Walt Disney has a long history of making fairytales, but Pixar Animation Studios has never done one before.
Now, the two studios are teaming-up to bring the first Pixar fairytale to life. Directed by Mark Andrews, who has only previously done the shorts that traditionally play before a Pixar film, “Brave” is a voyage across the sea of fantastical lands and mythical creatures.
“Brave” is set in ancient Scotland, where Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is the not-so-fair princess in a kingdom ruled by her father, King Fergus, (Billy Connolly) and her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). An atypical princess who would prefer to practice her archery over being dainty, Merida challenges tradition and ancient customs one day and inadvertently unleashes chaos on the kingdom. The lords of the land are less than pleased and cause an uproar when they find out.
In order to right her wrongs and bring peace back to her homeland, Merida seeks out an eccentric old Witch (Julie Walters) for help, but must discover the true meaning of bravery and leadership to undue a beastly curse before it is too late.
The film is described as a bit darker in tone then all other Pixar animated films have been, closer to a Brothers Grimm fairytale than the Disney versions of them, and I like that. Don’t get me wrong I grew up watching Disney cartoons, but I think the world can handle not having another fairytale with singing animals.
This is a very-short teaser trailer that shows us less about the pivotal plot of the film than it does the incredible animation being done. The attention to the small details of the forest, the castle and even the elements like fog and smoke are amazing look and light years ahead of what we have seen from Pixar previously. I personally love the look of Merida, her childlike face and that head of wild scarlet red hair. You see innocence to her at first, but then her ferocity is unleashed at the end of the trailer.
The voice casting for some of the secondary characters seems interesting. For the lords of the kingdom, we have: Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Robbie Coltrane. Not many other names have been announced yet, but with a year before its release, they have time to work on finishing the animation for it and casting the rest of the characters.
So what do you think of the look and story of the next Pixar Animated film?
“Brave” is set to hit theaters June 22.
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