I haven’t really sought out Disney animated films over the last few years, instead waiting for them to come to me for various reasons.  Brave is a pretty good film with story that’s at least a little off the beaten path, but close enough to standard faire to be unobtrusive.

There are, as usual, spoilers after the jump.

I think the first thing that struck me about Brave is the differentiation between feminine and masculine power, and how that was subverted at various points in the film.  From the very beginning, Fergus is the image of masculine power – he’s large, his hands are huge, and we see him as the clear holder of power through might.  Elinor, on the other hand, is slight, but demonstrates power in her own way by her words.  As Merida starts learning to use her new bow, we already start to see the dichotomy of this character – a young girl learning her physical might as a means to power, but the setup doesn’t stop there, as she tracks the Will-O-Wisps into the forest, we know that magic is a part of her destiny.

I loved this part of the movie.  From the start we know that Merida is going to use both masculine and feminine power to achieve her goals as a heroine.  This, right away, is going to set her above the other characters in the movie who may rely too heavily on one or the other, as we see her parents do.  I think this is why it’s important that her mother is turned into a bear – the raw physical strength forces her to understand that aspect of her daughter and heal the rift between the two.  But, Merida also must embrace the feminine power to fix the curse bestowed upon her mother, again, forcing her to understand that aspect of her mother.

I also really liked how the legend of the power hungry son played double-duty in the narrative.  Sure, I saw it coming (I’ve been over-trained to recognize these narratives), but the fact that it was pulled off so well made for a particularly enjoyable experience.  I rail on overly-loose or crowded narratives a lot, so it was very cool to see the economy in this one – it really hit the “short story” vibe.

I think my only real gripe with the film was the adherence to the characters to stereotypes.  The kilt wearing tribesman who just want to brawl, the geeky looking kid with no physical talents or social skills, the chubby unintelligible one…  …It was all a little too cookie cutter.  In this case, it didn’t hurt the narrative (as the real was happening outside these characters, which made them more of a force of nature than an actual character), but I wonder if it was really needed.

Overall, I give Brave three-and-a-half Will-O-Wisps – fun to follow and see where it leads you.  I still wouldn’t put this in the list of movies I would seek out, but it was better than I expected.