A Fine Fable, Its Limited Scale Left Me Wishing for More

Rating: 7/10 (21 November 2012)

A warm, cozy fairy tale that feels more like a Disney production than the latest entry in Pixar's storybook. It's sweet, quirky and funny, but routinely falls back on familiar motifs and often seems criminally under-explored. Since the vast majority of the action takes place in and around a single locale, there's a claustrophobic quality in the air that never truly dissipates, which robs us of the grand scale that's been present in every one of the animation factory's preceding works. It's no more than a straightforward telling of a reasonably interesting fable, with only a few short jolts of the unique character and timely laughs I've come to expect from the troupe. Of course, there's no arguing the fact that Pixar knows how to produce gorgeous scenery, and Brave is yet another leap forward in that regard; the surrounding landscapes are unanimously breathtaking, and Princess Merida's hair is constantly bouncy and lifelike, truly a character unto itself. It's an enjoyable fresh ride and a marked improvement over the lifeless Cars 2, but misses the depth and flair that made me fall so deeply in love with the studio's classics.