When Brave came out, there was a lot of news about its "firsts": Pixar's first princess, Pixar's first fairy tale, Pixar's first film with a female lead, Disney's first Pixar princess, Pixar's first female director, etc. etc.For all the excitement and even controversy, "Brave" didn't touch people's hearts the way most Pixar films do. And though I do believe Pixar has made better films, I don't think "Brave" deserves the lukewarmth that it got. For once, Pixar decided to make a rather simple story without the twists and turns of it's other films. And, really, like any film, "Brave" gets better on the second and third viewing.
Plus, you have to hand it to Merida for being such a great character and a great princess. I happen to be a Scotophile and Merida's being Scottish just makes her ten times cooler than she would be had she not been Scottish. Plus, though I love all the princesses, it's great to have one that's different in that she has a rebellious streak and changes more than her royal peers.
"Brave" was criticized for having a weaker story than previous Pixar films, but when you look at it closely, it's actually layered and intricate with carefully developed parallels and deep symbolism. The very first is the logo itself, which featured Merida and Elinor and told us this was more of a relationship story than an action story.
Merida is at odds with her mother because the activities she enjoys aren't princessy, and she also constantly bothers her about little princess details like leaving her weapons on the table. Though she's somewhat overbearing, Elinor is teaching Merida the princessy things because they are what will make her daughter stand out as the future leader of Dunbroch. It's especially important because the kingdom is young, and the relationships between the clan leaders is politically tense. Just look at the way the leaders are ready to battle at any given moment.
Side note: Speaking of burly and feisty clan leaders, this film was criticized for its depiction of men. While the men's penchant for fighting is played for laughs, it's really indicative of the much more strenuous tension bubbling under the surface (it's a family movie after all, not a political drama). In fact, world leaders who don't agree and maybe would rather not talk to each other have to meet and be cordial to each other all the time on the world stage. They may not pull out swords at every given opportunity, but they would probably like to.
The moment that everyone glorifies in the film is when she shoots for her own hand. We see it played out time and time again in montages of famous Disney moments. However, this is actually one of Merida's lowest points. Defying her mother, she decides that what she wants is more important than tradition or the kingdom. She flagrantly declares that she is taking matters into her own hands despite the social and political consequences. (This is a stark contrast to Elinor, who is always calm, eloquent and polite with the lords even when she's feeling ill.)This is the first princess movie that actually gets into the fact that being a princess is a job with certain duties and responsibilities. Moreover, it is a job of service to others that doesn't end until you die. As a princess, Merida cannot just act publicly without thinking about how it will affect her kingdom. Unfortunately, that is exactly what she does.
Like the prince in the story Elinor tells her, Merida wants to do her own thing apart from the kingdom's political and familial dynamics. Elinor tells her this story to teach her the importance of unity in a family and kingdom, but Merida doesn't see its significance until after her actions lead her to lose the mother she loves. Only when this happens does she see the importance of what she was trying to teach her--an unfortunate lesson in taking the ones we love for granted.
The good thing is that, ultimately, the film acknowledges that there has to be some balance between duty and pursuing what one desires, especially when it comes to arranged marriages. Arranged marriages are probably the most maligned royal duty, and though the law is amended on this count, the fact that Merida remains a princess and has political duties still stands at the end of the film.
This balance extends to Elinor and Merida's relationship. Though Elinor learns not to be so uptight and enjoy her daughter more, she is still queen and Merida is still the princess. In the end, they go riding together, signifying that Elinor has embraced some of Merida's love of the outdoors, which are rugged, unpredictable and dangerous--everything a princess shouldn't be in Elinor's eyes. At the beginning of the film, Fergus insists that learning to fight is a good thing, princess or no princess much to Elinor's dismay. But it is in fighting that Merida saves her mother's life and Elinor defends her daughter. In the same way, Merida helps Elinor finish the tapestry, a princessy activity that brings them together but was a source of conflict at the beginning of the film. Only through balance and compromise do they maintain their relationship and, in turn, maintain the kingdom.
She also learns the ways that her mother tried to teach her. Sure, it was great to know how to sword fight and shoot arrows, but Merida was missing out on the power of words and stories and the diplomatic part of her future job. Ultimately, Merida uses the political rhetorical techniques she learned from her mother to change her fate, which she wanted all along, and physical action she learned from her father to save the kingdom and her mother. Merida is saved by what her mother taught her, and Elinor is saved by what she didn't approve of Merida doing, proving that both have to learn from each other.
The classic princesses pretty much stay the same throughout their films, but Merida actually starts off as a whiny brat and transforms into a poised princess, able to negotiate with other leaders and sure of her standing in the kingdom. Merida goes from brash and stubborn to penitent and wise by recognizing her mistake and apologizing for her foolishness. Although it's not something we often see in princess movies, it's refreshing to see a princess do something wrong and apologize for it. After all, princesses are human and they make mistakes. It's nice to see that played out on screen and, hopefully, we'll get to see more of it.
"Brave" is not only a much-needed mother-daughter story but a story about politics, personal desires, freedom, family, unity and so much more. Merida learns a valuable lesson and becomes closer to her mother but still remains fierce and brave. She realizes that she didn't have to go to a witch to solve her problems. The ability to change her fate lay within herself and the power she held as a princess and, in realizing her mistakes, she became brave enough to see it.
