I sat down to watch Brave with few expectations. All I knew about the storyline was that there was a red-headed girl… and archery… and Scotland… mysterious standing stones… and a bear?
Ten minutes into the movie, I thought I had its number. It was obviously going to be a girl runs off to have adventures denied to her because she’s female, and saves the day movie. Maybe with a dose of …then she meets a handsome dude who’ll love her for who she is thrown in for good measure.
I was wrong (oh, you tricksy, tricksy movie!).
Merida does have adventures–and you can say she saves the day–but only after she messes up. The emotional core of the story is not a romance, but the relationship between mother and daughter. Merida’s growth as a character is not becoming the Warrior Woman Who Saves the Clans, but about recognizing her own part in her conflict with her mother.
I was delighted by this movie, which came at just the right time to dissipate some of my YA fiction fatigue. I’d gotten to the point where I’d drop a book like a hot potato when the dreaded words “but the hot new guy knows more than he’s telling” (and their variations) appeared in the blurb. I was tired of books with female protagonists surrounded by guys, with nary a meaningful relationship with another woman in sight. I didn’t like how parents disappeared off the face of the earth in most young adult fiction. And I was so over seeing martial prowess as the only type of strength worth aspiring to.
Brave tackles all of these in the best way possible. I almost cheered at the lack of hot dudes (really, most people do not meet Mr. Right in high school, or at the equivalent age). I was moved by the relationship between Merida and her mother–the clash of their strong wills, their inability to reach one other, the strength of their love underneath the hurt and guilt. I love how Merida’s mother shows her strength as queen, not with a sword in her hands, but with her words. I love how she can stop a brawl in her hall just by walking down the length of it. She shows Merida another kind of weapon to add to her arsenal (along with her archery prowess), just as Merida shows her mother that it’s okay to be a different kind of princess.
This was a refreshing addition to the coming-of-age genre. If you watched Brave, what did you think of it?
I haven’t seen it, but every time I hear about it, I’m tempted. It sounds pretty intriguing. I’m particularly intrigued about the mother-daughter relationship. I do appreciate seeing family members interact in a story, and not just the romantically involved couple. {Smile}
I do have to suspect that the prevalence of romance in YA is because young folks are about as happy about waiting for True Love as cats are about waiting for dinner! {REALLY BIG GRIN, wink}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Oh, I totally get that teenagers–especially girls–are champing at the bit for some romance in their lives. For most of human history, that age group was marriageable. Our modern culture has pushed adulthood to a later age, though, and I think it’s important for at least some YA fiction to recognize that not every boy-girl relationship in high school is going to lead to True Love. Or to have some YA fiction with no romance at all (*gasp*). I did that in Rainbird, and I’m glad it worked out that way.
And I say all this as someone who loves a good romance. 😀
You’re just ready forsomething besides romance for a change. I’ve been feeling that way quite a while, myself. Yes, a romantic relationship is important, but it’s not the only important relationship in life. At least I hope not, because I’m a friend, a cousin, a neice, and a daughter, and I’d like to think those are all important, too. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Exactly. 🙂
I went into it just like you! No real idea what it was about, but I also thought I knew where it was going in the beginning — same direction you thought… and I had no idea until it happened it was going to be about a mother/daughter relationship. And I ended up really loving it because of that. Because it didn’t go to the expected cliche places. And because it was genuinely moving. I so cried at the end. The mother was my favorite character, and the one to whom I most related. I only saw this one once in theater, at the end of its run, so I’m looking forward to seeing it again.
Yes, the sheer unexpected non-cliched-ness of it made me love it so much. I was so glad to be able to watch it with my kids, because it showed such important things about conflict and love and strained relationships–and that no matter how angry the mother got, you could see that underneath she just wanted what she thought was the best for her daughter.
I loved that both Merida and Elinor grew through the story.
I loved what you had to say about this, Rabia! I agree; at the beginning I thought it was going to be a Scottish Little Mermaid story. But no, instead it turned into a fresh and touching family story that made me really want to watch it with my mom. Still not the most original Pixar movie I’ve seen to date, but I liked it a lot more than I expected to 🙂
I liked that I went into it without knowing much about it. It really made me watch it on its terms.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I read the book with both my daughters and we loved it. My six-year-old was worried about the scary factor of the bear in the movie, so we read instead. Your summary and commentary are perfect. Loved it.
Yes, my six-year-old was a little freaked out by one of the bear sequences. Later on, when we saw the commentary, the creators noted that they toned it down even more from the original after the test audience said it was too intense!