 ***PLEASE NOTE: A Blu-ray 3D disc is only compatible with 3D Blu-ray players.*** Tagline: Change your fate. Pixar Animation Studios, the creator of Toy Story 3, whisks you away on an astonishing adventure to a land full of mystery and tradition. Bursting with heart, unforgettable characters and Pixar's signature humor, Brave is "a rousing, gorgeously animated good time," raves Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. Take a heroic journey with Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land. When Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos in the kingdom, she must harness all of her skills and resources - including her clever and mischievous triplet brothers - to undo a beastly curse before it's too late, and discover the meaning of true bravery. It's a legendary Ultimate Collector's Edition with never-before-seen bonus features! The impetuous, tangle-haired Merida, though a daughter of royalty, would prefer to make her mark as a great archer. A clash of wills with her mother compels Merida to make a reckless choice, which unleashes unintended peril on her father’s kingdom and her mother’s life. Merida struggles with the unpredictable forces of nature, magic and a dark, ancient curse to set things right. Storyline: Set in Scotland in a rugged and mythical time, "Brave" features Merida, an aspiring archer and impetuous daughter of royalty. Merida makes a reckless choice that unleashes unintended peril and forces her to spring into action to set things right. Written by Walt Disney Pictures Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, November 4, 2012 -- There's no other explanation. Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar are having some sort of body-swapping Freaky Friday crisis. Disney Animation proper struggled throughout the Noughts: Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little and Bolt all disappointed. Some were decent but underperformed, some weren't so decent and... underperformed. Pixar, though, dominated the animation market and awards circuit: Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up and Toy Story 3 left audiences and critics clamoring for more instant classics. But with John Lasseter's promotion to chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Studios, the field began to level. Now it's Disney that's delivering the all-ages crowd pleasers and sharply tuned adventures -- The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Winnie the Pooh and newcomer Wreck-It Ralph -- and Pixar that's suddenly and inexplicably floundering, first with Cars 2 and more recently with Brave. That's not to say Brave is a bad film. It isn't, not by any means. It's just slimmer, slighter and less satisfying than the Pixar greats of old, leaving one to wonder if the studio that Buzz and Woody built will ever be at the top of its game again. Feisty, free-spirited Scottish princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is shocked and outraged to learn that her parents, rough-n-tumble King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and prim-and-proper Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), are hosting a series of games to determine which of three firstborn warriors will win her hand in marriage. Merida wants nothing to do with any of the lads, much less a betrothal, and decides to chart her own course instead, besting (and inadvertently humiliating) all three suitors in archery and claiming her future as hers and hers alone. Her mother is furious, the clan lords (Robbie Coltrane, Craig Ferguson and Kevin McKidd) are insulted, and war is imminent. An encounter with a strange old witch (Julie Walters) complicates things even further. Merida purchases a spell to change her fate but only brings more chaos and confusion to an already chaotic and confusing situation. With just two days to reverse the spell, the young princess has to prevent war, mend her relationship with her mother and help her father destroy a demon bear that has terrorized the kingdom for years. Much of Brave plays out like a direct-to-video Disney sequel rather than a full-fledged Pixar feature film. The story is simple and formulaic by any standard, the characters are lovable but all-too-expected genre archetypes, the conflict is minimal, there's no real villain to point to (especially with a kindly witch and a mindlessly aggressive bear being the only potential sources of villainy), resolution comes too swiftly and much too easily, and the entire tale lacks scope, scale and raw emotional power. Worse, with all of Scotland and its Highlands at Pixar's disposal, Merida's adventure is limited to the castle and the grounds immediately bordering said castle, and her most perilous journeys are made all the more effortless by glowing will-o'-the-wisps, which cut down on pesky travel time by pointing the princess in whatever direction she has to go. It's also one of the animation studio's shortest films, making it more of a bite-sized appetizer than a four-course meal. It's a shame too. So much of Brave is pure Pixar -- the casting, the voice acting, the memorable heroes and supporting players, the clever comedy, the heart and the breathtaking, oh-so-extraordinary animation -- that I found myself falling for the film, even though I knew it wasn't up to par. It didn't take long to realize, though, that I was falling in love with individual bits and pieces, not the whole. I can't say the same for the other six kids in the room -- three boys and three girls, ages three through ten -- who couldn't pry their eyes off the screen, keep their jaws off the floor, or contain their laughs, gasps and cheers. I've made it a habit, whenever possible, of viewing critically divisive family fare with my son and our friends' caravan of children, and it certainly has an effect on one's perspective. Brave's biggest failing is that it won't sustain adults as readily as it will their kids, which begs two questions: who are these films for, and should they always be judged on their ability to reach audiences of all ages? Is Pixar not allowed to make kiddie fare? Does a movie about learning humility have to resonate with everyone in the room? Haven't we already had our day? Our films, our classics, our own adventures to pore over and cherish? Can't our kids have their own? It's easy to dismiss any animated movie, especially one from a studio with so many overwhelming successes. And it's easy to dismiss Brave. It isn't as moving, awe-inspiring, invigorating, intelligent or sweeping as Pixar's best. But it also has valuable things to offer those who won't notice how familiar it all feels, who won't see its squandered potential, or care about its small-scale ambitions. A lesson in respect, honor and love. A tale of a family capable of weathering the worst storms. An adventure built on the notion that youthful impulse and tradition aren't mutually exclusive, and the idea that one is inadequate without the other. A magnificently animated entry in a master animation studio's catalog. Lesser Pixar film or no, Brave is all these things, and children, especially little girls, will adore everything it has to give. Regardless of how you respond to Brave -- by most every account a lesser entry in the Pixar canon that still manages to outclass most animated films on the market -- its Blu-ray release will go down as one of the best of 2012. Its video presentation is stunning, its 3D experience equally so, its Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround track is pitch perfect, and its supplemental package features a generous spread of extras that stretches across two Blu-ray discs. Is the film as wondrous as its BD release? Sadly no. Even so, children will be delighted with Brave's magical adventure, however slight it may be by Pixar standards. Crazy Credits: After the credits, the crow arrives to deliver all the wood carvings Merida bought. Cast Notes: Kelly Macdonald (Merida [voice]), Billy Connolly (Fergus [voice]), Emma Thompson (Elinor [voice]), Julie Walters (The Witch [voice]), Robbie Coltrane (Lord Dingwall [voice]), Kevin McKidd (Lord MacGuffin / Young MacGuffin [voice]), Craig Ferguson (Lord Macintosh [voice]), Sally Kinghorn (Maudie [voice]), Eilidh Fraser (Maudie [voice]), Peigi Barker (Young Merida [voice]), Steven Cree (Young Macintosh [voice]), Steve Purcell (The Crow [voice]), Callum O'Neill (Wee Dingwall [voice]), John Ratzenberger (Gordon [voice]). IMDb Rating (03/07/13): 7.9/10 from 69,058 users IMDb Rating (12/23/12): 8.2/10 from 21,509 users
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