Post by San on Jun 24, 2012 12:19:31 GMT -8
Heffy here! With my very first just-for-Fantasmic Dreams review! I'm a little nervous - with Joe, Collin and Amanda's top-notch essays I have a lot to live up to, but I'm eager to join in on the fun. I'd just recently seen this movie and have quite a bit to say about it.
Fair warning: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. I suppose this goes without saying, but if you plan on seeing this film eventually, I can guarantee that you'll enjoy it far more without reading this review than if you had done so before watching. Trust me on this. For added measure I'll place aspects of the film not explicitly shown already in teasers and promotional material in spoiler tags, but it's really suggested you just go away now if you don't want to be spoiled. Go on, shoo!
For those of you who have seen it, or just don't care... on with the review!
First, a bit of history. Like Disney's Tangled, this is another instance of multiple directors working on a film at different periods of time - Pixar's very first female film director, Brenda Chapman (whose track record includes directing the marvelous Prince of Egypt over at DreamWorks) initially conceived the initial idea of the film, an original fable in the vein of Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm set in the Scotland of old, initially titled The Bear and the Bow - much more the line of work Disney was used to than Pixar, and an interesting choice of subject matter for the typically offbeat Pixar. It seemed to be well-liked enough to be worked on thoroughly, and quite a bit of story work was done... until, in 2010, Brenda was replaced as director by Mark Andrews due to creative disagreements (the specific details of which I'm having difficulty digging up). While most of the story work was done by then, Andrews was responsible for leading the production staff to the finish line, so to speak.
When the very first trailer of this film was finally released... man, I was stoked. The fairy tale motif might have been familiar, but this was unlike anything I'd ever seen from Pixar before - it was dark, magical, mysterious. It had a female lead as the focus, a first for the studio - and she looked to be an outright badass, if you'll pardon the term. It was set in 10th century Scotland - a setting with gorgeous scenery, a fascinating culture and a bevvy of mythology and folklore to work with. What finally sold me was the enormous, hulking, ferocious bear the heroine was shown facing in the trailer, akin to Glen Keane's notorious red-eyed beast from The Fox and the Hound. This. Looked. Awesome. I was excited beyond belief by the brief teaser trailer alone, that revealed very little about the story itself - I had faith Pixar would deliver, as they always have in the past, and was so pumped to see them work with such exciting source material.
Later on, however, further trailers were unveiled - trailers that showcased much more of the story aspect of the film. We got to see more of the heroine, named Merida, and she looked to be quite a charming and relatable protagonist. She had a family full of fun and quirky characters, and the aspect of darkness and magical mystery that drew me in initially seemed to still be there. However... something told me it wasn't quite what I was hoping it would be. The trailer was littered with a heavy helping of comedy, slapstick and even... a kilt joke. And the plot we were offered sounded stale and gratingly predictable - I was worried, at this point. But, I remained hopeful. This was still something new and different for Pixar - I was still eager to see how they would handle it, and continued to have faith that it would be something special, worth seeing. And when I finally went to see it, I kept an open mind and tried to clear myself of any negative preconceptions or pre-expectations, to try and enjoy it for what it is.
But... was I right to be nervous? Is Brave really something special? Something worthy of the prestigious Pixar name, to be placed alongside Toy Story, Up and WALL-E? Is it a good film in its own right, both unique and entertaining? Or is it a step backwards for one of the greatest animation studios in history?
Now, normally these kinds of things begin with a brief synopsis. Well... too bad, I'm lazy!
This can easily be found elsewhere online, and it's quite a story to pin down into a single paragraph. So, that said... let's get on with the review.
Let's get this out of the way. Is this a good, solid film? Yes. Did I enjoy watching it? Yes. But is it up there with Pixar's knockout classics like Toy Story? Sad to say... no. I don't think so, at least.
Let's begin by pinpointing what I feel are the flaws in this film. For starters... too much exposition. This is something I was really surprised to see in such gratuitous amounts from Pixar. At the very beginning we're introduced to what later becomes a prominent plot element, and the way that's done is fine. It serves as a suitable prologue for the whole story and actually does lead up to something later on. But all throughout the film we're repeatedly told about the context of the story and key elements. There was one scene, in particular, where
That said, this is actually a rather minor complaint compared to my next one - the story itself. It was good, solid, easy to follow. It was not poorly done at all. It was interesting enough to want to know what happens next. But it just did not... impact me. It was predictable, for the most part. It didn't really feel like anything new -
As a follow-up to my comments about the lack of an emotional pull in this film, I feel one of the causes of that might be an overabundance of comedy - or, rather, poor placement of it. Now, this is actually something I'm a bit torn about. For starters, almost every gag and comedic moment in this film is funny. There's a lot of hilarious visual humor and even some well-done slapstick in this film, as well as some of that clever wit we know and love Pixar for. I laughed quite a bit - and if I enjoyed myself, why complain, right? Well, I think there can be too much of a good thing. Something about the tone this movie presented us with made me feel... I dunno, iffy. I wasn't sure how to feel about this movie. If it was a comedy, it succeeded. But if it was intended to have an emotional impact... it could have done a lot better. Much of the story, even moments that, if we were to experience them we would be too terrified or emotionally shattered to even think of laughing, are more comedic than anything.
But, then again, perhaps I'm being too harsh on the film purely by its stigmatic connection to an animated studio that hasn't had a bad film in its record to date except maybe for Cars 2. As I said, I did try to watch this film with an open mind and no expectations - and I did enjoy it. It was a good movie - I don't think Pixar truly has it in them to make an original film that's anything less than good, and there were many things about this movie that were excellently done. Let's talk about the good!
Visually, this movie is spectacular. STUNNING. A veritable treat for the eyes. Scotland's immense natural beauty is captured brilliantly, with rolling hills, gorgeous forests, misty mountain passes and sweeping lake vistas. One of my favorite moments in the film is
The character designs are all of Pixar's usual quality - superb, and going beyond and above the call of duty. Every one of them has a fun and memorable design - and the animation done on all of them is absolutely top-notch. As I mentioned earlier, there are many, many instances of brilliant character animation all throughout the film, and Pixar's animators remain amazingly talented in this field. The facial expressions and gestures are all creative, evocative and highly expressive. Merida, of course, being the lead, had probably the most impressive range of emotion - but what impressed me the most in this film, animation-wise, was
Speaking of which, one of my personal favorite aspects of the film was
Lastly, of course, mention must be made of the characters themselves - all of which, in Pixar tradition, are strong, memorable, fun to watch and overall excellently-done. A good film cannot be without a protagonist you enjoy watching and can relate to - and Merida delivers, for sure. She's a wonderful character, likeable, relatable, full of strong personality and lots of fun. I was worried the cloying "I'm a WOMAN I can DO things" attitude I was sensing in recent trailers would have prevailed, but it was much less prevalent than I had feared - there is some of that, yes, but not enough to eclipse good old fashioned characterization as opposed to an overdose of GRRL POWER. Kelly Macdonald's voice work for her is fantastic, full of spunk and charm - I laughed at a lot of her lines, not because of what they were but because of how much character the deliveries had. Sometimes she talked a bit too much, I think, but, on the whole, I think I can safely call Merida one of my favorite Pixar protagonists.
The rest of the cast is fantastic, as well - I've already mentioned my love for one of the side characters. Merida's family are all quite lovable - Elinor is very much a mother, and I laughed many times at seeing my own mother in her mannerisms and attitude. The bond she shares with her daughter is very evident, too, and - while, as I said earlier, I would have liked to see more of it - it does well to provide sympathy and empathy for Elinor, making us actually care about what happens to her and feeling sorry for her. Merida's triplet brothers were interesting - they were cute and entertaining throughout the film, but one thing I actually realized sometime after viewing was that they did not have a single line of dialogue. Wow! I gained a newfound appreciation for these characters upon finally noticing this - Pixar made a smart decision here, as opposed to making them obnoxious chatterboxes. My other favorite character in the film, however, would have to be King Fergus - he is just the most loveable guy there could possibly be. A big, rambunctious oaf with an insatiably jolly demeanor - calling him a gentle giant wouldn't be entirely accurate as he's not terribly gentle, but you can't help but love him, especially whenever he innocently sides with Merida in arguments - much to Elinor's chagrin. His voice work was also some of my favorite in the film, courtesy of Bill Connolly - whom Disney fans may recognize from last year, narrating the charming short The Ballad of Nessie that came before Winnie the Pooh.
So! Here's the rundown.
I feel the story was not nearly as strong as it could have been - and a lot of it is told to us rather than shown. Too much of it has been done before, and thus it can be easy to guess what will happen next. An overdosage of comedy also presented a confusing imbalance of tones and detracted from what could have been an excellent, well-balanced mesh of both humor, pathos and strong, impactful storytelling. Overall, I feel it was a missed opportunity for Pixar - and, indeed, a bit of a step backwards for the masters of animated storytelling.
On the other hand, there is definitely a lot to like here. Visually, the movie is a treat, with exciting settings and fun character designs. Parts of the story actually are pretty compelling, and there is a bit of darkness that is interesting and exciting to see in a Pixar film. While I do feel there's too much of it, the humor is consistently funny, and you will laugh at least a few times. Lastly, the characters are all really strong, likeable and memorable, particularly Merida herself - just about but not quite enough to balance out the comparatively weak story and emotional pull.
My verdict? Go see it! You'll certainly find more than a few things to appreciate and enjoy. It's not Pixar's best, no. In fact, I wouldn't even put it in the top 5. But it helps to not expect another Incredibles or Up upon viewing. Brave is its own thing - it's not the best it could be, and does not match up to the other great Pixar classics, but it's a good, well-done film in its own right, far far above the other animated films currently in theaters, and deserves respect and appreciation - and at least one viewing!
Oh, and keep an ear out for the ever-present John Ratzenberger.
===
A follow-up - attached to the film is, as always, another standout short from Pixar - this time La Luna. In a word, charming - everything about this film is. The character designs, the characters themselves, the Mediterranean-inspired music, the colors and the visuals are all just lovely. There's not really much of a story to it, but it's still very enjoyable by virtue of its entertaining characters and magical atmosphere, alone. It definitely gave me a Super Mario Galaxy vibe!
Fair warning: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. I suppose this goes without saying, but if you plan on seeing this film eventually, I can guarantee that you'll enjoy it far more without reading this review than if you had done so before watching. Trust me on this. For added measure I'll place aspects of the film not explicitly shown already in teasers and promotional material in spoiler tags, but it's really suggested you just go away now if you don't want to be spoiled. Go on, shoo!
For those of you who have seen it, or just don't care... on with the review!
First, a bit of history. Like Disney's Tangled, this is another instance of multiple directors working on a film at different periods of time - Pixar's very first female film director, Brenda Chapman (whose track record includes directing the marvelous Prince of Egypt over at DreamWorks) initially conceived the initial idea of the film, an original fable in the vein of Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm set in the Scotland of old, initially titled The Bear and the Bow - much more the line of work Disney was used to than Pixar, and an interesting choice of subject matter for the typically offbeat Pixar. It seemed to be well-liked enough to be worked on thoroughly, and quite a bit of story work was done... until, in 2010, Brenda was replaced as director by Mark Andrews due to creative disagreements (the specific details of which I'm having difficulty digging up). While most of the story work was done by then, Andrews was responsible for leading the production staff to the finish line, so to speak.
When the very first trailer of this film was finally released... man, I was stoked. The fairy tale motif might have been familiar, but this was unlike anything I'd ever seen from Pixar before - it was dark, magical, mysterious. It had a female lead as the focus, a first for the studio - and she looked to be an outright badass, if you'll pardon the term. It was set in 10th century Scotland - a setting with gorgeous scenery, a fascinating culture and a bevvy of mythology and folklore to work with. What finally sold me was the enormous, hulking, ferocious bear the heroine was shown facing in the trailer, akin to Glen Keane's notorious red-eyed beast from The Fox and the Hound. This. Looked. Awesome. I was excited beyond belief by the brief teaser trailer alone, that revealed very little about the story itself - I had faith Pixar would deliver, as they always have in the past, and was so pumped to see them work with such exciting source material.
Later on, however, further trailers were unveiled - trailers that showcased much more of the story aspect of the film. We got to see more of the heroine, named Merida, and she looked to be quite a charming and relatable protagonist. She had a family full of fun and quirky characters, and the aspect of darkness and magical mystery that drew me in initially seemed to still be there. However... something told me it wasn't quite what I was hoping it would be. The trailer was littered with a heavy helping of comedy, slapstick and even... a kilt joke. And the plot we were offered sounded stale and gratingly predictable - I was worried, at this point. But, I remained hopeful. This was still something new and different for Pixar - I was still eager to see how they would handle it, and continued to have faith that it would be something special, worth seeing. And when I finally went to see it, I kept an open mind and tried to clear myself of any negative preconceptions or pre-expectations, to try and enjoy it for what it is.
But... was I right to be nervous? Is Brave really something special? Something worthy of the prestigious Pixar name, to be placed alongside Toy Story, Up and WALL-E? Is it a good film in its own right, both unique and entertaining? Or is it a step backwards for one of the greatest animation studios in history?
Now, normally these kinds of things begin with a brief synopsis. Well... too bad, I'm lazy!
This can easily be found elsewhere online, and it's quite a story to pin down into a single paragraph. So, that said... let's get on with the review.Let's get this out of the way. Is this a good, solid film? Yes. Did I enjoy watching it? Yes. But is it up there with Pixar's knockout classics like Toy Story? Sad to say... no. I don't think so, at least.
Let's begin by pinpointing what I feel are the flaws in this film. For starters... too much exposition. This is something I was really surprised to see in such gratuitous amounts from Pixar. At the very beginning we're introduced to what later becomes a prominent plot element, and the way that's done is fine. It serves as a suitable prologue for the whole story and actually does lead up to something later on. But all throughout the film we're repeatedly told about the context of the story and key elements. There was one scene, in particular, where
Merida and her transformed mother explore the ruins of the fallen kingdom that just had far too much informative chatter and not enough story. We could have found out about it just as well, if not better, if we were given more impactful visual clues or even some more subtle hints about what we were seeing.
And even when important events are clearly happening before our eyes, sometimes characters go ahead and announce them for us anyway. Pixar is rarely one to pander to the audience, something I've always respected them for - so to see them do it is just a little disappointing. We're force fed a lot of the story rather than seeing it unfold and gathering it for ourselves. Maybe this is just a serious pet peeve of mine, but I had expected better storytelling from Pixar, honestly.That said, this is actually a rather minor complaint compared to my next one - the story itself. It was good, solid, easy to follow. It was not poorly done at all. It was interesting enough to want to know what happens next. But it just did not... impact me. It was predictable, for the most part. It didn't really feel like anything new -
even the scene where the mother first transforms instantly brought to mind Brother Bear for me (Merida even quips "I don't speak bear" at one point!), although this film is definitely much better done than that was
- nor did I feel it had as much depth to it as it could have. What we're given is great, but I wanted more. I admire Pixar for trying something new and potentially quite powerful - a mother-daughter bonding story. But I felt they could have gone much farther with making the story really resonate with emotion and strength. It's hard to describe, but it felt like they only barely skimmed the surface of what they could have done with this story. There were a couple of quite poignant, well-done scenes I can recall - Merida and Elinor's first major quarrel, resulting in her bow being thrown into the fire, for example - amazing and powerful character animation done there. A mention also goes out to near the end where Elinor appears to be cursed forever, and Merida cries her heart out and apologizes over and over
- but I felt there should have been more of that. More of a tug. I didn't really feel much during this movie. Thus far, Brave has been praised by many for being one of the darkest Pixar films yet - and in some ways, it is. Yet, it really is lacking in the emotional gravity and strength that even some comparatively "lighthearted" Pixar films show. And, as I said earlier, I think more risks could have been taken with it - I knew exactly what was going to happen next at several points, and I ended up being correct every time.As a follow-up to my comments about the lack of an emotional pull in this film, I feel one of the causes of that might be an overabundance of comedy - or, rather, poor placement of it. Now, this is actually something I'm a bit torn about. For starters, almost every gag and comedic moment in this film is funny. There's a lot of hilarious visual humor and even some well-done slapstick in this film, as well as some of that clever wit we know and love Pixar for. I laughed quite a bit - and if I enjoyed myself, why complain, right? Well, I think there can be too much of a good thing. Something about the tone this movie presented us with made me feel... I dunno, iffy. I wasn't sure how to feel about this movie. If it was a comedy, it succeeded. But if it was intended to have an emotional impact... it could have done a lot better. Much of the story, even moments that, if we were to experience them we would be too terrified or emotionally shattered to even think of laughing, are more comedic than anything.
Elinor first transforming into a bear is more of her grunting adorably and stumbling about clumsily than her actually reacting in genuine horror and shock - and even Merida isn't quite as terrified as she should be.
Another instance of clashing tones actually involves one of my favorite characters in the film - the old witch that conjures up the spell for Merida. She (and her adorable talking raven) were absolutely hilarious, really fun characters that I actually wished to see more of. However, at times she just felt... out of place. Particularly the whole "answering machine" deal - again, this was a rather grave moment for both Merida and Elinor, and to see it belittled by a (admittedly rather amusing) comic anachronism was just awkward to see. Also startling was her reference to the Wicker Man festival - I suppose The Sword in the Stone's Merlin and Aladdin's Genie have both made explicit references to times beyond their own, being time-travelers, but, again, while cute, it just felt out of place in this kind of story.
But, then again, perhaps I'm being too harsh on the film purely by its stigmatic connection to an animated studio that hasn't had a bad film in its record to date except maybe for Cars 2. As I said, I did try to watch this film with an open mind and no expectations - and I did enjoy it. It was a good movie - I don't think Pixar truly has it in them to make an original film that's anything less than good, and there were many things about this movie that were excellently done. Let's talk about the good!
Visually, this movie is spectacular. STUNNING. A veritable treat for the eyes. Scotland's immense natural beauty is captured brilliantly, with rolling hills, gorgeous forests, misty mountain passes and sweeping lake vistas. One of my favorite moments in the film is
Merida climbing "Fire Falls" and drinking from them - stunning imagery there.
Add to that a lively, colorful village, chilling abandoned ruins, mysterious Stonehenge-esque rock formations and, of course, an enormous, richly-detailed castle that you just want to explore for yourself, and you've got a film with fantastic atmosphere. I have a special fondness for the mysterious forest, home to those slightly spooky but adorable little will-o-the-wisps. This film presents you with a truly rich world that you can believe truly exists, or has existed before, capturing the beauty, rich culture and essence of medieval Scotland.The character designs are all of Pixar's usual quality - superb, and going beyond and above the call of duty. Every one of them has a fun and memorable design - and the animation done on all of them is absolutely top-notch. As I mentioned earlier, there are many, many instances of brilliant character animation all throughout the film, and Pixar's animators remain amazingly talented in this field. The facial expressions and gestures are all creative, evocative and highly expressive. Merida, of course, being the lead, had probably the most impressive range of emotion - but what impressed me the most in this film, animation-wise, was
the work on the bears - particularly Elinor once she's transformed. I was just blown away by what they did with her. Clearly, extensive studies of real bears went into animating her, and the very essence of that animal was captured perfectly in her movements and diverse array of unique expressions - while still retaining the character's essential personality.
Bravo, Pixar!Speaking of which, one of my personal favorite aspects of the film was
the demon bear, Mor'du - in fact, an ancient prince cursed by his own pride and anger. I loved his design, I loved how freakishly scary he was, and I loved the surprising backstory behind him. Knowing that he was, in fact, once a human who became a bloodthirsty bear only by means of his own arrogance and hatred serves to make him all the scarier. This is something surprisingly dark for Pixar, and I seriously applaud them for that. A really compelling plot element and intimidating antagonist all at once - which, frankly, I wish had more of an impact on the story, but I was fairly satisfied with what we were given of him.
Speaking further of which, one element of the story I really liked was certain aspects of Elinor's curse - namely, the threat that she may turn into a bear on the inside, losing all semblance of humanity. Becoming immense, hairy and losing your opposable thumbs is one thing, but the danger of losing yourself and remorselessly killing the ones you once loved is a much more frightening fate than just being in the form of a bear - I appreciated this plot element, which added a greater level of danger and drama to Elinor's dilemma. The fight at the end, between bear-Elinor and Mor'du was also dramatic and quite rewarding to see - the mother who had held her daughter back through much of the movie finally releasing her motherly fury upon the demon bear - for once, her transformation providing an advantage. Awesome stuff.
Lastly, of course, mention must be made of the characters themselves - all of which, in Pixar tradition, are strong, memorable, fun to watch and overall excellently-done. A good film cannot be without a protagonist you enjoy watching and can relate to - and Merida delivers, for sure. She's a wonderful character, likeable, relatable, full of strong personality and lots of fun. I was worried the cloying "I'm a WOMAN I can DO things" attitude I was sensing in recent trailers would have prevailed, but it was much less prevalent than I had feared - there is some of that, yes, but not enough to eclipse good old fashioned characterization as opposed to an overdose of GRRL POWER. Kelly Macdonald's voice work for her is fantastic, full of spunk and charm - I laughed at a lot of her lines, not because of what they were but because of how much character the deliveries had. Sometimes she talked a bit too much, I think, but, on the whole, I think I can safely call Merida one of my favorite Pixar protagonists.
The rest of the cast is fantastic, as well - I've already mentioned my love for one of the side characters. Merida's family are all quite lovable - Elinor is very much a mother, and I laughed many times at seeing my own mother in her mannerisms and attitude. The bond she shares with her daughter is very evident, too, and - while, as I said earlier, I would have liked to see more of it - it does well to provide sympathy and empathy for Elinor, making us actually care about what happens to her and feeling sorry for her. Merida's triplet brothers were interesting - they were cute and entertaining throughout the film, but one thing I actually realized sometime after viewing was that they did not have a single line of dialogue. Wow! I gained a newfound appreciation for these characters upon finally noticing this - Pixar made a smart decision here, as opposed to making them obnoxious chatterboxes. My other favorite character in the film, however, would have to be King Fergus - he is just the most loveable guy there could possibly be. A big, rambunctious oaf with an insatiably jolly demeanor - calling him a gentle giant wouldn't be entirely accurate as he's not terribly gentle, but you can't help but love him, especially whenever he innocently sides with Merida in arguments - much to Elinor's chagrin. His voice work was also some of my favorite in the film, courtesy of Bill Connolly - whom Disney fans may recognize from last year, narrating the charming short The Ballad of Nessie that came before Winnie the Pooh.
So! Here's the rundown.
I feel the story was not nearly as strong as it could have been - and a lot of it is told to us rather than shown. Too much of it has been done before, and thus it can be easy to guess what will happen next. An overdosage of comedy also presented a confusing imbalance of tones and detracted from what could have been an excellent, well-balanced mesh of both humor, pathos and strong, impactful storytelling. Overall, I feel it was a missed opportunity for Pixar - and, indeed, a bit of a step backwards for the masters of animated storytelling.
On the other hand, there is definitely a lot to like here. Visually, the movie is a treat, with exciting settings and fun character designs. Parts of the story actually are pretty compelling, and there is a bit of darkness that is interesting and exciting to see in a Pixar film. While I do feel there's too much of it, the humor is consistently funny, and you will laugh at least a few times. Lastly, the characters are all really strong, likeable and memorable, particularly Merida herself - just about but not quite enough to balance out the comparatively weak story and emotional pull.
My verdict? Go see it! You'll certainly find more than a few things to appreciate and enjoy. It's not Pixar's best, no. In fact, I wouldn't even put it in the top 5. But it helps to not expect another Incredibles or Up upon viewing. Brave is its own thing - it's not the best it could be, and does not match up to the other great Pixar classics, but it's a good, well-done film in its own right, far far above the other animated films currently in theaters, and deserves respect and appreciation - and at least one viewing!
Oh, and keep an ear out for the ever-present John Ratzenberger.
===
A follow-up - attached to the film is, as always, another standout short from Pixar - this time La Luna. In a word, charming - everything about this film is. The character designs, the characters themselves, the Mediterranean-inspired music, the colors and the visuals are all just lovely. There's not really much of a story to it, but it's still very enjoyable by virtue of its entertaining characters and magical atmosphere, alone. It definitely gave me a Super Mario Galaxy vibe!
