The rest of the story involves The Queen as a bear, her running away, and Merida not wanting to get married. Montages and songs comprise a few minutes as well. Three minutes of the film are dedicated solely to Princess Merida following blue lights. Note: Massive SPOILERS follow, naturally.Īt 95 minutes, Brave is the shortest Pixar film since 2001's Monsters Inc., and it doesn't seem like they even had enough material to fill that amount. But within the greater context of Pixar's previous work, Brave does come up short, and I think we've got a bead on the reasons why. So no, Brave isn't a bad movie on merit, it's merely an average one, which animation houses make all the time without compelling anyone to write a 3,000 word article on the subject. It's not fair, and in many ways Pixar's own ambition and commitment to excellence have raised the bar for all movies. One final note, just to head off the obligatory 'comparing Brave to the rest of Pixar's work isn't entirely fair' argument, we're in complete agreement there. As such, I'm compelled to break down where I feel the problems were, if only to restore everyone's favorite animation house to the glory they so richly deserve.

Unfortunately, the story lacked a bit of.

There's no question the film had amazing visuals, setting a new standard for excellence within the animation genre. I can truly say I've never found a Pixar film entirely lacking, and that statement includes Brave. Until now, the only Pixar film I flat out didn't enjoy was Ratatouille, though I admit to only having seen it once, and folks say I'd like it much more if I were to re-visit. To provide some context, and on the off chance we have completely different taste, here are my top five Pixar efforts: Out there in audience-land, did you notice something a little 'off' about Brave? Perhaps there are lessons that can be learned, or conversations to engage in?

Real brave movie