I think they did fall down in a crucial scene by having Merida make a speech about people being free to choose who they love, which was a bit of a cop-out: nothing in the rest of the movie is AT ALL about Merida caring about a chance to love freely. She doesn't actually give a damn. This does go largely against the grain of the film and I did talk about it in my review.
Having said that, I don't think the "previously on Pixar" argument holds all that much water when it comes to the emotional context of Brave. As Swatkat says the film's explicit, overarching love story is between mother and daughter.
What I can work with is the critique of Pixar choosing to go the princess route with its first female hero, since male protagonists from the studio have all had varied and interesting identities that aren't monarchy-bound: in fact, critics have made that point already and I agree with them, even though I suppose part of Pixar's purpose with this film was to destroy part of the princess subgenre from within.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-07-11 03:45 am (UTC)Having said that, I don't think the "previously on Pixar" argument holds all that much water when it comes to the emotional context of Brave. As Swatkat says the film's explicit, overarching love story is between mother and daughter.
What I can work with is the critique of Pixar choosing to go the princess route with its first female hero, since male protagonists from the studio have all had varied and interesting identities that aren't monarchy-bound: in fact, critics have made that point already and I agree with them, even though I suppose part of Pixar's purpose with this film was to destroy part of the princess subgenre from within.