Movie review: Brave

Brave

(PG), 93 minutes

4/5

Pixar set the standard for animation in 1995 when the first Toy Story hit our screens.

Finding Nemo (2003), Cars (2006) and Wall-E (2008) confirmed what we already knew - it was taking animation to exciting new places.

Brave is another effort from Pixar that it can be immensely proud of.

Everything about the imagery is brilliant, the detail is painstakingly accurate and the action scenes are incredibly lifelike.

Brave is a mythical story set in Scotland in years gone by.

Our heroine is Merida (Kelly Macdonald), who has always had a thirst for adventure and a desire to be a brave adventurer like her father, Lord Fergus (Billy Connolly).

But the teenage Merida is told she has a duty to her kingdom and must choose between three suitors for a husband.

Her mother, Lady Elinor (Emma Thompson), wants the marriage to go ahead in order to ensure the future of their people.

Unfortunately, the three young men put before Merida are laughable and she is determined to forge her own path in life.

Angry and upset, Merida asks a witch to cast a spell that will change her future.

Little does she realise the effect this will have on her mother and her troublesome young triplet brothers.

The spell puts her mother in immense danger and unless she can repair the damage she has caused in the following 48 hours, the spell's effects will be permanent.

Merida is forced to go into the forest to find answers to some of the kingdom's historical problems.

With this greater understanding she is able to show her true bravery and demonstrate her rightful place as a princess.

But a fearful battle must be won before things can be put right.

There is a lot of fun as well as drama in Merida's journey.

Judging by the youngsters enjoying the packed-out showing I attended, Brave is an enjoyable adventure, from a visual and entertainment point of view.Craig Nicholson