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Brave (previously titled The Bear and the Bow) is an upcoming 2012 computer-animated 3-D film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It is written by Brenda Chapman and directed by Mark Andrews and features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson and Julie Walters. It will be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and is scheduled for release June 15, 2012.
Synopsis: In rugged and mythic Scotland, the impetuous, tangle-haired Mérida (Reese Witherspoon), though a daughter of royalty, would rather make her mark as an archer. A clash of wills with her mother compels Mérida to make a reckless choice, which unleashes unintended peril on her father's kingdom and her mother's life. Mérida struggles with the unpredictable forces of nature, magic and a dark ancient curse.
Voice Cast:
Reese Witherspoon as Princess Mérida
Julie Walters as Witch
Billy Connolly as King Fergus
Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor
John Ratzenberger as Rally the alligator
Production:
The film, Pixar's first fairy tale, is a combination of Brenda Chapman's love of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, as well as a reflection on raising her daughter. The film was to be directed by Brenda Chapman, which would have made Brave the first Pixar production to be helmed by a female director, but she was replaced by Mark Andrews. According to Variety magazine, Princess Mérida is expected to join the Disney Princess franchise. The film was previously titled The Bear and the Bow and it was originally scheduled for a release in Christmas 2011 but it was pushed back to June 15, 2012 and the film's title was changed to Brave.
very happy with the title change.
i bet no one was saying Bow the right way. i had no idea which way until i saw the archery bit in the synopsis.
it's a good sign too that they changed director. every decision pixar makes is for the benefit of the film. changing the title and director for this film is the same thing that happened to Ratatouille - that was another troublesome title that unfortunately contained a crucial pun which was important to the story, so they did the best they could by making the posters phonetic. in this case i guess this chick was too attached to her story to make the tough decisions in the director's chair, like maybe when she had to remove her (NSFW) homage to Pasolini (http://mmimageslarge.moviemail-online.co.uk/arabian-nights-x-10745_1.jpg) in one particularly graphic archery scene.
Maybe it's the princess thing, but I just don't feel optimistic about this film at all. But I agree, P, everything Pixar does seems to better serve the overall film/story (Cars franchise excluded). Sorry to keep banging on the Pixar panels at AFF (DAMN good stuff) but there was one panel where they mention a recent film which went though some sever changes that upset a lot of people. Could be this, but more likely Newt which looks like it is not longer in development (too Dreamworksy?)
http://www.ugo.com/movies/first-image-of-heroine-from-new-pixar-movie-brave
First Image of Heroine from New Pixar Movie, Brave
Pixar has released the first official image of Merida, the redheaded warrior heroine of their upcoming movie, Brave.
By Aubrey Sitterson
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First person to make a "Does the carpet match the drapes?" joke loses at life. Credit: Pixar
In case the idea of a second Cars movie isn't really doing it for you, Pixar already has their next original flick in development. Called Brave, it is scheduled for a June 22, 2012 release, and tells the story of an archer named Merida from the Scottish Highlands, who must confront "tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts to discover the true meaning of courage," and also probably turn traditional gender roles on their head in the most adorable, heart-warming way imaginable.
Though concept art from the film has been making the rounds on the internet for about two months now, we've yet to get a look at what the actual animation will look like. Now, courtesy of posts from Disney Pixar France and The Art of Disney Animation Fan Facebook Page (both since removed), we can finally get a look at how Merida will be rendered, and the creepiest Disney fans can get to work on what will no doubt be some profoundly icky fan-art.
The upcoming film will feature Kelly Macdonald as Merida, as well as the voices of Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane and more, and you can check out the first full trailer in front of Cars 2, when it is released on July 22, 2011. The flick is set to be directed by Brenda Chapman (Prince of Egypt) and Pixar house-talent Mark Andrews, who has worked on several of the studio's hits, including The Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille.
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I know its the style of the time with teasers these days to have the main characters face hidden, but they really need to be careful.. her right arm looks like it could be coming out of her ear instead of her hand going up to her face.
Other than that, fine poster, I'm really excited about this movie.. it could be the last great Pixar film.
http://pixartimes.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/brave-merida-hi-res.jpg
dunno how to feel about the eyes.
She's got crazy eyes because she's shooting to kill.
Quote from: Pubrick on June 22, 2011, 08:05:10 PM
it could be the last great Pixar film.
Sadly true.
What? Why? I know they're in a bit of an unnecessary sequel rut right now, but I don't see any reason to start spouting gloom and doom.
Teaser Trailer here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYg0VgPy6Uk)
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Oh, Pixar. I knew I couldn't stay mad at you.
it looks superb, that red hair must have been a nightmare to animate.
Quote from: Pubrick on June 22, 2011, 08:05:10 PM
I know its the style of the time with teasers these days to have the main characters face hidden, but they really need to be careful.. her right arm looks like it could be coming out of her ear instead of her hand going up to her face.
i see the right arm opposite of that, shoulder up, hand to ... tit? still looks a lil weird.
teaser trailer is such a beaut.
Quote from: Champion Souza on June 24, 2011, 10:18:33 PM
Quote from: Pubrick on June 22, 2011, 08:05:10 PM
it could be the last great Pixar film.
Sadly true.
is Carsies the only real motive to cast such doubt? necessary Incredibles sequel will reassure yous.
Trailer here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHWDA_6e3M)
This was great. Fuck the haters. If it was regular Disney instead of Pixar, with all the expectations that entails, people would be hailing it as the best thing they've done in 50 years. "The Bear and the Bow" was a way better title. I have other thoughts, but so little time. More on this later if I get around to it (I likely won't, so savor this post).
I agree! I had medium-level-expectations going in, but it just totally won me over. Unfortunately, every Pixar movie makes will be held up to their previous work, and this doesn't shatter the Earth like a few of their previous ones did, but it was a really fucking good movie. I thought I knew exactly what it was going to be, and it wasn't that, so it was a surprising movie as well as a well-told story.
Disagree. Beautiful looking obviously but very generic & disjointed story. Of course it's waaaaay better than "Cars 2." Unfortunately it's probably not better than "Cars 1" (or anything else Pixar have done.)
Quote from: modage on November 07, 2010, 04:53:35 PM
John Ratzenberger as Rally the alligator
Whatever happened to this?
Disjointed? I don't follow. In my opinion, it was laser focused on its themes, and it was all in all better than quite a few Pixars (Cars 1 & 2, Bug's Life, Monsters Inc). It's mid-level Pixar, on a par with Up or Ratatouille.
I can see why people would say it feels disjointed or uneven, because it's true that the story starts off in one direction and then takes a few unexpected twists that seem to come out of nowhere, and the audience can potentially get lost at those moments. However, those moments excited me because I realized that it wasn't going to be what I thought it was going to be.
It is resolutely a fairy tale, though, and what some people might call cliche or generic about the film, I'd call the paradigms of fairy tales and I liked that it stuck to those. It's not commenting on fairy tales or playing with fairy tales--it's an honest-to-goodness fairy tale. And as a fairy tale, it was well-told and I was swept up.
spoilers
the narrative logic is pretty flimsy a lot of the time. like how merida figures out she needs to knit the family crest back together. there was no reason for her to be so certain that was the answer. what if she hadn't broken the crest? how would the rhyme apply to anything? and there was no reason for the mom-bear to come back to the castle with her. she could've stayed a safe distance away in the woods while merida went and repaired the crest. which is ultimately what happened. mom-bear left the castle almost as quickly as she arrived and did nothing to help with the crest. and how did the dad never notice his wife was missing? weren't they in the woods for a day?
other little moments that bugged me:
- when the spell isn't broken for no apparent reason and then they wait a minute and it is. there should've been some other realization or little thing she had to do.. maybe it was to realize her love for her mom but that was never really made explicit as the ultimate cure..
- when merida is trying to escape the scary bear and there seems to be no escape and then she just happens to jump high enough.. there's nothing organic or character driven going on.. it's just sheer jumping. what if the mother had grabbed her giant hair or something?
this is not to say that i sat with my arms folded, stamping my foot or anything. i enjoyed most of the movie. the hair alone is amazing to watch. and the child version of merida is one of the most adorable pixar characters ever. it's just shoddy narrative work. Especially for pixar.
i'm hugely excited for that john c reilly videogame movie. it may just be all the videogame cameos though.. BOWSER is Actually in that movie! and a Pac-Ghost...
Disjointed yeah because it basically takes 45 minutes to get to what the movie's actually about.
SpoilersAND there was no reason Merida couldn't have told her father about what had happened since he would have seen pretty quickly (as she did) that her mom was the bear. Yes, he lost his leg etc. but he was a reasonable guy.
Also: no one seemed concerned when the three kids turned into bears. SO how did they undo their spell?
End spoilersQuote from: polkablues on June 25, 2012, 12:24:03 AM
It's mid-level Pixar, on a par with Up or Ratatouille.
This is
fucking crazy. On so many levels.
That bear thing better not be a major spoiler.
Just cos you hate good movies don't mean you gotta ruin it for errbody.
MASSIVE SPOILER
There seems to be a lot of confusion about how the curse was broken. The important point is that Merida only assumed that "mend the bond" referred to the tapestry. The reason her mom didn't change back right away was because that was incorrect. The tapestry was a red herring; it wasn't until she actually mended the bond with her mother, you know, with emotions and stuff, that the curse was lifted.
Everybody go back and re-read the second paragraph of Matt's last post. He's spot on.
SPOILERS
ysee THAT makes perfect sense. but it was poorly communicated. maybe if it had been like a beauty and the beast type sequence where the transformation occurs right after "i love you" and it's all floaty and magical. i dunno..
Spoils but who cares?
Yeah, that's what I assumed to begin with. But then how did her brothers get changed back? Where is their emotional arc?
SPOILERS
The kids ate the same cake that had the same spell. I don't really see that as any sort of logical problem.
BUT I will grant that, as far as I could tell, there was no need for mama bear to come back to the castle, except to create some tension in the story. It doesn't bother me that much, but it's definitely a legitimate criticism.
SPOILS
I know the kids at the cake. But how did they get changed BACK to humans at the end and why was mom being a bear the entire dramatic arc of the film but kids being turned into bears was just an excuse for comedy? It didn't make sense. Why wasn't anyone concerned that THEY would stay bears forever? AND if her resolution of the relationship with her mother (which had been strained) was what turned her mother back to human, what turned the boys back to human since there was no thematic/dramatic thing for them to resolve?
I'm trying to find a way to answer your question without my response being in all caps. So I will just take a deep, calming breath, and suggest that perhaps they didn't need a whole separate solution to change the kids back because their predicament was a byproduct of the same goddamn curse.
SPOILER
I mean I just thought of it as the same as like when in Beauty and the Beast, when the whole true love thing happens between the Beast and Belle, that breaks the spell on all the characters and they all turn back to human. It's the same spell. They didn't each have to find true love in order to be turned back into human. Or, I guess, it's like when you kill the head vampire and everyone else turns back to normal.
I'm not saying you have to like it, but this kind of logic is common in stories like this.
Yes the whole bear-kids thing was just for giggles and cuteness. I can agree that everything to do with the kids is not the strongest part of the movie.
Spoi
Also: how dumb is it for Merida to be aware of witches, but not aware of the fact that if you get a spell from them it's probably not going to work out in your favor. Or the hint that the witch was giving her about how the last customer was unhappy. Or the fact that everything in her witch hut is a bear. On top of all this she has the lack of foresight to ask for a spell to do something as vague as "change my fate." That could literally be anything. Such dumb screenwriting.
How is it bad screenwriting for a rash, impetuous teenager to make rash, impetuous decisions? These aren't bugs, they're features.
SP
She could have at least specified she wanted her mom to chill out or get off her back. You can't just walk up and say "change my fate" and not expect the audience to think you're an idiot. Ideally we would not be this far ahead of the film.
And what does she learn by the end of the film? She ends up getting exactly what she wanted in the end so what was the lesson here, exactly?
And and what does the title have to do with anything?
The title is fucking terrible.
Point of agreement!
Stand Up for Yourself, and Mentor Others
Brenda Chapman is an artist, a writer and a director ("Brave" and "The Prince of Egypt").
Source: New York Times
How can we get more women in positions of power in Hollywood? Anybody? ... Anybody? ... And the crickets chirp.
I suppose the flip side of that is to figure out how to get the Hollywood Boy's Club to give up some of their seats for the ladies? Okay, okay. I know – now stop laughing.
Maybe we just need to make our own chairs. I prefer that approach, because it's the only one that seems viable to me. But where to start?
Mentoring is a good place. We need to help young filmmakers and student filmmakers get the experience they need to transfer their work to the public screen. We can give them a leg up that we older (ahem) women didn't have. Let them learn by our mistakes; we shouldn't hide our trials and tribulations out of a fear of looking foolish.
Those of us left still standing need to keep standing to inspire. Women of my generation and older are the only figures that today's young filmmakers have to look up to. I offer up a personal example: It has been a heartbreakingly hard road for me over the last year and a half. When Pixar took me off of "Brave" – a story that came from my heart, inspired by my relationship with my daughter – it was devastating.
To keep my name attached to 'Brave,' I was persistent and stuck to my principles.
Animation directors are not protected like live-action directors, who have the Directors Guild to go to battle for them. We are replaced on a regular basis – and that was a real issue for me. This was a story that I created, which came from a very personal place, as a woman and a mother. To have it taken away and given to someone else, and a man at that, was truly distressing on so many levels. But in the end, my vision came through in the film. It simply wouldn't have worked without it (and didn't at one point), and I knew this at my core. So I kept my head held high, stayed committed to my principles, and was supported by some strong women (and men!). In the end, it worked out, and I'm very proud of the movie, and that I ultimately stood up for myself, just like Merida, the protagonist in "Brave."
Sometimes women express an idea and are shot down, only to have a man express essentially the same idea and have it broadly embraced. Until there is a sufficient number of women executives in high places, this will continue to happen.
That's just one story of a few I could share. I know there are so many more out there to prove we can move up that food chain. But we must be persistent.
Mentor. Inspire. Move forward together. That's the best I can think of.
The inevitable knockoff:
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Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoaB1Qmsbzw)
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Disney Pulls Redesigned 'Brave' Character From Princess Website
The new makeover of Merida has inspired a wave of online protests as well as a sharp critique by the film's former director, Brenda Chapman.
Source: THR
After facing criticism for its redesign of Brave's Merida -- including by Brenda Chapman, the former director of the film -- Disney has apparently pulled the new look of the character from its princess website.
"Numerous supporters have written to us to share the news that the new makeover version of Merida is no longer appearing on Disney.com," wrote Carolyn Danckaert, co-founder of the website A Mighty Girl, who launched the Change.org petition calling for Disney to "say no to the Merida makeover." The petition included a letter to Disney chairman Robert Iger.
Disney has seen a wave of protests online about the newly redesigned princess. In the movie, the character is seen wielding a bow and arrow, while the new look Merida (see design here) was given what one Jezebel writer deemed "a pretty pretty princess makeover" in appearance and dress.
Chapman, the director of the Disney/Pixar film before being replaced by Mark Andrews during filming, agreed with the protests.
"Disney marketing and the powers that be that allow them to do such things should be ashamed of themselves," said Chapman to her local paper, the Marin Independent Journal. "When little girls say they like it because it's more sparkly, that's all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy 'come hither' look and the skinny aspect of the new version. It's horrible!"
The new Merida character was unveiled as the 11th official princess at Disney World last weekend.
The Change.org Merida petition currently lists over 200,000 individuals who have signed the letter to Iger.