End of Pixar? No, just a break.

Rating: 6/10 (7 July 2012)

As an avid Pixar fan, I was naturally excited for the announcement of their 2012 release, "The Bear and The Bow". When they changed the name to "Brave" and changed directors, I got a bit worried. Then I saw the trailer and found myself stuck in a confused mood. From the basic plot, it seemed like just another Disney princess movie. And I was only half right.
Brave is about a young Scottish princess trying to change her destiny of becoming just like her mother. She goes about this by visiting a witch and buying a spell to 'change' her mother. She feeds her mother the spell, and the Queen is turned into a bear. I won't go too far in to avoid too many spoilers.
The characters in "Brave" are very believable, and the movie's fantastic visuals made me feel like I was in Scotland. However, once the plot got going, I found myself lost in a world of beautiful landscapes, re-used/predictable plots, and almost-funny humor.
I could complain more about how the plot is basically the same as any other Disney movie, but most movies have re-used plots these days. So I'll give that a pass.
When the Queen morphed into a bear, I knew that she and her daughter were going to become best friends after they learned about one another, and I even saw the Queen slipping from reality into 'bear-hood' coming. But the movie had just enough kick to keep me almost interested, and I was sort of excited to see if the Queen would lighten up on her daughter (even though I saw this coming).
When I saw Merida's family in the trailer, I thought I was going to dislike their characters. The triplets? Yeah, they reminded me of those stupid yellow bean things from "Despicable Me". However, the family felt like a real one, and the triplets weren't even slightly annoying. I did appreciate Merida's relationship with her father, making a movie with a female protagonist likable to young boys as well as girls. However, Merida's Father is quick to claim his daughter is a liar when she warns him about the Bear Queen. He rushes off in a forced plot-point to kill the bear (the Queen) even after Merida explained the whole movie to him.
Many complain that "Brave" is the birth of 'Pixney', described as an evil corporation selling out on every level possible. I disagree with these overreactions. I say that "Brave", along with their "can't even be called a film" sequel to Cars, is just a break from the norm. Any company's first goal is to make money, and Pixar is no exception. I believe that the last two 'products' by Pixar have been made to meet the goal of making millions of dollars, and by the box office they have met his goal. So I say they are just saving up to make new movies that bring us back to the glory days of Pixar. The reveal of "Monsters University" might prove my point.
Final recommendation: Go see it if you have a family with young kids. Don't see it if you are a teenager, or a lonely adult Pixar fan without kids.