movie.
ReplyDeleteWas definitely not my favorite, and like someone else commented - it left two of the three kids (the third was sleeping) in tears. One was hyperventilating and FREAKING OUT. I work with parents who have lost custody of their kids, so I basically had to force her to get her butt moving to get the poor freaking-out kid away from the bear scenes.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Disney, so not good for kids in this one. I want to see Tangled at some point!! It sounds so good.
I loved it but then I seem to relate to the rebellious ones. All of my nieces and nephews (age 6 and up) enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI thought one theme was communication. They said their "if you would just listen" speeches to the king and horse, but not to each other. So Merida did not know that her mother ran the kingdom and wanted Merida to get married to prevent war. It was just because that's what a princess did. The mother learned that all of Merida's unladylike mannerisms actually made the princess pretty resourceful and that she could lay off her once in a while.
I also don't find fault with Merida's reaction. If I had to be in an arranged marriage I would have been rebellious too. Since my grandmother seems preoccupied with the idea that I am single, should get a man and am apparently not feminine enough, I can see how she wanted to change her fate. She did not really mean to turn her mother into a bear. After the initial shock, she did try to help her mother. After not having her mother for awhile, she realized that her mother was there for her after all.