Filmography
Brave
Just a brief note; this was the 2012 Disney Pixar offering set in something that looked like the Scottish highlands, involved warring clans and a red-haired heroine who wasn't going to do what she was supposed to. I enjoyed it, although not as much as I was expecting to - there was a bit too much... somewhere in between moralising and whimsy, I think. It was interesting to have the relationship with one's mother as the key point of teenage transition, but it felt a little clunky at times. That said, the visuals were (of course) amazing, and the plot was otherwise very light in its touch - for instance, there was never a great deal of emphasis on what precisely Merida was being taught in her lessons, but the fact she was able to call on her country's history at a moment of great stress demonstrated she'd actually learned them and, lo, was using them at an appropriate point. The whole 'look, we're in Scotland, go nuts!' aesthetic was also managed fairly well - there wasn't a huge amount of Celtic over-cutesy-ness, for instance, just a reasonable amount, and any sense of the Otherworldly only turned up when it was strictly necessary for the plot - there was no 'hey, we can throw in some random nods to Celtic spirituality stuff!' for kicks, just a plot-driven demon bear. Who doesn't love a plot-driven demon bear?
I did laugh at this, and it is a much better film if we have to have a princess than any of the standard ones. A perfectly acceptable way to spend an evening, but part of me feels a little bit let down given the otherwise high standard of Pixar's work.
Just a brief note; this was the 2012 Disney Pixar offering set in something that looked like the Scottish highlands, involved warring clans and a red-haired heroine who wasn't going to do what she was supposed to. I enjoyed it, although not as much as I was expecting to - there was a bit too much... somewhere in between moralising and whimsy, I think. It was interesting to have the relationship with one's mother as the key point of teenage transition, but it felt a little clunky at times. That said, the visuals were (of course) amazing, and the plot was otherwise very light in its touch - for instance, there was never a great deal of emphasis on what precisely Merida was being taught in her lessons, but the fact she was able to call on her country's history at a moment of great stress demonstrated she'd actually learned them and, lo, was using them at an appropriate point. The whole 'look, we're in Scotland, go nuts!' aesthetic was also managed fairly well - there wasn't a huge amount of Celtic over-cutesy-ness, for instance, just a reasonable amount, and any sense of the Otherworldly only turned up when it was strictly necessary for the plot - there was no 'hey, we can throw in some random nods to Celtic spirituality stuff!' for kicks, just a plot-driven demon bear. Who doesn't love a plot-driven demon bear?
I did laugh at this, and it is a much better film if we have to have a princess than any of the standard ones. A perfectly acceptable way to spend an evening, but part of me feels a little bit let down given the otherwise high standard of Pixar's work.