"Brave"

[Musician in His house]

My dear DH took me to see the movie, "Brave" today, and it is a really good movie. It has great animation and a good story, with myth and legend and magic set in the Scottish Highlands. Caution -- there is one scene where the king, the lairds, and their men get stuck on the top of the castle and have to use their feilidh mor (great kilts) as a rope to climb down and you see cheeks as they are walking away, but that's the worst of it. Their leinten, or shirts worn under the great kilts should have been to their knees, but I guess that wouldn't have been as funny.

And don't believe that bunk that some people are trying to suggest about Merida possibly being gay. The only possible reference to that was when she talked about marrying for love, not arrangement, and even that is a thin argument. All I saw was a typically rebellious, fiery teenage girl in a typical relationship struggle with her mother. The girl thinks she wants her life one way, but by the end of the movie she realizes her mother has a lot more sense than she first thought, and her mother realizes that Merida is right in her own way.

The animation is bright and beautiful, there's a gorgeous depiction of the Scottish Highlands, beautiful Celtic art, and awesome Celtic-themed music. It's worth going to see, IMHO.

[Wishing4]

Thank you for your review! There are so many "kids" movies out there that just aren't kid friendly.

In the previews I thought to myself, "Her hair looks like mine some mornings!" Only mine isn't red.

[katiesmom07]

On vacation with family (some Scots!) this week and am so glad this movie is out and glad you gave a detailed review! Gotta love this board!

[pistache]

I saw it, and liked a lot about it, but I'm not sure that I would take a child to see it - at least without discussing it. Parts of its message are really anti-biblical. The animation is fantastic, and Merida's beautiful red hair is mesmerizing! I also liked the theme of the importance of the famiy bond and forgiveness - particularly between mother-daughter.

But it was FILLED with spiritism and darkish magic, to the point that I felt it was preachy. It's set in pre-Christian era Scotland - with all their druid type culture. Merida learns to follow little blue lights/apparitions called wisps that lead her to her fate, where she meets a witch in a magical stonehenge-reminiscent setting (which her horse wouldn't enter into). The witch then casts a spell that is the catalyst for Merida's journey in the movie. It's taught that you should trust the wisps to lead you to a safe place and you can trust them. While I like a good fairy tale, these apparitions seemed strangely occultic, moreso than your typical "fairy godmother" or other such fairy-tale characteristics.

[Wishing4]

pistache-- thanks for your input.

[Musician in His house]

I think that discussing those aspects of it with a child would be a good idea, Pistache. Children need to know the difference between Christian and non-Christian ideals and it is for us to teach them. As an adult who is secure in her faith, however, I was just "into" the movie and enjoyed it thoroughly.

[CircleSlide]

My kids (who are all teens) saw it and really liked it. We are going as a family this afternoon, so I get to see it, looking forward to it!

[pistache]

I think that discussing those aspects of it with a child would be a good idea, Pistache. Children need to know the difference between Christian and non-Christian ideals and it is for us to teach them. As an adult who is secure in her faith, however, I was just "into" the movie and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I agree - I was just thinking more of all the children who are watching it with non-Christian or non-discerning families, and have no one to teach them...

[ThePenguin]

I saw it and thought it was pretty good. It wasn't as daring a movie as, say, Up (as far as plot goes) but it was still pretty good. My one friend saw it the same day and we were arguing about whether or not we liked the noises that wisps made. (I liked the noises; he didn't). I also think that Merida's father was hilarious.

[Musician in His house]

It occurred to me today what the big bear's name means. It's a combination of the Scots Gaidhlig word "mor" meaning "big" and "dubh" meaning "black." So what one would spell as "Mordu" is actually spelled "Mordubh", meaning "big black." The "bh," since it's at the end, is silent. Otherwise, if "bh" were in the middle of the word, it would have a /v/ sound.