[JCR]

I was at the european premiere of Disney Pixars Brave today, it's not one of Pixars best, it was funny and entertaining, but I think the lack of a proper villain hurt it. No doubt the Visit Scotland tourist board will be delighted. There should have been a Trainspotting style "It's shite being Scottish" speech in it. That'd have been good.

[barracuda91]

Saw it today and loved it. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did and was pleasantly surprised at how the story unfolded; the trailer didn't give anything away in that regards. I thought it was really funny in parts and back up there with the quality of movies Pixar are known to make.

[MrSuper]

Last animated Pixar movie i saw was Up. Haven't been keen on their recent output however, this included.

[Adamsk]

I think it okay I am scot myself I have not seen it yet but,as long as the kids like it.And it does what Finding Nemo did to australia by making Scotland a tourist must see place.And it has a Scottish cast not some fake Scottish accents here and broke American English here and there.Plus I think us Scots are feed up with stereotype movies like Trainspotting and making it a junkie must see place.And that's why Irvine welsh last movie failed early this year and did not make it to the big screens.

[Deb Arkle]

I went to see it yesterday, and found it disappointing - there were only 3 characters in it (the girl and her parents) the rest of the 'cast' were nothingy...and the plot was much too much like Brother Bear. It's a shame, as I really wanted to like it.
(the kids enjoyed it though )

[rumpleteazer]

I saw it yesterday and really enjoyed it. Yes it was heavily influenced by Brother Bear (one of my favourites and a highly under-rated movie) but I'll let them off for that one. The animation was stunning and the setting was gorgeous. It had a few laugh out loud moments and I think I might go see it again.

Also, becuase of the setting it reminded me very much of Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. I half expected the Elves and the Witches of Lancre to show up

[Eleanor_Rigby]

Originally Posted by Adamsk

I think it okay I am scot myself I have not seen it yet but,as long as the kids like it.And it does what Finding Nemo did to australia by making Scotland a tourist must see place.And it has a Scottish cast not some fake Scottish accents here and broke American English here and there.Plus I think us Scots are feed up with stereotype movies like Trainspotting and making it a junkie must see place.And that's why Irvine welsh last movie failed early this year and did not make it to the big screens.

Emma Thompson voices the Queen but her accent is very good

[Glengavel]

Originally Posted by Eleanor_Rigby

Emma Thompson voices the Queen but her accent is very good

And why not? She's half-Scottish on her mother's side and spent childhood holidays in Scotland.

[barracuda91]

Originally Posted by Eleanor_Rigby

Emma Thompson voices the Queen but her accent is very good

Her character was really good I thought. I liked the Nanny McPhee reunion between Emma Thompson and Kelly MacDonald

Spoiler

Pixar is very good with making an emotional impact; I found myself crying during Merida's speech when she thought her mother wasn't going to turn back into a human, even though I knew she would

[ceefer]

Originally Posted by rumpleteazer

I saw it yesterday and really enjoyed it. Yes it was heavily influenced by Brother Bear (one of my favourites and a highly under-rated movie) but I'll let them off for that one. The animation was stunning and the setting was gorgeous. It had a few laugh out loud moments and I think I might go see it again.

Also, becuase of the setting it reminded me very much of Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. I half expected the Elves and the Witches of Lancre to show up

Yes I thought that too,lol! I could imagine a little "I aten't dead" sign in that witches cottage,lol

[Glengavel]

Got dragged along to see this and really enjoyed it, beautiful animation work, particularly the horse.

But they missed an opportunity to do a bear/bare joke near the end!

[leaby]

I can see why people would make immediate comparisons to Brother Bear, but really the films are nothing alike aside from the whole

Spoiler

"human gets turned into a bear"

thing. Otherwise, the story, setting, characters and Aesop are completely different.

I really enjoyed this film - not Pixar's best but far from its worst. The stand out parts for me:

Spoiler

- The animation on the mum/bear delivered the intended comic effect very well - at times, it did look like a real bear with very human mannerisms.
- The scene where the dad offered a role playing session to help the mum figure out how to deal with their daughter - his high-pitched speech completely lampshaded the clichés of the earlier scene in which the protagonist rode through the Scottish countryside - as brilliant it had been regardless - and I was in stitches.
- The dogs... enough said
- The soundtrack was gorgeous
- The voice acting was very good. When I saw the trailer was plugging an all star cast, I feared it would be like a typical DreamWorks, where the actors simply speak as they normally would. I genuinely couldn't tell who was doing what voice until the credits rolled.

[heiker]

Just got back from seeing Brave.

Excellent film, great characters, superb graphics, decent storyline and faultless voice over. Slightly scarey at times but extremely funny throughout.

Pure PIXAR..no Disney shite anywhere in this film

Go and see it

[heiker]

Originally Posted by Deb Arkle

I went to see it yesterday, and found it disappointing - there were only 3 characters in it (the girl and her parents) the rest of the 'cast' were nothingy...and the plot was much too much like Brother Bear. It's a shame, as I really wanted to like it.
(the kids enjoyed it though )

Did you fall asleep

What about the three little boys, the heads of the three clans and their sons, the witch, the bear etc etc etc

[rumpleteazer]

Originally Posted by leaby

Spoiler

- The animation on the mum/bear delivered the intended comic effect very well - at times, it did look like a real bear with very human mannerisms.
- The scene where the dad offered a role playing session to help the mum figure out how to deal with their daughter - his high-pitched speech completely lampshaded the clichés of the earlier scene in which the protagonist rode through the Scottish countryside - as brilliant it had been regardless - and I was in stitches.
- The dogs... enough said
- The soundtrack was gorgeous
- The voice acting was very good. When I saw the trailer was plugging an all star cast, I feared it would be like a typical DreamWorks, where the actors simply speak as they normally would. I genuinely couldn't tell who was doing what voice until the credits rolled.

Re your last point, you couldn't tell that was Billy Connolly? I think you might need your ears tested

[leaby]

Originally Posted by rumpleteazer

Re your last point, you couldn't tell that was Billy Connolly? I think you might need your ears tested

Not really all that familiar with Billy Connolly I'm afraid - perhaps that'd be the exception if I was!

[rumpleteazer]

Originally Posted by leaby

Not really all that familiar with Billy Connolly I'm afraid - perhaps that'd be the exception if I was!

Ah, fair enough, I'll let you off...this time

[Nonentity]

Anyone else seen this in 3D and found it way too dark and blurry?

I didn't know that so much of the story would take place at night and although I enjoyed the film as a whole, there were times when I had to lift the glasses to see what was going on.

We really wanted to watch it in 2D but our local cinema (perhaps cynically) scheduled the evening showings to start after 9:00 pm, which is no good when you have to work the next day.

I've been reserving judgement on 3D for a while but now I think I'm firmly in the Mark Kermode camp.

(Sorry for going off topic slightly.)

[CJClarke]

Originally Posted by Nonentity

Anyone else seen this in 3D and found it way too dark and blurry?

I didn't know that so much of the story would take place at night and although I enjoyed the film as a whole, there were times when I had to lift the glasses to see what was going on.

We really wanted to watch it in 2D but our local cinema (perhaps cynically) scheduled the evening showings to start after 9:00 pm, which is no good when you have to work the next day.

I've been reserving judgement on 3D for a while but now I think I'm firmly in the Mark Kermode camp.

(Sorry for going off topic slightly.)

I think your cinema might not have had the screen calibrated properly or something because i saw it in 3D today and the brightness was fine.

As for the film, i enjoyed it, but it wasn't up there with the Toy Story's or Wall-E for me. Still very good though, and the animation was goregous.

[Nonentity]

Originally Posted by CJClarke

I think your cinema might not have had the screen calibrated properly or something because i saw it in 3D today and the brightness was fine.

I wondered if it was just me — or perhaps the projectionist — but then I came across this 3D review. Seems I wasn't alone. (Scroll down to the 'Brightness' section.)

[CJClarke]

Originally Posted by Nonentity

I wondered if it was just me — or perhaps the projectionist — but then I came across this 3D review. Seems I wasn't alone. (Scroll down to the 'Brightness' section.)

It will be a case of the projectionist not turning up the brightness. I watched the film at Cineworld and i've never had a problem with the brightness on 3D films when i've seen films there (even Piranha 3DD which featured a lot of night time scenes). It could also be the decision of the cinema company not to turn up the brightness though, because the brighter the projection, the shorter the life of the projection bulb (which are quite expensive to replace).

[Nelsonator15]

The first time I saw this film, I remember not being sold on it. However upon seeing it again last Sunday, I've been pretty much converted. Of course I appreciated how great the visuals and humour were even on my first viewing, but those aspects alone never seem like enough from a Pixar film. This time I seemed to find the story and characters more interesting as well.

To be honest, I think the main issue I had at first was that Elinor at the start seemed so one-dimensional as to put me off, but I guess I realised that she basically had to be in order for her character to be redeemed. Yeah it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either but it clicked for me this time. Perhaps part of it is also that I realised the depth behind the characters as well.

Spoiler

I also liked the physical conflicts between Merida, Elinor (as the bear) and Fergus, for example at the climax when Merida actually clashes swords with Fergus to protect her mother. I especially like how she slashed under Fergus' wooden leg, thereby tripping him. I found that pretty cool, given how invincible he seemed throughout the rest of the film.

And I'll admit: even though I knew what was coming, my eyes did water at the end. I don't think it's quite up there with the likes of Toy Story but it's a very good effort in its own right.

I don't think the rest of my family have seen this film yet, so I will probably be getting the DVD when it comes out. Anyone here know roughly when that will be?

ETA: Ah, the DVD comes out on 26th November for those that didn't know.

[Virgil Tracy]

well its ok , but not one of their best .

it almost flt like a tv episode , farcical type plot, not much else to the story .

[Speak-Softly]

Saw this yesterday (Sky Disney) and thought it was really poor.

The daughter was a spoilt, selfish brat and why they decided to build a movie around a teenage temper tantrum coupled with attempted matricide I'll never understand.

In the IMDB reviews somebody said it was basically "feminism 101". The problem is that it is that nasty faux feminism that relies on all men being made to appear stupid and self centredness is seen as something to be proud of.
And why is it never suggested that the male suitors are just as hard done by being expected to marry somebody for political reasons rather than love?
Oh that's right, men are unfeeling brutes.

The hair was irritating, the voices were irritating (there must be somebody else in Scotland other than Billy Connerly and Robbie Coltrane but they have obviously been struck dumb), the sub par slapstick was irritating, the cliches were irritating.

Dreadful film and utterly pointless. Every "theme" has been done before and much, much better.