A return to form for those Pixar geniuses

Rating: 8/10 (16 September 2012)

Disney's ugly stepchild, affectionately known as Pixar, is back. Old reliable, usually, though their last outing was actually quite rubbish. Nobody in their right mind – adults and children alike – could claim Cars 2 was a cinematic success. It wasn't. But that was a mere glitch because, with Brave, they are back to their brilliant best.
Brave is the story of Merida (Kelly MacDonald), a rebellious Scottish princess who prefers riding on her horse and using her bow than acting ladylike and princess-y. When the time comes for her to get married and fulfil her duty as princess, Merida decides to take matters into her own hands and consults a witch.
Brave's biggest achievement is its attention to detail: this might all be CGI, yes, but Scotland has never looked so beautiful. The animation is as close to perfect as you could possibly get, which makes watching the film that much more enjoyable. What you really come to see, though, is a good story and great characters. Brave has both. Kelly MacDonald, as Merida, is brilliant. She's come a long way from Trainspotting all those years ago, and deservedly so. Here, she also has the benefit of voicing a beautifully-written character. Pixar has a history of creating well-rounded, real characters - just look at Toy Story, Up and Wall-E – and Brave can be added to that list.
There's very little to fault about the movie, if I'm honest. When trying to be funny, it's laugh-out-loud funny. The emotion is emotional. It hits all the right notes, and never stops entertaining. I can't even complain about it being too long, because it's not. The thing about Pixar is that they concentrate on every single thing with utmost care and attention. The CGI is stunning, but it's also a brilliant story with excellent characters.
It's refreshing to see that an American animation company can create such an authentically Scottish movie. Kudos.