But the clansman are not and threaten an end to the alliance if the free-spirited princess doesn't settle down and marry one of them. King Fergus (Billy Connolly) is more amused.

Merida herself bests them at the archery match meant to decide who gets her hand.

The three suitors, when they show up, prove exceedingly mediocre. Rated: PG for some scary action and rude humor Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly 'A princess does not chortle' is one of the many admonishments she received from her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), who's thanklessly trying to groom her daughter to marry a nobleman from one of the other three clans. Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) is as unruly as her curly red locks. It takes place in medieval Scotland, though you wouldn't know it from the heroine's Hispanic name. 'Brave' doesn't feature talking toys or futuristic robots. In fact, Merida is the first Pixar heroine, period: The studio's never made a movie centered on a female before. Princess Merida is the first Pixar heroine to be a part of the Disney Princess collection. It has nothing of the whimsy and wonder of most Pixar pictures - or the surprisingly stimulating ideas that have made the studio's films favorites of both children and their sometimes-cynical parents.Įven the marketing suggests 'Brave' falls squarely into the Disney canon. It's a relentlessly conventional fairy tale, of the type in which Disney specializes. But 'Pixar Animation Studios' soon follows, completely changing the expectations for the film. If the words 'Walt Disney Pictures' were the only ones to flash on the screen at the beginning of 'Brave,' I would feel a lot differently about it.

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