Review: Brave (2012) is Pixar's most impersonal and least consequential film and a more troubling failure than Cars 2.

Brave

2012
93 minutes
rated PG

by Scott Mendelson

Beset by production troubles and changing schedules, Brave enters theaters as a fable without an author.  I don't know what happened behind-the-scenes with original director Brenda Chapman nor do I know what replacement director Mark Andrews added to and removed from the final product.  But Brave is an almost irrelevant entry in the Pixar library.  While it is visually scrumptious (in 2D, natch) and boasts a terrific lead vocal performance by Kelly MacDonald, the overall story is both painfully slight and lacking any deeper meaning beyond surface-level morals.  While it is technically a superior film to Cars 2, that film was arguably a 'one for me' project with Pixar founder John Lasseter indulging his love of the Cars universe and his love of old-school spy pictures.  Brave is an artistically superior picture that is still pales in comparison to both the better efforts from both Pixar itself and the various animation rivals (Blue Sky, Dreamworks, Illumination, etc.) nipping at its heels.

Trailer: Pixar's Brave looks gorgeous, announces 'Don't give up on us!"

Unless my daughter wants to see it (so far, she does not), I doubt I'll be seeing Cars 2 in theaters.  Having said that, I have a tough time believing it is THAT bad.  I'm wondering if the reviews would have been quite as harsh if A) it weren't a sequel, B) it didn't star Larry the Cable Guy, and C) it wasn't being released on the tail-end of a four-year Pixar masterpiece streak.  Whatever the case, John Lasseter wanted to make Cars 2, and now he has that out of his system.  This gorgeous and moody teaser basically announces in the same breath: "No no, we're still in this for real."  Not much to say, as this is allegedly Pixar's attempt to play in the Lord of the Rings sandbox.  Yes, it's the first Pixar film with a female lead.  Yes, the film's first (female) director, Brenda Chapman, was replaced by Mark Andrews.  The film as it stands looks like a visual marvel, and we'll see when it drops on June 22nd, 2012.

Scott Mendelson