Movie Review: Disney’s Brave

I am always very excited when a new Disney movie comes out! I grew up on them, and love watching them now with my daughter. So when I heard that there was a new Disney Princess movie coming out, I knew I had to take her to see it! To be honest I hadn’t heard a lot about Brave prior to going to see the movie. I knew it took place in Scotland, and there was a new, fiery red headed princess, but that was about it really.

The story revolves around a Scottish Princess, Merida – who is strong willed and wanting to find her own way in life, rather than the traditions of her people. She is in no way the run of the mill princess in need of a prince to save her, which as much as I love that storyline, was refreshing! However, her mother, the Queen, doesn’t want her daughter to stray from the royal traditions. Merida ends up casting a spell upon her mother, and without giving too much away, really throws both of them into quite an adventure! Of course, in true Disney form, everything ends up a ‘happy ever after’ before the credits roll.

As the movie began, I found the thick Scottish accents hard to understand, but quickly got used to it. The characters were fine, although the cutest were the three red-headed triplet baby princes. The trailers for the movie boast of a princess finding her own way, when I really felt that the overall theme was the love and bond of a mother and daughter. What Merida and the Queen need to overcome and how they reconnect as mother and daughter is what saves the day. However, most small children seeing the movie would not likely come away with that. But it was nice as a mother, to reveal.

My daughter, who was not quite 5 at the time, enjoyed the movie, but did spend a bit of it on my lap out of fear of the large ‘bears’ that are in the film. The movie is not all cheery and happy, and these parts scared her. There was a lot of themes in the movie that I felt were lost on a 5 year old – tradition, royal legacy, mother/daughter bond, fighting of the clans etc. She came home and made a bow and arrow out of pipe cleaners, to be like Merida, so although I think she enjoyed it, by the time we got home she had forgotten the actual name of the movie, and didn’t rave on and on about it like newer Disney movies such as Tangled and Princess and the Frog.

I am sure we will end up owning Brave when it is released, but don’t see it being watched as much as her other favourite Disney Princesses.