JasonEvans
06-20-2012, 04:29 PM
Brave is a good animated film, better than most of what you see in this genre, but pales in comparison to what we generally expect from Pixar. It is not the "miss" that Cars2 was last summer but isn't nearly up to the standards of Toy Story (I, II, or III), Wall*E, Ratatouille, Incredibles, Up, and other Pixar greats.
Brave features wonderful animation (Pixar always hits a homer in that regard) but the story is a bit simplistic and obvious. There is a headstrong princess who clashes with her "by the book" mother/queen. The daughter does not want to follow the path her mother has laid out for her and gets some help from a witch with a spell in that regard. The spell takes effect in ways the daughter could not imagine and she has to figure out a way to fix it before it is too late. Like I said, it is an obvious story. The plot just doesn't feel as honest or intelligent as Pixar usually delivers. What's more, the "journey" of the characters never really happens. None of the characters really feel all the different at the end from where they were at the beginning. The "life lessons" that seem to be a staple of this kind of story never play out all that well. The humor was just so-so and this is almost more of an action story than a funny one, though I think it wanted to be funnier. The characters also feel more cartoonish and less nuanced than we have come to expect from Pixar.
http://pixarplanet.com/blog/images/1553.jpg
Honestly, I don't feel like there is all that much more to say. I hope it does not seem like I am trashing the film. I am not. Again, it was a good movie and one that adults will be able to enjoy a bit while they take their kids to the movies, but it is not great and I can't imagine adults without kids going to this flick and really enjoying it (the way they can with most of the Pixar cannon).
I think the boxoffice prospects for the film are quite good. I expect it to make something like $60-70 mil in its opening weekend and it has a decent shot at making $200 mil overall. It should appeal more to mothers and daughters than fathers and sons as all the main characters are women. Tangled made $200 mil and I think this is somewhat of a similar film (maybe not quite as good a story, though the animation is higher quality).
-Jason "as an aside Seeking a Friend for the End of the World was a dud -- a depressing movie about depressing characters with a lot less humor than you might imagine" Evans
Brave features wonderful animation (Pixar always hits a homer in that regard) but the story is a bit simplistic and obvious. There is a headstrong princess who clashes with her "by the book" mother/queen. The daughter does not want to follow the path her mother has laid out for her and gets some help from a witch with a spell in that regard. The spell takes effect in ways the daughter could not imagine and she has to figure out a way to fix it before it is too late. Like I said, it is an obvious story. The plot just doesn't feel as honest or intelligent as Pixar usually delivers. What's more, the "journey" of the characters never really happens. None of the characters really feel all the different at the end from where they were at the beginning. The "life lessons" that seem to be a staple of this kind of story never play out all that well. The humor was just so-so and this is almost more of an action story than a funny one, though I think it wanted to be funnier. The characters also feel more cartoonish and less nuanced than we have come to expect from Pixar.
http://pixarplanet.com/blog/images/1553.jpg
Honestly, I don't feel like there is all that much more to say. I hope it does not seem like I am trashing the film. I am not. Again, it was a good movie and one that adults will be able to enjoy a bit while they take their kids to the movies, but it is not great and I can't imagine adults without kids going to this flick and really enjoying it (the way they can with most of the Pixar cannon).
I think the boxoffice prospects for the film are quite good. I expect it to make something like $60-70 mil in its opening weekend and it has a decent shot at making $200 mil overall. It should appeal more to mothers and daughters than fathers and sons as all the main characters are women. Tangled made $200 mil and I think this is somewhat of a similar film (maybe not quite as good a story, though the animation is higher quality).
-Jason "as an aside Seeking a Friend for the End of the World was a dud -- a depressing movie about depressing characters with a lot less humor than you might imagine" Evans