‘Brave’ Is Awesome
One of the special characteristics that makes watching a Pixar film such a satisfying experience is the characters are so fully human, however unbelievable their form may be. Their emotions, their actions – the audience can relate to them, and so get pulled into the movie.
As the KIDS FIRST! youth film critics share in their reviews, below, Brave accomplishes this feat – perhaps better than any other. Says Cheyenne Nguyen, age 8, describing the interaction between the main character, Princess Merida, and her mother, “You can feel the love they have for each other but not knowing how to show it.” (Cheyenne also shares her experience meeting with the director and cast.) Morgan Bertsch, age 7, says, “It’s an up and down rollercoaster ride because every scene makes you experience a different feeling beating in your heart.” And the film is for all ages, as Raven Devanney, age 14, shares, “I laughed and cried hysterically throughout this whole film, and it even moved my parents to tears. Even my dad, and he never cries at films.”
Brave
Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen
(See a full review from Cheyenne and Morgan Bertsch on video.)
Brave is an animated Disney/Pixar movie in 3-D.
If you like adventure and love suspense, this is the movie.
This is the very first princess movie by Pixar. Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is a tomboy and loves all roughness from her father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly). Her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), is trying to raise her according to tradition, to behave like a lady.
Merida’s spirit is so strong and her mother is having a hard time talking to her. Neither one of them listens to each other.
You can feel the love they have for each other but not knowing how to show it. When one of them can’t speak, and only show their love in actions, this is when they understand each other’s feeling.
This movie is very funny with all the Scottish men, who are so silly with their kilts, some with no teeth and some with really crooked teeth. The triplets are hilarious.
The music is so relaxing with the beautiful Scotland sceneries. It’s also very festive when all the clans are having a get-together.
You can see Princess Merida’s and the bear’s hair strands as though they are real. The quality of Pixar 3-D is out of this Earth.
The part I did not enjoy is the fogginess and the darkness of the movie and the scary legends. Also, some of the accents are thick and I could not understand what they say. It seems like they smash all the words into one big word.
The message in this movie is, you can change your fate if you have the courage to do it.
I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend this movie for kids ages 8 to 50. I see a lot of moms having tears and laughing at the same time.
Brave
Reviewed by Morgan Bertsch
(See a full review from Morgan and Cheyenne Nguyen on video.)
Brave is awesome by Disney/Pixar!
I got to see it tonight — the premier at Disney — it was the most enjoyable, fantastic experience! I loved the beginning short, with the little boy and the twinkling stars. I give it a moon-full of twinkling stars, it was that incredible.
Now let’s talk about Brave, shall we? It’s about a princess who wishes to change her fate. She also is a good girl in a bad sort of way. The film is awesome and I love it. It’s for families.
There is a witch, and when Merida decides she wants to change her fate, she is led to her by the Willow Wisps. The witch is half witch, half woodcutter. She is a master at sculpting bears from wood.
I love the three bears. They are adorable and really cute. If I had to add one thing to this movie, it would be more adventures with the three little bears. They were that cute!
My favorite scene in the movie is when the mother bear is learning how to fish. That is a great clip of the mother and daughter being together and learning something new.
Watching Brave, my emotions were all over the place. I was laughing, crying and frightened when the bear attacked. Then back to laughing, and it was hilarious. My feelings were great, and it’s an up and down rollercoaster ride because every scene makes you experience a different feeling beating in your heart.
Much of the animation looked real instead of animation, and that was amazing.
I think this is for ages 6 and up. I give it five twinkling stars plus another moon-full of stars for the beginning short, and that equals thirty hundred thousand stars.
Make sure you watch the end past the credits for another really good laugh. Watch it to the very end and don’t sneak out early.
Brave
Reviewed by Raven Devanney
(See her full review on video.)
Brave is a new Disney/Pixar film about a young princess who breaks tradition. Determined to change her fate, Princess Merida attempts to use a spell to change her mother’s opinion on marriage. But as Merida soon learns, not everything is as it seems when it comes to magic.
Brave is a visual masterpiece. And I honestly believe that it is the best Disney/Pixar film that I have ever seen. With such beautiful animation and an unsuspected story line, I believe that Brave will go down in history as one of the best animations ever.
I laughed and cried hysterically throughout this whole film, and it even moved my parents to tears. Even my dad, and he never cries at films. The emotion was so wonderful and so beautifully crafted, and the comedy was very spot on and hilarious. And it made for a wonderful emotional medley.
I think that my favorite character would definitely have to be Princess Merida because she is so strong and determined, even when she is faced with such challenges. I think that she is a character every young person should look up to. She’s also very determined to right her wrongs and fix her mistakes, which is something that every person should aspire to do.
My favorite scenes are watching the bear queen trying to figure out survival in the wilderness, because her facial expressions are so human. So kudos to the animators on that. And her personality – she still seems like she is in a castle, and it is very, very funny.
I think that the end of the film is the best part of the entire movie. It blew me away and it completely topped my expectations for any movie. But I can’t tell you about it; you’ll just have to go see it in theaters.
There are definitely some scary and some intense parts in this film, so parents, have caution when you’re watching it with your young children. But I definitely would recommend this film for all ages because it’s absolutely breathtaking and amazing.
On a scale of one to five stars, I would give Brave 20 stars, because it was, like I said, absolutely amazing. So grab all your friends and family and go see Brave, the new animated film, in theaters as soon as possible.
Photos: Brave poster (top); KIDS FIRST! youth film critics, top to bottom: Cheyenne Nguyen, Morgan Bertsch, Raven Devanney
