Entry posted by Voltex
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5th - Brave, 2012
iBrow Percentage: 90 (Revised)
Brave is a beauty, with its abundance of greens and blues and purples, and other soft or cool hues within the surroundings and the characters. This helps the main character, Merida, to stand out with her flaming orange hair. The film was one of my most anticipated this year, and I originally scored it with an 87% in a review. My reasons for upgrading it were because, during July (whilst preparing to do this list), I re-watched Brave, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Wall-E, Cars, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles to refresh my memory, having seen the other Pixar films at some point in the last year. While doing this, I realized that the film is just better in several aspects. The musical score, while not something I'd listen to outside of watching the film was a pleasure to hear during it, and helped to set the film apart.The animation is truly spectacular and possibly the best Pixar has ever done - the only Pixar film that could challenge this is Finding Nemo.
While most people seemed to feel that the relationship between Merida and her mother was just a redx of the one between Nemo and his fater (except not as good), I found that it set itself apart and was entertaining enough to be considered in its own right. If we're talking parent to child relationships, Brave is the one I would want to see. The firey tempers of both characters, who are both right in different ways, is far more appealng than Nemo and his father. I found Merida's relationship to be far more dynamic from the start, as well - right after their first major onscreen spat we see both of them on their own, regretting the argument and wishing they knew how to fix it.
The major faults of the film are the story and the characters. The story seems rushed and cramped - Merida and her mother are built up as the only characters you need to really care about, and the two treat everyone else (with the exception of the King and the Witch) as a mindless mob. I think the film's story could have benefitted from being lengthened by thirty minutes and giving the rest of the cast more of a spotlight.
That said, the characters are also my favourite aspect of the film aside from the beautiful animation. Merida herself is certainly one of Pixar's more interesting characters, but my favourites are the Witch and the King. The King's clueless but fearless nature had me laughing out loud whenever he said something funny, and the Witch was the same. Her matter of act nature and her resigned warnings to Merida's deaf ears made every scene she was in a treat.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on Brave, a month and a half late. Feel free to disagree in the comments below, and I promise to have Rank 4 ready sooner. =P
No more hints, but for those of you late or not paying attention, the following films must still be ranked:
Toy Story 3 - Toy Story 2 - Finding Nemo - The Incredibles
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