Awe-inspiring Animation

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2012)

Brave 2012
Pixar's Brave delivers everything you could expect from a family friendly animated film and more. Uncomplicated humour and a relaxing watch; the most uncomplicated of humour being exemplified by scot's flashing their bottoms, a feminine crown-wearing bear and a set of mischievous red headed triplets.
Merida provides a princess which has not often been seen amongst the likes of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Pocahontas. In Brave the audience is treated to a young girl who refutes gender stereotypes, enforced by her mother, and competes for her "own hand" which, in this case, means her independence. Such takes place in an archery competition in which she beats her suitors in a Robin Hood-esque fashion, making her more of the hero as opposed to the Maid Marion damsel in distress.
However, when looking more analytically into the film, as Brave's protagonist refutes these stereotypes and clearly identifies best with her father, King Fergus - the audience are given a visual means of such identification via their bright orange, very Scottish, hair - it begins to create a character that is seemingly in the midst's of an Electra complex which she must overcome (identify with her mother) in order to succeed.
Still, conversely, aside from the slightly perhaps worrisome psychosexual references, this film is light hearted fun and thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless. It provides entertainment not only for young audiences but for adults as well. The crow-abusing witch character being particularly amusing, as a woman who makes whimsical wooden carvings, mostly of bears, and also trivialises magic and witch craft. She details how she performed a spell for a prince as well as providing him with an "especially attractive mahogany cheese board."
The impeccable CGI only adds to the many merits that Brave deserves, an example of such being Merida's hair which is captivating in detail. Her hair, in which the audience is treated to gaze upon almost every curl, each one individually crafted, is as visually stunning as it is important in regards to representing her rebellious character and heritage.
It is this type of awe striking CGI that was first seen in Pixar's Monsters Inc. in which technology was introduced that allowed each hair on character Sully's body to move individually. Yet, it is not only the hair which aid in the capture of the imagination, but the way in which the clothes move with the character's bodies the audience could be forgiven for overlooking its brilliance as, in its perfection, it becomes unnoticeable in the way you wouldn't notice synchronisation between clothes and an actor's movements in an unanimated film. In order to make such beautiful computer animation, Pixar rewrote their animation systems for the first time in 25 years and, without a shadow of a doubt, it has paid off.