Brave (2012)

Though I clearly need no breaks from studying, I just started and have only finished the introduction of my critical paper, I still needed to blog today to feed my extensive hunger for writing. So what better way to feed that appetite than to treat myself with something amazing to review. So here it goes, the review of Brave, the animation I was looking forward of seeing for months and finally saw in the beginning of November. One thing is for sure, the wait was worth it and Brave is definitely one of my favorite animations of these past few years, if not to say, of all time.

The reason everybody was so anxious to see Brave was certainly the quality of the animation itself, the hair was the main star of the whole thing and for a good reason – it looked amazing! That’s why I love animations, they have come a long way and it is the genre that isn’t going to be ruined by over using the computer arts department (cough-Alice in Wonderland-cough) because it IS computer imagery and its getting better every year. I applaud those who do this for a living, they really do want to give us every strand of hair with the most precision and it really did wow me away.

Now on to the actual story of the animation which for me was refreshing to see for various reasons. Firstly, I can’t recall seeing a lot of daughter-mother relationships being exploited in animations. Secondly, it made me miss my mom so badly but I’m not going to tell her that because she will want to chat on Skype for 5 hours and I just don’t have the time. Lastly, I would want to tell you the twist of the story but I have opted myself not to spoil the interesting parts of the movies and since this wasn’t actually featured in the trailer (as far as I can remember) it was a surprise for me and should be for those who haven’t seen Brave yet. Although, I don’t see why one hasn’t seen it yet, it is not just a cartoon for kids, everybody should know by now that all the animations are excellent for grown-ups as well. Especially those who still feel like they have a little kid inside (like me).

I also like the authenticity behind the cast which featured Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane and Kevin McKidd – out of which only Thompson isn’t originally from Scotland, the actual geographical location the story takes place. Here I would also give an applause for Kevin McKidd (most known from Grey’s Anatomy) who did two voices out of which one was far from understandable! It worked, it was supposed to be like that and I had no idea McKidd had that in him, the Scottish accent that he had made for one of his characters made me love him. Definitely a lot of comicality hidden in that not understandable character.

Since it is difficult to write a lot about good things I will finish this review with a couple of words about why I love animations. With no doubt, I think that animations have emerged to be a genre that everybody loves because they do touch your heart not just with the stories they tell, the laughs they get from the viewers but with the way they put the story on screen. I have no shame in saying this, but I do think animators care about movies like they should be cared for. Proof, just look at the red hair and try to count the strands – yes, that is dedication right there!