Very good, but not great

Rating: 8/10 (17 August 2012)

Pixar's latest feature tells of Merida (voiced by Kelly McDonald), the daughter of mediaeval Scots chieftain Fergus (Billy Connolly) and his wife Elinor (Emma Thompson). Fergus is happy to indulge his firstborn's tomboy inclinations, but Elinor is minded that the girl will need to wed in order to provide a bond between potentially warring clans. The trouble is that Merida has a mind and will of her own and, when she meets the possibility that there might be a magical solution to changing her mother's single-mindedness, well, that's a difficult temptation to resist, isn't it?
There is much to enjoy here - it is a visual feast, the characters are all entertaining and well conceived and realised, and the basic idea (much of which recalls the conflict between Ariel and Triton in The Little Mermaid) contains sufficient drama, conflict and suspense to drive the narrative.
The trouble is that I think the script may not have been as thoroughly worked as is normally the case with Pixar because, after an engaging opening, there are far too many flat areas, times when I found myself thinking that I got the point, now get on with it (Merida and Elinor escaping from the castle, for one). And I also found myself wishing for a bigger and better payoff. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed it but, knowing what Pixar is capable of, I thought the film's heart was not as strong as it should have been.
Merida's hair is, however, absolutely wonderful, and she is the latest in a line of animated heroines with whom I am totally besotted.