And Brave, despite the sense of an identity crisis, is a solid example of that type of fairytale storytelling. I think that Disney’s last “princess” movie, Tangled, was one of the studio’s finest animated projects in well over a decade. While none of the character break into song, the music playing over some of the film could easily have come from a nineties Disney film.Īnd, of course, I should clarify that this isn’t a bad thing. Everything feels a bit more generic, a bit paint-by-numbers in the construction of the story. Indeed, I couldn’t help but think of The Little Mermaid, another story about a young princess seeking to escape her kingdom who makes a wish that she winds up deeply regretting. While Pixar quite happily eschew the idea that a female lead character needs a partner in order to find happiness, the rest of the movie feels much more straightforward. Unfortunately, the rest of the film feels much more conventional. There’s a nice moment – which feels quite out of place with the rest of the film’s more classical tone – featuring what could only be described as the witch’s “answering machine.” She’s the only character here who would feel more comfortable in a Pixar film than a classical Disney film.

The witch, for example, is perhaps the most interesting character in the whole film, because she feels like a genuine attempt to reimagine a Disney archetype. It’s at moments like that where the film feels a bit looser, more spontaneous, a bit more comfortable in its own skin.

Disney brave characters 2014