Brave

I’ll say one thing for the folks at Pixar, they do take some interesting chances with their storylines. This semi-original, Scottish-set fairytale about a rebellious red-haired princess who is more interested in shooting arrows, riding horses and being an individual than she is in marrying one of the suitors her mother lines up for her, could have been a very typical and pleasant enough piece of modern Disney fare. However, the film takes a bold and rather original turn into the second act that I never saw coming. Unfortunately, the film’s pace is absurdly frantic from start to finish with not nearly enough screen time devoted to the clever little ideas that try to get noticed, and the tone is all over the place. This is a very muddled movie from the Pixar folks, who are usually much more careful. It is a good story badly told.