Nice graphics, but nothing new here.

Rating: 6/10 (14 August 2012)

In this story of a Scottish princess Merida having to cope with the responsibilities thrust upon her by her lineage by initially rebelling against it and (obviously) finally settling for it, there's little in terms of originality. The story is rather slight, the casting a bit obvious, even though some of the Scottish accents are rather strained. It's all strictly formula, covered up with the high quality animation we've come to expect from Pixar studios. Someone apparently decided that the main character was to have extremely wrong, bright red curly hair, and it's plain to see that a lot of effort has been put into making Merida's hair move to and fro quite naturally. It's a bit too obvious as a showcase and I wish they had put more effort in creating a more compelling storyline and some interesting supporting characters, neither of which is apparent. Brave is graphically well made, but in terms of story-telling there's not that much to recommend it. Looks good, is never really boring, but there's nothing truly original to be found here, unfortunately.