A CivilizedBears Movie Review
“If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?”
A rugged and mythic Scotland is the setting for Pixar’s action-adventure yarn “BRAVE.”
Written by Brenda Chapman and rewritten by Mark Andrews, BRAVE draws on Northern European myth and legend, of an ancient time when the Brown Bear was the King of the Wild — both feared and admired in Celtic society.
Originally given the wonderful title “The Bear King and His Daughter” by Brenda Chapman and then “The Bear and the Bow,” BRAVE tells the story of an heroic girl named Merida.
Whether the changes in title will affect BRAVE’s popularity will be seen. Disney’s change of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original evocative title UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS to the pedestrian JOHN CARTER certainly hurt the retelling of Tarzan creator’s first published novel.
As well as Celtic lore, author Chapman based the storyline on her “love of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, as well as a reflection on raising her daughter.”
She might be the daughter of Royalty, but red-haired Princess Merida wants to make her mark as a great archer.
After an emotional clash of wills with Queen Elinor, her mother, Merida makes 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. At the center of her quest lies a bow and arrow encounter with a fearsome bear.
When most of us think of Medieval Europe, we think of the King of Beasts being the African lion. The lion was the symbol of royalty, nobility, courage. Richard the Lion-Heart comes to mind. But most Northern Europeans had never seen a real lion. Not that many years before the reign of King Richard, the Brown Bear had been the symbol of power among the British, Celtic, Germanic and Scandinavian (including the Viking) cultures. The Bear had been the King of Beasts.
Bears were well known for their ferocity — after all, they lived in the vast forests that covered the northlands of the time. The story of a lone warrior facing a full-grown bear in battle was a common one. And, it was believed, bears were more like humans than any other creature. In fact, many stories told of humans who were part-bear…
Co-Director Brenda Chapman (“The Prince of Egypt,” “The Lion King”) and the storytelling “wizards of Pixar” use the latest animation tecnology to “conjure humour, fantasy and excitement in this rich Highland tale.”
BRAVE features a cast of actors providing the character voices, including Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane, Craig Ferguson and John Ratzenberger. Ratzenberger makes his 13th appearance in a Pixar production, going back to the first TOY STORY. Scottish composer Patrick Doyle has created a sound track “heavily-Celtic” in tone, matching the traditional Scottish setting.
Brenda Chapman is currently writing an autobiography and writing and illustrating a children’s book. She’s a major creative talent and BRAVE is worth seeing just for her input.
Keyword: famous bears
