This film was one of those pictures that had a trailer that didn't really explain what the film was about but was intriguing enough to generate interest. It was also one of those movies, that despite the lack of details about the film, I knew I would love it. I wasn't wrong.
This film tells of a brave Scottish princess named Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) and her efforts to live her life as she will despite the expectations and restrictions that come with being a princess. She lives with her parents Fergus (voiced by Billy Connolly), Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), and her young triplet brothers.
Her father Fergus seems to be more tolerant/indulgent of Merida and her loves of riding her horse Angus and archery. Elinor is very loving towards her daughter but she is also trying to instill in her the abilities and things that go with being a princess and that will carry over to her eventual being a queen. In typical teenage fashion Merida only sees her mother's efforts as hampering and she is frustrated by her seeming "inability" to measure up to her mother's "demands".
Merida gets particularly angry after learning that three powerful Scottish lords are coming to present their sons as suitors to vie for Merida's hand in marriage. At the competition Merida unintentionally embarrasses her parents and the Scottish lords and their sons during the competition.
In a fit of anger Merida causes a breach in her family. In a reciprocal fit of anger Elinor lashes out at Merida and emotionally wounds Merida. Merida flees into the forest and is guided by the will-o'-the-wisps to what initially appears as a solution to her problem and a way for Merida to change her fate.
After returning to the castle with the solution, Merida attempts to change her fate with unexpected and disastrous results. With help from Elinor and her brothers and her own determination, Merida must succeed at righting the wrongs that she has committed and she must do so before the second sunrise.
This film is wonderful. The animation is stunningly gorgeous. This film is full of much loved British actors and actresses. Besides the main cast there are Craig Ferguson, Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Waters. The story was very well written and not typical of a "Disney Princess" story but that's all the more reason to love this picture. The characters were all lovable and relatable. While you might not agree with their actions you at least understand where the characters are coming from.
In a time that seems rather full of sanctimonious pretentious behavior "everywhere", I love that Disney is making more of their pictures and doing it well. It seems that it used to be that Disney was really great at animation and pretty good with story which isn't bad at all. I just think that it is wonderful that Disney is more seamlessly addressing "real life problems" in a more realistic way than might be expected.
This film at its core deals with issues like expectations that parents can put on their children, children's inability to understand that their parents simply want the best of them partly because parents' not fully explaining to their children and also because children don't always listen to their parents, following your heart and accepting yourself despite facing opposition, etc. I especially love that this film is a "mother-daughter" story.
I find it interesting that this film generated some controversy regarding Merida. For some reason, some focused on the fact that Merida doesn't have a prince and in fact seems to refuse her potential suitors and twisted that to mean that Merida is a lesbian. While there would be nothing wrong with that in my opinion, I am bothered that Merida's not wanting to be married is immediately labeled as lesbianism.
I am bothered because this is a very black and white view that does a disservice not just to the movie but to people in general. Just because someone isn't married or isn't ready to be married or isn't interested in getting married has nothing to do with someone's sexuality and it is ridiculous and hurtful to stereotype people or films by making assumptions.
In the film itself Merida states that she feels that she is too young to be married, that she is in fact not ready to be married yet. So it sounds to me that Merida is simply acknowledging that she is young and not ready to be married yet not that she is actually against marrying anyone much less her potential suitors.
Further Merida actually appears to be physically attracted to the large "handsome" guy who is standing in front of Wee Dingwall when Lord Dingwall is introducing his son. She perks up and openly stares at him as Lord Dingwall is talking and immediately deflates when it is revealed that the guy that Merida is oogling is not Wee Dingwall. Also while Merida doesn't seem to be physically attracted to her potential suitors, she is obviously receptive to the potential suitors making an effort to win her hand rather than winning her hand in a competition.
I sincerely hope that I haven't offended anyone with my views and observations. If you were offended I apologize.
There has been talk among people that there may be a sequel to Brave. I must say that I don't have a lot of faith at present in the execution of a sequel to Brave. What would be the storyline? What would be the conflict? I frankly feel that the end of the film Brave was excellent and doesn't warrant a sequel. I'm not particularly keen to see the three suitors of Merida trying to win her heart. I guess time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment