f13.net

Brave is the latest animated movie from Pixer. Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brave_2012/) has given it nearly the same rating as Prometheus. Probably for the same reason.

It's decent. Not great. The frustrating thing is that it could have been great. Comstar pretty much says what I was thinking (and reviewers have noted as well).

The problem really is that Pixar somewhat uncharacteristically softened the character arc and the underlying thematics so that the whole thing is rather weightless and Hallmark-Card TV Movie Specialish. The lesson is obvious, the characters are saved from being pure cutouts just by the quality of the dialog and the fantastic visuals. It's not a bad time at the movies but it is forgettable and not up to Pixar's standards. (Though we're not talking Cars2 here.)

Basically, take the movie as is and with the following tweaks you've got a classic film:

The trailer left me absolutely uninterested in the movie, which for a Pixar movie without Larry the Cable Guy is an achievement.

Yeah, glad I'm not the only one who felt that way, Haemish.  Right off the bat from the first full trailer I wasn't drawn-in.   The teaser seemed a little more epic if a bit cliche.  I figured Pixar would put an interesting spin on it and I could get-over the wide-hipped squishy-headed heroine. 

I was really disappointed when I saw the full trailer and realized it was just another princess story, but with goofy Scotsmen.

Pixar has never made a good movie.

NEVER!

You are wrong.

Enjoyed it, no Monsters Inc., but it was entertaining.

The wife wants to take the 3 year old but heard that there are some scary moments (at least for a 3 year old).  Anyone have any comments about taking the kiddo?

There are definitely moments that would scare the crap out of your average toddler IMO.

Your kid can sit in a chair for 2 hours at a time? Bravo.

I liked it. Wasn't great as has been said above the story was kind of tame but on the other hand it was just SO goddamn pretty. Also the characters themselves were very likeable, even if they didn't have greats arcs to them.

My wife and 4 yr old daughter saw it this weekend.  Definitely some scary parts from what I was told, but they both liked it.

Actually?  Yeah.  He's a pretty good kid.  Now the younger one.....is a wild animal.

Liked it. The story definitely lacked some teeth, but it ended up being decent.

The short that preceded it was wonderful.

Worth seeing for the visuals alone: Cloth, hair, water, and moss. The story's not bad, either, it's just that Pixar has set our expectations so unbelievably high.

Enjoyable enough and looked great.  Definitely some story problems. Considering they fired the original writer/director half way through the production its amazing they were able to pull it together as well as they did though.

Belatedly adding: a visually beautiful film that really isn't that engaging.

I am quite confident in saying this: If I were a child, this would've have been my favorite Disney movie - if not my second favorite (because, you know, Aladdin). Of course, as an adult, Beauty and the Beast pretty much trounces all over the other Disney flicks.

I...I...don't know if if I'm comfortable with Schild liking a movie.

I have to agree that it would seem to be the adults that don't like it.  Elena thinks it's the most wonderful film ever.

I'm willing to admit that I actually enjoy most of the Disney cartoons. This movie, while incredibly pretty to look at, bored me to the point that I turned it off somewhere during the 20 minute sequence of the girl and the bear in the woods. I've heard it said that those sections of the movie resonate better with mothers / daughters. Perhaps they do, but I am neither, so yea - I was very disappointed in this flick.

Talk me through this because I don't get it. Beauty and the Beast is my daughter's favourite film (and seeing her meet Belle for real at Disneyland is one of my treasured moments ever) but I've never really taken to it. What is it you like about it?  (Genuine question - not usual F13 passive agressive snark)

Conversely, I absolutely adored Brave but I can understand why people don't.

This is going to be completely out in left field, and seem irrational - but whatever. Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Disney movie (even today) because I first saw it when I was in that awkward period between childhood and rebellious teenager. Had I seen it just a few years prior or a few years later (being a guy), I'd likely have disliked it or at least been neutral towards it.

This sort of age-dependent effect is also how I explain to people why I hate Final Fantasy VIII. If you had sex before you played Final Fantasy VIII, you'll hate that angst-addled whiny shit of a game. If you were a virgin, its' the best thing ever. I don't know why this sort of division works for that title, but it seems to.

So you're saying you want to have sex with Belle...or the Beast?   :why_so_serious:

Gaston, obv.

No one says "no" to Gaston!

I think Beauty and the Beast is so brilliant mainly because it rips off a lot of the visual elements of Cocteau's version of the story, only in a cartoon aimed at kids. And I absolutely love Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast.

Gaston is a fantastic antagonist, truly reprehensible while otherwise possessed of all the qualities a hero requires. More importantly, he is the living embodiment of all the traits that the Beast was cursed for in his princely past... precisely those things he must abandon if he wishes to become the marriage-worthy prince he's supposed to be rather than the selfish alternate antagonist he is at the beginning of Belle's story.

It's precisely the sort of narrative complexity that Brave lacked.

That said, the whole "I'll fix this broken and emotionally abusive man while he forces me to live in his palace" thing is more than a little shady, no matter how charming and kind the (enslaved and transformed!) servants happen to be. Also I would have liked to see Gaston broken by the realization that he's a coward, rather than emboldened (and thus killed) by it. Have him limp back to his fanclub a champion, but with the secret knowledge that he's not even half the man they think him to be.

 :heartbreak: :cry: :heartbreak:

No, I buy that - there are films I love because they caught me at the right moment in my life. Thanks.

Next challenge - someone justify why I should give the Disney version of "Hunchback of Notre Dame" a second chance..!

It has one really awesome, creepy scene.

I can't do that for you. It blows on every level.

So this is the thread where hipster analyze Disney Movies.

Emperor's New Groove.  That is all.   :awesome_for_real:

This. I think I almost fell asleep in the theater and it was the last Disney animated non-Pixar movie I saw in the theater.

I uh, what?

(http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/556890/emperor-s-new-groove-o.gif)

I dunno, the scene where Frollo is singing about how badly he wants to fuck/rape/whatever Esmerelda is pretty fucking creepy and visually interesting, if nothing else. The rest was shit, sure, but I do think that one scene is pretty memorable, at least. Not worth sitting through the rest of it, of course.


Also I have heard Emperor's New Groove was actually good? Is this true?

See, I like Emperor's New Groove even though there are a ton of reasons not to. It feels like a Disney movie that was given a roofie by Warner Brothers.