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Original poster

Brave - anyone else seen it yet?

42 replies

OptimisticPessimist · 08/08/2012 21:41

Saw this today with the kids. Thought it was great to have a female protagonist in a kids film for a change (and a really strong one at that), and a good chunk in the middle just with Merida and her mum - not even showing what was happening in the castle at the same time. Was very pleasantly surprised as well that she didn't meet an alternative suitor/have any romance/get married at all, given Disney's usual "happy ending" schtick.

Has anyone else seen it yet?

OP posts:
K999 · 08/08/2012 21:52

I saw it ages ago as I was at the premier....Grin

MildewMayhew · 08/08/2012 21:53

I saw it. Loved it. Sobbed all the way through Merida's speech.

jenrendo · 08/08/2012 21:55

Saw it and loved it. Went in expecting to be bored. Was thoroughly entertained :)

tiddlypool · 08/08/2012 21:59

I read some reviews by parents saying their kids were terrified by it. Were any of yours?

Yama · 08/08/2012 22:00

Dh took dd to see it at the weekend. I asked who was 'brave' in the film. Dd thought Merida, dh thought her Mum because she had the courage to change her mind about the place of tradition.

I look forward to watching it on dvd.

BelleDameSansMerci · 08/08/2012 22:01

Really looking forward to it. DD fully aware we're seeing because I want to.

DeeLinquent · 08/08/2012 22:02

I am going to see it tomorrow night in a real live castle Grin mega excited

Yama · 08/08/2012 22:03

Oh, Tiddlypool - dh said a lot of the children ended up on their parent's knees. Dd was fine. She is almost 7. She is funny though, fine with the likes of Star Wars but was terrified of Lord Farquaad in Shrek.

PuggyMum · 08/08/2012 22:04

I wanna see it in a castle! Envy

Original poster
OptimisticPessimist · 08/08/2012 22:08

Me too Puggy! Envy

Tiddlypool, mine (8.5, 5 and almost 3) weren't scared but they do have a TV diet of things like Doctor Who so they very rarely are tbh.

OP posts:
DeeLinquent · 08/08/2012 22:11

Are u in Scotland puggy?

BeeBawBabbity · 09/08/2012 08:46

Ooo can't wait to take my little redhead to see this for her 8th birthday treat. Especially since she has Scottish blood:-)

MrsEricBana · 13/08/2012 18:51

Just seen it, not sure I liked it very much but don't want to be a pooper! Agree strongly with you OP re the lack of alternative suitor.

weeonion · 14/08/2012 11:33

took 2 kids to see it yesterday - they are 5. both ended up on my knee scared but they loved it as well. I must admit to a lump in my throat towards the end.

Waspie · 14/08/2012 13:52

I took my [red haired] 4 year old son yesterday. He loved it and wasn't scared at all.

He's been having a phase of "don't like pink" and "girls can't run as fast as boys" sort of stuff lately and I wanted him to see a movie with strong female characters.

This movie certainly passed the Bechdel test with flying colours. Well done Pixar Smile

amybelle1990 · 14/08/2012 19:18

:) was v good. I liked how it didn't really portray the female lead as an outright tomboy; she was just a competent person.

summerflower · 14/08/2012 20:25

Saw it today with DD. I liked it - feisty leads, no traditional happy ever after prince ending, and I also liked the intergenerational dynamic, that both mother and daughter learnt from each other.

I was surprised though that the majority of the children in the audience were girls. DD and I got there early as she likes to sit in the last row (small, independent cinema). There were three or four boys by the time it started. Kind of a shame if it is seen as a girls' movie.

Secondly, DD did find it terrifying in places - to the extent of climbing over the back of her seat and watching it from there, so she could hide (disclaimer: we were in the back row and there was sufficient gap between the seats so that she could do this without disturbing (I hope!) the person next to her. She's 8, but we didn't have a TV for the first seven years of her life.

Finally, was the message, you don't need to be married to be happy, or just follow your heart till you find the right man?

Snorbs · 15/08/2012 13:10

I thought the message was more "Don't be afraid to live your life in a way that makes sense to you."

I liked the film, as did 10yo DD and 13yo DS. Although (sad geek that I am) I did find myself being endlessly distracted by Merida's hair - whoever wrote the animation software for her curls deserves an Oscar.

peaksandtroughs · 15/08/2012 13:15

Does she have female friends in the film?

Waspie · 15/08/2012 13:30

Like Snorbs I thought the message was to live your life as you want to live it and not to placate or pander to tradition. There was no need to find a man. And yes, wow - Merida's hair was fantastic!

peaksandtroughs - no. The film was about the relationship between Merida and her mother (primarily) and the rest of her family/clan. Three out of the four main characters were female.

PuggyMum · 15/08/2012 19:09

No but my DH is Scottish! Went to watch it with FIL on Monday night. I enjoyed it because of the Scottish jokes an some of the characters remind us of real life people we know!!

messyisthenewtidy · 15/08/2012 20:59

Just seen it. Really liked it. Had a couple of issues, but overall was really positive.

I liked that the main relationship was between the mother and daughter. You don't see that often. Usually it is the father-son dynamic, where the son is chafing against the expectations of his father, but eventually they come to understand each other. In Brave, it was the mother and daughter who went through this and it was great.

On a non-feminist note, it was very stylistically done, with great music and definitely made me want to visit Scotland!

HappyHippie · 17/08/2012 20:52

OptimisticPessimist I couldn't agree more! I especially loved it when we were waiting in line to get our tickets and suddently looked back and saw a lot of boys waiting to see the film! :)

Although we enjoyed it, my 5 year old found some bits too scary and I don't think she really got the story.

Overall, the message is very positive! Would definitely recommend for older kids (and their parents).

summerflower · 17/08/2012 22:14

I thought the message was more "Don't be afraid to live your life in a way that makes sense to you.">>>the message was to live your life as you want to live it and not to placate or pander to tradition

sweetkitty · 17/08/2012 22:20

Took my 3 DDs to see it the are 8, 6 and 4. My 6yo is an utter tomboy, hates pink and princesses, loves dinosaurs. She really enjoyed it she said Merida was a tomboy too.

I really enjoyed it as well, had a wee tear in my eye at the end. Loved the Scottishness of it too.