brave

Directors: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
Writer: Brenda Chapman
Released: June 2012
Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson
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I was so certain I had written a review on this film…

Anyway, it’s a medieval, Scottish-based Disney Pixar animation film about a young fiery red-headed princess named Merida (Kelly Macdonald). Her youth and freedom is threatened when her parents organise suiters to win her hand in marriage. She rebels and enlists a witch to change her mum (Emma Thompson) in order to change her fate.

While the dodgy witch (Julie Walters) did make her mother change, she changed her into a bear. This did change Merida’s fate but not in the most ideal way. Therefore, Merida has to find a way to break the spell.

Princess Merida: [narrating] There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.

My favourite scenes all include Angus, Merida’s shire horse. She frequently rides him bareback as they gallop across the Scottish countryside – it’s so dreamy! I spoke about him being one of my favourite animated horses here.

There are a lot of firsts for this movie: Merida is the first princess to not have a love interest, she’s the first to have brothers, and Brave is the first ever Disney film to be entirely set in a historic past.

The lack of romance was probably to set a tone with the equal-rights and gender equality movement of today. Brave shows a strong, independent young woman who ‘don’t need no man’ and can make her own life decisions. It is one step up from Frozen‘s theme of only needing love from family and not necessarily romantic love, I suppose.

While I appreciate we should be shifting our attitudes with gender equality, I really hope the classic Disney love stories don’t die out. I feel like there is a movement shunning princess movies and ‘happily ever afters’.

I saw a video recently where the gender roles were swapped in Cinderella, called ‘Cindefella‘. The story shows a peasant boy who goes to a ball and falls in love with a princess, who then tries to find him after he bails at midnight. Just like in the traditional fairytale, they both marry in the end and live happily ever after.

This video was used as an example of gender inequality: ‘we wouldn’t read this to our sons so why would we read it to our daughters?’ Quite frankly, I don’t think the story was all that bad for girls or boys, gender swaps or not.

Anyway.

While I did enjoy Brave, it wasn’t what I expected. I thought it would carry the tone of the first half of the film where Merida is fun and free and exploring the world right to the end. But it quickly turns into a far more unrealistic tale about turning people into bears, which I found to lack entertainment and relatability. It just took a weird and unexpected turn for me.

Overall, it had some comedic moments and I did enjoy the first half of the film, but it’s not my favourite.

Jodie’s rating: 6/10

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Even though the majority of animated horses on the big screens are ‘white stallions’, many of them play prominent roles as the hero’s side-kick (no pun intended). Strangely all the horses are male… Anywho, here are the best equine characters:

Maximus in Tangled (2010)
My favourite animated horse ever. He is angry, sassy, rude and very funny indeed. Whereas most cartoon horses are cuddly and noble, Maximus is a total ass. And I love it.

Angus in Brave (2012)
Despite his size, this shire is easily scared. Despite this, Angus is a trusty partner to Merida. I adore the scene where they go galloping through the forest together! (Please watch the scene below.) He’s a personal favourite of mine because Angus and Merida remind me of my giant pony and I!

Donkey in Shrek 2 (2004)
Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) is a favourite equine side-kick of many, but I’m sure you were just as elated as I was when he became a humorous white stallion in Shrek 2. “I’m a stallion, baby!”

Altivo in The Road to Eldorado (2000)
The ‘ruthless war horse’ named Altivo is anything but. He is a vocal and very food-orientated horse who accompanies the two main characters to Edorado.

Tucker in Racing Stripes (2005)
While there are many horses in this movie, the best horse side-kick character has got to be the bay shetland pony, Tucker, voiced by Dustin Hoffman. He is an old-school character who helps train Stripes the zebra to be a racehorse. While Tucker is a real-life pony, there’s a lot of animation that goes into making him talk. “To me you’re just a horse with stripes who needs an attitude adjustment!”

Bullseye in Toy Story 2 (1999) and Toy Story 3 (2010)
A remarkably dog-like horse who is ridden by Jessie. Bullseye is a loyal, gangly and fun horse who will do anything for anyone.

Spirit in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Voiced by Matt Damon, this more serious animated movie is a classic ‘cowboy and indian’ story. Spirit is a strong and brave stallion who fights to protect his herd and refuses to be ridden by the cowboys.

Philippe in Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Although he’s not prominent in the film, Philippe is still the sweetest animated horse. He’s not particularly brave but he’s important enough to have a named part in the film. He is not, however, represented as well in the 2017 remake where they make Phillipe a dapple grey, and without the same expression or character as the animation – but I suppose that’s to be expected.

Achilles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
This horse does next to nothing, actually, other than sit on people’s heads on demand. Which, I think is a good enough reason to make the list.

Pegasus in Hercules (1997)
Created by Zeus for Hercules, Pegasus is a ‘bird-brained’ horse who is Hercules’s best friend and side-kick. Classically, this animated horse is dog-like in many situations, responding to whistles and licking people.

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Top 10: Best Animated Horse Characters