Claim: Brave is a film.

Brave is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures . It was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and co-directed by Steve Purcell . The story is by Chapman , with the screenplay by Andrews , Purcell , Chapman and Irene Mecchi . The film was produced by Katherine Sarafian , with John Lasseter , Andrew Stanton , and Pete Docter as executive producers . The film 's voice cast features Kelly Macdonald , Billy Connolly , Emma Thompson , Julie Walters , Robbie Coltrane , Kevin McKidd , and Craig Ferguson . Set in the Scottish Highlands , the film tells the story of a princess named Merida who defies an age-old custom , causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed .   Chapman drew inspiration for the film 's story from her relationship with her own daughter . Co-directing with Mark Andrews , Chapman became Pixar 's first female director of a feature-length film . To create the most complex visuals possible , Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years . Brave is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format .   Brave premiered on June 10 , 2012 , at the Seattle International Film Festival , and was released in North America on June 22 , 2012 , to both positive reviews and box office success . The film won the Academy Award , the Golden Globe , and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature Film . Preceding the feature theatrically was a short film entitled La Luna , directed by Enrico Casarosa .