I’m usually a huge fan of Pixar movies, but recently something’s been missing. Brave had all the ingredients of what makes Pixar great, but somehow lacked the phenomenal, unpredictable imagination and creativity. In some ways, it felt more like a Disney movie.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Disney has put out some of the finest creative work out there, but they also have a tendency to recycle the same fairy tales as well.
The graphics are phenomenal in Brave, but it just lacked the strange perspective I expected. The story was told from a human’s perspective… which was kind of lack luster.
My favorite moves by Pixar are stories told from an unusual perspective. For example, Ratatouille was about a small rat in a world he wasn’t supposed to be in. The idea of a rat as a chef in a kitchen was a brilliant juxtaposition. The same goes with Wall-E—the idea of a robot with feelings, and could bring life back to earth was very interesting. Monsters Inc was about monsters in a corrupt power industry. The idea that monsters cared about safety and feared children was a stroke of genius.
Anyway, you get where I’m going with this.
So what Brave lacked was that same imagination. It, however, was stellar. It’t was pretty, had tons of humor, and really pulled some emotional strings…
Pros:
• Breath taking graphics
• Cute characters
• Genuine emotional moments
Cons:
• Fairy tale = predictable
• Lots of clichés
• Didn’t live up to Pixar’s creative standards