Brave (U) 3D ****

Brave (U) 3D ****

Dir: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell

Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson

Synopsis: Merida is a princess in medieval Scotland, a carefree character who fights with her overbearing mother about arranged marriage. In a temper, she runs away and buys a spell from a mysterious witch to change her fate - and that's when everything starts to go wrong.

Verdict: Disney Pixar films are always great to go and see, whether you are a kid, an parent or, like me, a 23 year old who is yet to grow up! And they aim to please all of this audience, with a story and humour that appeals to all ages.

The story itself is typical Disney: an arguing mother and daughter who end up going through and adventure where they realise they love each other really and make up. Simple stuff, and the story itself is similar to previous ones, but this doesn't stop it being a thoroughly entertaining hour and a half or so.

Having said that, it goes back to Disney films of old, with the 'villain' and fights concerning which being quite intense (I heard one younger member of the audience say that they found some of it a bit scary afterwards).

With the majority of the cast hailing from the British Isles (which adds to the value of the film at least for residents of the UK), the voice acting is brilliant. Obviously, the standout performances are from the main three, Macdonald, Connolly and Thompson, but I especially loved the son of Lord MacGuffin, (voiced by Kevin McKidd) whose thick accent makes him almost un-understandable (which is played upon in the film by other characters saying "I have no idea what he just said").


As you'd expect with Disney Pixar, the animation is beautiful. From the scenery to the characters and animals, the CGI is the highlight of any Pixar film. I loved how they managed to capture the essence of the voice actors in the characters (Billy Connolly's Fergus being very like him), with obviously animated faces but a depth of expression that I must admit is more lifelike than I've seen before.

The sad news though, is that the same cannot be said for the 3D which, unfortunately, left a lot to be desired. This brought the film down a little for me, as I honestly expected more from them, though I don't know why. Disney 3D has been known to work in the past, look at Tron: Legacy and Tangled, but here it didn't do the film justice. Where it worked it did add to the film, but the 'double effect' that so often plagues 3D was still apparent.