Brave [DVD] [2012]

Product Information

Kelly Macdonald as Princess Merida, a princess who wants to break with tradition regarding marriage.

The original idea had 80% of the scenes taking place in the snow. In the final movie, however, very few snow scenes remain. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and wrote, "The good news is that the kids will probably love it, and the bad news is that parents will be disappointed if they're hoping for another Pixar groundbreaker." He said that the film had an uplifting message about improving communication between mothers and daughters.In fact, amid the magic spells and tall tales of times gone by, it's the historical, Scottish feeling that made Marida's journey and transformation (and that of her mother) that much more tangible and familiar. Brave was first announced under the title of The Bear and the Bow. Other titles that had been considered include, among others The Bear King and his Daughter, Brave and the Bow, and Bravehair. The film, Pixar's first fairy tale, is a combination of Brenda Chapman's love of stories by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, as well as a reflection on raising her daughter. Other Princesses: Minnie Mouse • Tiger Lily • Maid Marian • Eilonwy • Daughters of Triton • Megara • Melody • Sally • Kida Nedakh • Ting-Ting, Su, and Mei • Kilala Reno • Kairi • Princess of Gentlehaven • Nancy Tremaine • Vanellope von Schweetz • Sofia • Anna • Elsa • Elena

During the Brave Press Event (held April 3–5, 2012), it was stated that 111,394 storyboards were created for the film, compared to 80,000 for Cars 2 and 92,854 for Toy Story 3. Official Disney Princesses: Snow White • Cinderella • Aurora • Ariel • Belle • Jasmine • Pocahontas • Mulan • Tiana • Rapunzel • Merida • Moana • Raya Chapman was supposed to be the film's sole director and Pixar's first female director. It was later reported that Pixar had replaced Chapman with Mark Andrews. Both Andrews and Chapman are both credited as the movie's directors. Following his involvement as director, Andrews cleared away many magic elements to focus on the core story. Chapman later stated that her vision "came through in the film” and that she remains "very proud of the movie." Home Video: Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Once Upon a Dream • Disney Princess Sing Along Songs Vol. 2 - Enchanted Tea Party • Disney Princess Sing Along Songs Vol. 3 - Perfectly Princess • Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams

Touch the Sky • Into the Open Air • Learn Me Right • Song of Mor'du • Noble Maiden Fair (A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal) • My Spirit Flies As has been the case with almost every other one of their movies, the company has reinvented the standard for animated visuals. The environments are based on real Scottish landmarks, adding real depth to the story, and the colors are as bright as they are grounded, creating a wonderfully real world. Such visuals lend credence to the upcoming 3D re-release of Finding Nemo, though not much, but also show just how far the studio has come.

This is also Pixar's first fairy tale and their first film to take on the fantasy genre (not really counting Monsters Inc. as it appears takes on more of the science fiction genre than it does fantasy). Brave's logo include a stylized representation of Merida in the "B" and of Queen Elinor in the "E". All of the elements put together, Brave is a different sort of movie than many were expecting. More focused on a single pair and their quest together, not to mention darker by far, the story of Merida was a leap of faith for the once small studio.Toy Story (1995) • A Bug's Life (1998) • Toy Story 2 (1999) · Monsters, Inc. (2001) • Finding Nemo (2003) • The Incredibles (2004) • Cars (2006) • Ratatouille (2007) • WALL-E (2008) • Up (2009) • Toy Story 3 (2010) • Cars 2 (2011) • Brave (2012) • Monsters University (2013) • Inside Out (2015) • The Good Dinosaur (2015) • Finding Dory (2016) • Cars 3 (2017) • Coco (2017) • Incredibles 2 (2018) • Toy Story 4 (2019) • Onward (2020) • Soul (2020) • Luca (2021) • Turning Red (2022) • Lightyear (2022) • Elemental (2023) Everything about Brave is different from the Pixar norm, save the unequaled attention to detail and quality. Theme Songs: "If You Can Dream" • "It's Not Just Make Believe" • "The Glow" • "Live Your Story" • "Starting Now" • "Like a Princess"

The film departs from the traditional fairy tale storyline, neglecting the romance that has been associated with these stories. It focuses on the relationship between Merida and her mother Queen Elinor, which was inspired by Chapman's relationship with her own daughter. There are more than 100 unique hair/facial hair combinations used in Brave for human characters and animals. Each variant can appear in any of nine different colors, creating more than 900 hairstyle/color variants. Fireworks: Celebrate the Magic • Disney Dreams! • Happily Ever After • Harmonious • Illuminate! A Nighttime Celebration • Momentous • Together Forever: A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular • World of Color The film was initially set for release on June 15, 2012, but was later changed to June 22, 2012. On April 3, 2012, Pixar screened the first 30 minutes of the movie, and it received a positive reaction by its screeners. It had its Australian premiere on June 11, 2012, at the Sydney Film Festival, and had its domestic premiere on June 18, 2012, at the new Dolby Theater in Hollywood as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival, its European premiere was at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily on June 23, 2012, and its British premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 30, 2012. To announce the beginning of the archery competition for Merida's suitors, a carnyx horn with a head in the shape of a bear is blown.A tie-in novel sequel titled Bravely was released in 2022 written by Maggie Stiefvater. The novel was published with Disney's consent and takes place when Merida is in her early 20's.