Movie review -- Brave

Lest you think I am entirely baseball-obsessed, this weekend we also saw a movie, the Disney/Pixar collaberation, Brave.  Medieval Scotland and a strong, brave heroine named Merida.  It's a much darker film than most Disney stories, no sense of whimsy, though there is comic relief in the form of King Fergus and Merida's three young brothers.  The witch is both creepy and comic.  I loved how one of the clans showed up with blue paint a la Mel Gibson in Braveheart.  Another favorite scene . . .when Fergus and the men use their kilts as a rope to climb down from the top of the Tower.

The focus of the movie is Merida's relationship with her mother, Elinor.  Though the two were once close, their relationship has become strained as Elinor tries to mold her daughter for the leadership role she will someday take, and Merida rebels and asserts her right to choose her own future.  This was something I could relate to, both as a daughter and as the mother of two daughters.

Merida's recklessness causes problems she never anticipated.  But Merida takes responsibility and cleans up her own mess.

By the end of the movie, when Merida fears she will lose her mother forever, I was sobbing.

Overall, a good effort by Disney and Pixar.