Like I said, I gave this film an A+ and I’m working on a review which should be up soon.
-super long response that is full of spoilers so I’ve spoiler-ed it-
[spoiler]I think Elinor was using the story to try to persuade Merida into accepting her ‘fate’ as a princess and marry to keep the kingdom at peace - like she showed with the chessboard, when one person turns their back (in the prince’s case it was him leaving his brothers and in Merida’s it would be her refusing to marry) everything around them collapses. Like it showed part-way through the film when Merida was trying to get her mother back into the castle, the clans were ready to go into a full-on war with each other over Merida’s situation.
The prince (I think) went to the witch and asked for a spell that would change him - I can’t remember the exact details but it might have been to either give him more power or to reunite him with his brothers.
After seeing the film 3 times, I don’t think that the witch can really be considered the antagonist of the film - from what I understand, she unintentionally turned the prince into the bear, which made her try to stop using magic and get into her woodcarving. It sort of gets tricky when Merida shows up and gets the same potion - she obviously knew that it would turn Elinor into a bear because she flat-out told them about the 2-days rule, but then again she gave them the answer they needed to turn her back… in the form of a riddle.
The witch was definitely the weakest part of the story - her motives definitely should have been clearer.
I think it was more about the separation of family and the effect it has on the kingdom than a direct link between the prince and Elinor.
They weren’t living in the tents in the clearing, I’m pretty sure they were just on a hunting trip.
Like I said above, the clans were ready to go to war with each other because Merida had not made up her mind about who to marry, so it was probably a marriage to keep the clans and the kingdom close. Think of Sleeping Beauty, when the two kings arrange for Aurora and Phillip to marry at her birth so that their kingdoms will be connected closer. (Obviously that’s not the best example because things worked well for Aurora…)
I think Merida was the one who was being brave, by defying custom and stating outright that she didn’t want her future planned out for her by her mother and the clans, and that if she chooses to marry it would be for love.
I don’t think she was being a ‘stubborn brat’ either - whether she was a princess or a peasant, either way she was being forced into marrying someone she had just met who clearly wasn’t suited for her so that her father would be closer connected with the clans.
The ‘be true to yourself’ speech didn’t really come out of nowhere either… Merida had been trying to convince her mother to let her be herself throughout the entire film.
The will-o-the-wisps that led Merida to the witch’s hut and the other places weren’t the spirit of the prince - like the witch said, after 2 days the ‘bear’ took over and you become a mindless animal. When Mor’du was killed and the prince’s spirit became a wisp, it left to join the others, suggesting that the wisps that traversed Merida all over Scotland are also spirits of dead people.
Now I have no idea why they took her to the hut and then the ruined castle and finally to the Stone Henge clearing, but the prince/Mor’du had nothing to do with them.[/spoiler]
There’s one thing that I realized after watching the film that I fear may bring it down a bit in my eyes:
How does Merida end up all the way back at the stone circle immediately after talking to the witch? Was this supposed to be some sort of magic? I don’t think the witch’s hut was intended to be separated from reality. This is pretty important because it’s the reason why Merida doesn’t find out about the consequences of the spell until after she carries it out.
I’d hate to think this was some gigantic flaw that everyone involved with the film somehow missed. Can anyone explain this?
[spoil]It’s just supposed to be magic. She’s obviously very confused after it happens. Looking back, though, it doesn’t really feel as believable compared to all the other magic in the movie.[/spoil]
Now that I’ve given the movie some more time to sink in, I think I liked it even more than I said. There are many praiseworthy things about it. But whether we hold it on a conscious level or not, it’s hard not to be more judgmental on a Pixar movie than with other movies. In short, Brave is a very good movie. It isn’t a movie that fully delivers on all levels but it’s definitely good, and worthy of better.
I give this film a B+. While it didn’t have everything I wanted I still liked the film. I already made a review for it.
I asked about it elsewhere and they gave me a better explanation:
[spoil]The wisps carried her back. They probably didn’t want her to be aware of the consequences of the spell just yet otherwise she wouldn’t continue “changing her fate”. You also see this at work at Mor’du’s lair which the film makes a point to show how far away it is. But it’s a relatively quick jaunt back as they slam right into the same stone circle when being chased by Mor’du.[/spoil]
This is exactly how I feel about it. The more I’ve let it sink in, the more I like it, but not exactly love it. It didn’t grip me the entire day after I saw it, which Pixar films usually do. It was good, not great. It’s frustrating is what it is
The witch was for sure my least favorite part: it’s so overdone. I wish it wasn’t that much along the lines of a classic fairytale.
was anyone else disappointed that the footage in the first brave teaser trailer, wasnt even in the film? i was actually hoping to see merida battle mordu with her bow and arrows.
I didn’t think that would be in the final product. Footage from teaser trailers are never in the final cut.
I know that the PPT is [spoil]one of the wood carvings[/spoil]. But where is A113? From what I read, a lot of people can’t find it.
I think I have some sort of theory on what that is.
I saw Brave again today! 
I liked it more this time.
I just got a Merida doll today!!!
^I got one just a few days ago! It’s amazing. <3 I can’t wait to see the movie again possibly later this week. There’s a lot I want to look out for on my next viewing.
Which one, Leirin? I have both classic DS Merida and basic Mattel. I thin they’re adorable!
The fact that this movie’s box-office trend is compared to Wall-E’s means that any chance I had of seeing it is out the door. Not to mention that the person who wrote the article took another jab at Pixar’s best movie, Cars 2.
I got the classic DS one. I agree that they’re both pretty
By the way, I heard that Brave has been on Subway commercials and that Subway is just promoting the movie in general. I can’t find the commercials though.
Yes, they are. I don’t know how you would locate them, though.
So I made a video review for this on Youtube, it should be up tomorrow. Just to warn you, there were things I hated about the movie like I said in the review I made a couple weeks ago, but I like a lot of stuff too.