One wonders whether Pixar has moved into a new era where they will (gasp!) make decent, but not great movies, not unlike the Disney animation output of the 1960s-‘80s.
While a technical marvel, Brave is ultimately a lesser effort from a studio known for breaking new ground with such modern classics as Up, Toy Story, WALL-E and Finding Nemo. There’s simply not a lot of new ground covered here, and the film isn’t funny or charming enough to absolve these narrative shortcomings. The narrative is surprisingly rote for a studio whose mantra is that story is everything, and it’s chock full of the usual “girl power” tropes and comeuppance moments one would expect. And yet despite that smart choice, Brave still never manages to become more than a traditional Disney princess tale. Brave wisely forsakes the well-worn wicked stepmother/stepdaughter, father/daughter and princess/prince relationships in favor of the more complicated, yet loving bond between a headstrong mother and her equally stubborn daughter. Imagine Tangled’s Rapunzel being raised by the Vikings from How to Train Your Dragon and you get the idea.
Much of Brave’s humor is derived from the brawling, boorish behavior of Merida's Scottish clanfolk, particularly her ogre-sized, doting dad King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and her triplet little brothers, cute mischief-makers with hair as fiery red as hers. Patrick Doyle’s score and Julie Fowlis’ Gaelic songs are likewise lush and atmospheric. Brave is a visually sumptuous experience, and its 3D fully immerses you in its mythic version of old Scotland and its misty Highlands. Pixar just keeps getting better and better at rendering textures and elemental effects. The movement of and detail in her unruly curls is amazingly life-like. If you thought Disney did a stellar job of animating Rapunzel's hair in Tangled then wait until you see what Pixar does with Merida's wild scarlet locks.
0 kommentar(er)
