Brave- One Small Step for Woman...

Disney heroines have a long running theme of needing to be saved by a man. Sleeping Beauty and Snow White are the most literal manifestations of this theme as they are trapped in a perpetual slumber until their Prince Charming kisses them and brings them back to life. (Move along, no symbolism to see here.) The Beauty and the Beast has an even more dangerous theme: it doesn't matter how much he yells and hits you, if you love him enough he will become Prince Charming. The moral of The Little Mermaid is that you should change everything about yourself to get a man. And even Mulan, with its ass-kicking warrior princess, hides that Little Mermaid theme under its girl power exterior.

But with Brave, Pixar shatters this theme that a woman needs a man both with word and deed. And Princess Merida thoroughly denounces her need for a man before saving the day...with sewing.

 

Oh well, that's progress, I guess. Women in the workforce and all.

Princess Merida does display an extraordinary amount of courage standing against tradition and a giant bear. But really, why sewing, Pixar? It kind of undercuts the message. Don't you think?

Okay, so the way the movie is cut it was probably the apology that cured the queen, but still that is radically different than how a male hero would have come to the rescue. Can you imagine Mufasa descending from the clouds to tell Simba, "Have a nice chat with your uncle and if you can gently remind him that renewable resources can become overtaxed if they are improperly managed. And remember [echo] it's your mom's birthday next week. You should give her a call. [Long echo and fade away.]"

With its castles, royalty, and magic, Brave is the Pixar movie which looks the most like a Disney film and it borrows heavily from several of them. The trailer promised Mulan with a Scottish accent. The deal with the witch is a callback to The Little Mermaid. The archery contest is out of Robin Hood.  But surprisingly, the Disney film it's most like is the one that effectively killed their traditional animation department, Brother Bear.

I shouldn't have to tell you it's good. Of course, it's good. It's Pixar. If things were fair, it would probably win Best Picture, but the Oscars have a terrible bias against animated films, comedies, and films intended primarily for children. But I doubt I will see a better film this year. [Update: I was wrong. Life of Pi should but won't win Best Picture.]

And it's beautiful, too. I had Lord of the Rings flashbacks during the landscape shots early in the film. The rules of 3D were followed almost perfectly. There were just a few shots with overly rapid movement. There were a number of dark scenes, but they never got too dark. Few films have ever used the 3D medium better.

Now, the updated Pixar rankings.

1. Toy Story 3

2. Toy Story

3. Up

4. A Bug's Life (Has been way underrated)

5. Finding Nemo

6. Brave

7. Toy Story 2

8. Wall-E

9. The Incredibles (Has been way overrated)

10. Monsters University (A high achievement in low comedy)

11. Ratatouille

12. Monsters Inc.

13. Cars 2

14. Cars (Will being about Pixar's inevitable demise)