Brave: Disney Mythology

Rating: 9/10 (27 August 2012)

Almost everything ticks the boxes with Brave. Storyline, sub plots, 'messages', action sequences, character development, comedy moments, pace, casting and I saw it in 3-D which was great. I particularly liked the motif of the next generation trying to struggle towards some sort of understanding with the last, a universal developmental issue. There was some nice 'magical' stuff, always a hit with kids.
The thing I found disturbing was that while all the male characters are gnarled, quirky or downright ugly, the two main female characters are the usual Disney girls - flawless skin, soft melodic voices, perfect, gorgeous big Manga-style eyes, Barbie figures, great hair.
As role models for little girls at a time when we are supposed to be celebrating diversity and building self esteem by not constantly obsessing about appearances, especially for women, the characters' physical perfection seemed to be completely over the top. I really liked the character of the rebellious Princess, who had developed male skills like archery, riding, etc and represented feminism pretty well, even thought we all know that a real Scottish mediaeval Princess would have had no power and fewer rights.
I guess Disney has to make a 'pretty' movie to suit its market, but does the appearance of the girls really have to be SO shallow?
Overall though, a great, touching movie, I took my 7 year old grandson, he engaged pretty well with it so it does the job.