The movie “Brave” was released in 2012 as a Pixar film. The movie focuses on Princess Merida while she fights for her independence in choosing who she marries. The film first premiered at Seattle National Film Festival and then later released on DVD.
Princess Merida is an archer whose parents are constantly fighting for her hand in marriage, although all Merida wants is the freedom to be in control of her own future. When Merida finally tries to change her destiny she ends up transforming her Mother into a bear as well as her 3 little brothers. Merida figures out that in order to break the curse she would need to mend her relationship with her family. In order to complete this she has to fix the ripped tapestry of her family. Princess Merida fixes the tapestry with the help of her brothers and then finally mends her relationship with her mom, Queen Elinor.
An amazing topic in this movie is independence and feminism. A scene that does well at representing these topics is when the suitors are taking turns shooting for Merida’s hand in marriage. She gets fed up and states that she is shooting for her own hand. She then shows them all up by hitting every bullseye and even splitting the last guy’s arrow down the middle. She is an inspirational princess due to the fact that she has no man or love interest and is still independent, strong and happy.
The representation of family is also done incredibly well. It shows that families are not always going to agree with each other. In the film, Merida and her mom, Ellinor, experience conflict. This can be very relatable for people watching at home because arguments within families are common but relationships as special as family can always be repaired. Merida turns her mom into a black bear by accident while being upset, but by the end of the movie, it ends up fixing their relationship by coming together and apologizing.
Overall, this movie is such a cute and fun watch. If someone wants to watch a Princess movie that is not centered on romance, this is an amazing choice. “Brave” is a 4 out of 5 stars.
