Quick review of BRAVE - *** Spoilers ***

[mikelan6]

A friend of mine invited me to a preview screening for Disney/Pixar's "Brave" last night.

While I thought the film was visually stunning with amazing animation, I think this might be Pixar's first non-blockbuster film. For me, story is most important and while this movie had a good story, it wasn't the best.

Also, most films have a villain - Brave doesn't really have a villain. I didn't find myself rooting for Princess Merida. I just found myself sad for her mom.

There was also no catchy songs as it's not a musical.

The Pixar short "La Luna" on the other hand was so cute and enchanting people clapped after it played. I don't recall the audience clapping after Brave.

As a Disney shareholder, I hope that Brave goes on to sell tons at the box office, but I doubt it will. I also thought it was interesting that before the movie, they advertised the Scotland Adventures by Disney trip.

 

[tjevans]

Like Pete, I have absolutely no desire to see this film (or at least I know he has alluded to that).

Of course, I also had no desire to see Cars II, Wall-E, and Up (and still haven't seen those).

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Having a daughter, I know that I will be seeing this movie on June 22nd. She has been waiting for it!!!

For starters, you are a man and I honestly don't think this movie was made for your demographic. I know you are trying to look at it subjectively. But, it's made for kids and kids aren't going to disect it like an adult. They want to be entertained.

It may not be a blockbuster at the theater. It's up against Madagascar 3. (Which my daughter has ZERO desire to see, but the boys want to see it.)
But, the marketing of the dolls, books, clothing, costumes, DVDs, etc . . . will definitely make the stockholders happy.

 

[WaltD4Me]

My niece is four and excited to see Brave. She already has the doll from the Disney Store and watches Epcot Meet & Greet videos on You Tube. She is a HUGE Tangled fan, I could not even begin to tell you how many times she has watched Tangled...and I just don't think Brave will replace Tangled as her favorite movie. (Like Tangled replaced Enchanted) I could be wrong of course, but I don't see Brave having the same appeal. I do think Brave will attract more of a boy audience though. It definitely doesn't look as girly as other Princess movies. The feel of it reminds me of How to Train Your Dragon. We shall see.

 

[dalt01]

have to disagree mike......of course i'm shooting my mouth off without seeing it yet.........i agree with Lisa that this is chasing the exact same demographic as Tangled, with the same style marketing push, which did just south of 600 million worldwide. they are trying to pull the little boys in too but thats a stretch. i dont expect the Tangled numbers which were actually a suprise to me but 170 domestic and 300 foreign should be reachable........i guess we will know soon.

 

[mikelan6]

Brave is no Tangled.

I loved Tangled. Brave, not so much.

 

[Golf4food]

We've long learned our lesson with Pixar films. We had no desire to see Nemo or Up or Wall-e after all the previews. We loved Wall-e, Up had us sobbing like babies, and before we learned the sex of our baby we called him Nemo. Own all of them on Bluray or DVD. Whatever Pixar puts out (that isn't named Cars or Cars II) we will go see it.

 

[wmson2000]

Only 8 reviews so far but Brave is initially scoring well on Rotten Tomatoes:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brave_2012/

 

[mytripsandraces]

I saw it last night, too, and loved it! I think the biggest audience will be mothers and daughters, but there's enough other stuff (the triplets are hilarious) to keep everyone else engaged, too.

 

[k5jm]

Having a daughter, I know that I will be seeing this movie on June 22nd. She has been waiting for it!!!

For starters, you are a man and I honestly don't think this movie was made for your demographic. I know you are trying to look at it subjectively. But, it's made for kids and kids aren't going to disect it like an adult. They want to be entertained.

It may not be a blockbuster at the theater. It's up against Madagascar 3. (Which my daughter has ZERO desire to see, but the boys want to see it.)
But, the marketing of the dolls, books, clothing, costumes, DVDs, etc . . . will definitely make the stockholders happy.

Pixar has stated that their movies cross many demographics and thinking that it excludes any one person's demographic is shortsighted. Pixar can not afford to be that narrow focused.

 

[angieand3rs]

I know I'll be taking my little girl, but I'm kind of disappointed in it not having songs. I was hoping it would replace Tangled, I love it, but a momma's got to watch something else every now and then!

 

[mytripsandraces]

I know I'll be taking my little girl, but I'm kind of disappointed in it not having songs. I was hoping it would replace Tangled, I love it, but a momma's got to watch something else every now and then!

It's not a musical, but there are songs. Mumford & Sons even wrote and performed one.

 

[angieand3rs]

It's not a musical, but there are songs. Mumford & Sons even wrote and performed one.

Gotcha! She is ubber obsessed with musicals right now, but maybe the imagery will let it fly! I think I want to see it more than she does!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We have been turned off by the constant, inescapable marketing. It just looks too much like "How to Train Your Dragon" (excellent film, btw). It also reminds my daughters of Mulan.

I've seen all of the Pixars and do not like either Cars movies. Was it worse than Cars 2?

 

[dalt01]

looks like BRAVE should get up monday morning with about 150 million in the domestic bank with the 4th of July weekend still to come so i will revise my prediction of 170 domestic to 200 million. foreign box office will come in a bit slower due to release dates but the words blockbuster and tentpole dont seem so distant anymore..................Pixar strikes again

 

[WaltD4Me]

I took my 4 year old and 13 year old niece to see Brave on Sunday. It was a little scary for the 4 year old, she sat in my lap and covered her eyes a couple times. After the movie though she said she wanted to see it again and she loved Merida. The 13 year old was less impressed, she said Tangled was much better. I liked it myself, but I won't be running out to buy the DVD. The movie was beautifully done and gorgeous to watch, but it was missing something for me. Haven't put my finger on it yet. It did remind me a How to Train Your Dragon, between the two, I liked Train Your Dragon better.

 

[Phoenixblue]

We went for DS 6th birthday. We all really liked it, he did get a little scared a few times though. I liked the songs it had, though its definitely not a musical, and would like the soundtrack, but I really like Celtic music.
Its not your standard princess story, that's for sure. Its more a coming of age story. We enjoyed it quite a bit, and the triplets are hysterical. We laughed, we cried, and we will most likely buy it on blue ray.

 

[BrizMarc]

I went in not expection alot and really enjoyed it. I would have loved to have seen some more of the witch in the movie as the scene with her was classic. Great story and alot different from what I expected.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Brave was #1 at the box office this past weekend!!! ($66,323,594)

We contributed to that money and took the whole family to see it this past weekend. Like a previous post mentioned, it was "different" from the past Pixar and Disney Princess movies. I went in with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised. No it's not Cars or Tangled, I will agree with y'all on that. But, it was honestly "refreshing". Merida didn't need a prince charming to save her or help her figure out her destiny. She had to learn the hard way and in the end, she was a much better person for it. Great story and a lesson learned to all children . . . be careful what you wish for!!!

As expected, our daughter loved it and wants to see it again. The boys, once was enough. I was suprised that the boys stayed engaged the whole movie. Maybe, they liked it more than they're letting on?!?! I felt the music was very peaceful and went beautifully with the scenery.

After the movie, I asked my daughter if she ever wanted to turn me into a bear. She gave me a BIG hug and said, "No!" I think she learned something from this movie.

 

[Bornteach]

We enjoyed it as well but I felt like to missed an essential mark. I think the transformation at the end could have easily opened it up for a sequel instead of floating away.

I wished there had been a little more music but the animation was gorgeous. Her hair reminded me of the detail in Monsters Inc (Sully). My daughter loved the empowerment of Merida and my son loved the triplets!