Remember what happened when Pete Docter "slipped" the title Brave in an interview last year while promoting Up?
Well, it seemed like everyone was scrambling through the ‘net to find more details about the project only to find that it was only a codename for the previously announced Brenda Chapman film, The Bear and the Bow.
Now, Stitch Kingdom is bringing the name back! Brave seems to have been recently trademarked over fourteen times by Disney! The fan blog also discovered that Disney registered domain names related to Brave including BRAVE–MOVIE.COM and BRAVETHEMOVIE.COM. What’s more, there seems to be no domain names related to TBatB… This story follows closely behind the tracks of recent domain registrations for rumored Toy Story Toons and a slew of brand new Cars Toons.
But what makes this new information all the more interesting is that we are now led to believe that Pixar’s winter 2011 fairytale has been rebranded to its working title of "Brave." I warmed up to The Bear and the Bow, but I honestly don’t mind the title Brave. They both seem very fitting as the title character, Merida, apparently defies all odds. Keep in mind, this is well backed-up, but still speculation.
This brings us to question why TBatB may have been re-titled. Well, as Disney has been shutting down projects (King of Elves, The Snow Queen, maybe even Newt) they’ve also been renaming films to better target a wide range of demographics. For example, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Rapunzel was recently changed to Tangled — apparently to appeal to young boys.
The irony in this decision, though, is that it doesn’t seem very brave to switch a title just to please a certain demographic. But then again, this was the internal name for the project, so maybe The Bear and the Bow was just something Marketing came up with to present to shareholders back in April of 2008. This is also the studio that brought us the very brave trio of Ratatouille, WALL•E, and Up. But does a title really matter, isn’t it the story that counts?
Update: Apparently, Disney has trademarked the term DISNEY PIXAR BRAVE very recently, adding fuel to the fire of this very plausible rumor. This is a near confirmation, is all I’m saying…
What do you think about the possible name change for this 2011 project?
Last modified: March 16, 2010
Ooh! If the name really HAS been changed to ‘Brave’, I’m totally fine with it. It’s really different but I think it’s simple and can sum up a lot of feelings from what we expect the movie to have, in the end.
Oh, but the ‘Rapunzel’ name change to ‘Tangled’ still doesn’t agree with me. 😉
—Leirin
I agree with you on both of those points Leirin. 🙂
Maybe they change the title because Pixar films usually have short titles (up, cars, toy story, the incredibles)… So the marketing guys would like to have a short title for this one, too ?
I like Brave, short and catchy
I can totally hear myself saying to my friends “I loved Brave!” “Go and see Brave” lol
The coolest thing is that we are soon going to know! Disney is expected to announce its upcoming slate this spring.
Can’t wait
I think the Bear and the Bow is such a great title. Maybe its easier to have shorter titles because they translate better in foreign markets?
Beautiful logo though, it’ll be a shame of it disappears.
i love pixar.UP,is my favorite movie from there.dug was my favorite dog.kvin the snipe was my favorite charecter.and alpha was the dog i hated.
I like Brave better, thank goodness that hideous TBATB logo is gone. Good riddance, poor design!
The logo made it look like a forgettable fairy tale, but Brave is a much more bold and fierce title and I hope the new typography and accompanying graphic design reflects that.
NO WAY I LOVE THE TITLE THE BEAR AND THE BOW BOW ITS LONG, CATCHY AND ONE OF THE BEST TITLES EVERY MADE THAT I HAVE SEE (including Avatar,Toy story and Newt also Master mind) ITS A GOOD SAYING! DONT CHANGE IT PIXAR, DISNE IS BOSSING YOUR GUYS AROUND CHOOSE WHAT U WANT PLEASE!!!!!!!!!