| Welcome to Sticks And Stones! We're an HTTYD fan forum. Feel free to have a look around and stay awhile; whether you want to talk about the movie, post some fanwork, or just kick back and relax with us, we can't wait to have you! If you'd like, join our community! If you're already registered, just log in below: |
| Brave; New Pixar movie | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 24 2011, 12:25 AM (2,610 Views) | |
| Fjord Mustang | Sep 22 2012, 03:09 PM Post #51 |
![]()
I Don't Really Look Like This. Usually.
![]()
|
@Anhedral-- I was looking forward to your review because, being Scottish, you would have a unique eye into the way the movie was presented. I am glad to see you liked it and found the landscapes and biology authentic. The film crew did spend a lot of time in Scotland capturing landscape images to make it authentic. I thought they did a good job, and you (the expert Scott among us) thought so, too. That info about the Sitka pines is really interesting! Iceland has a similar problem with reforesting. Pines and lupines were brought in, when there were not conifers in Iceland- mainly deciduous birches They also caught the Celtic mood of the story with the Will of the Wisps being mystical in a way that can be good or bad (in general, I get the impression Celtic stories took a cautionary view about elves and hidden folk-- they could bring you joy but could also deceive you and bring sorrow). That also is lovely that the Scottish Tourist Board is taking advantage of the film-- it's a good partnership. Many people are disappointed by the movie's theme, but I found it one of the strengths-- and I also think it is based on bad marketing that made the movie look like it would be more about Merida defying her family and running away to become a great warrior. Instead it focused more on facing the consequences of one's choices and learning to appreciate traditions while respecting the need to change some aspects. Most of us on this site are put off by the triplet and Maddie humor, me included. It was funny in small doses, but there was too much of it. I wonder if the original director's intentions for the movie were to be darker and less slapstick with more mother and daughter bonding and that was a reason she was pulled from the project and replaced by another director who wanted to introduce more humor into the story, more trying to make the story more appealing to boys and male tween viewers who are turned off by female protagonists. I really wonder what kind of story it would have been if Brenda Chapman remained in charge. I think the darker and more emotionally touching moments in the film were hers. I did have another thought on this film, and it's one I might use for another thread here. I read a theory by the author of Generation Me that there are now four themes that Hollywood movies use these days. It's very, very rare a movie is made that falls outside of these themes: a) "Believe in yourself and you can do anything" b) "Love conquers all" c) "We are all alike underneath" d) "Good people win" I think Brave does touch on quite a few of these categories, especially "b". But it also carries its own lessons, ones which are not in these categories: be careful what you wish for- it might come true, and learning to take responsibility for your mistakes and to fix them. Also, the marketing made the movie goers think the plot was going to be "a", so people were thrown off-course and disappointed by that when it was the less awesome "b". Edited by Fjord Mustang, Sep 22 2012, 03:11 PM.
|
|
"And now each night, I count the stars. And each night I get the same number. And when the stars won't come to be counted, I count the holes they leave." — Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) ** Signature art designed by Gumdrop Ch4rms *** | |
![]() |
|
| Night Fury | Sep 29 2012, 06:40 PM Post #52 |
![]()
|
I hesitated to say this before, but to be completely honest, that's exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for. Most specifically this part: "or the connection between mother and daughter re-formed by Merida changing to bear form". I thought Elenor made a very nice bear, and was sad to see her change back. Having Merida herself change into a bear would have shown broader themes of consequence, sacrifice, and forgiveness. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons why they didn't go that route (perhaps the similarity to "Brother Bear"), but doing so would have elevated the film from merely "pretty good" to "great". I would liken it to Hiccup losing his leg at the end of HTTYD; had they not gone there, it would have been a much weaker film. Unfortunately, Brave wasn't quite brave enough to "go there". Along with that, the weakest element of the story was all the talk about changing your fate. It could have been deep but was never given more than a surface treatment, what with the magic spell being the main plot device. I'm not expecting "The Matrix", but anything would have been better than a spell. They could have just left out the "fate" stuff and it wouldn't have hurt the story one bit. Oh, and that was great review, Anhedral. |
![]() |
|
| Anhedral | Sep 29 2012, 08:02 PM Post #53 |
|
Night Fury
|
Thanks! Nice to know others were thinking this way too. I think what rankled with me was that they spent so much time creating those wonderful natural environments, the perfect setup for proper development of the bear-transformation aspect, only to revert to some pretty clichéd themes - just as Fjord listed in her post. What a waste. I forgot to add one other very direct Scottish reference in the film: to the Lewis chessmen (there's a good Wikipedia article, check it out). Unfortunately they are probably 12th century and of Norse manufacture, rather later than other elements in the film would suggest. But one other thing I did like was the slang phrases and idioms from Scotland; for some reason they fitted well with the feel of the characters. For example: 'A princess disnae stuff her gob' (Elinor) 'Oh jinks, crivens help my bow' (Merida) To be really picky, though, they are more Glaswegian than NW Highland. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Dragon's Den · Next Topic » |








4:45 AM Jul 11