Merida a courageous daughter of Scottish King Fergus defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Now she must rely her skills to help her people and define her path.
The story for this revisionist fairy tale, which promotes contemporary attitudes about parenting and gender equality, is less inspired than usual for Pixar, but the movie upholds the studio's high standard of computer animation.
It still looks great, the scenery coming alive with richly landscaped hills, jagged peaks and crystalline waterfalls, but rarely has it ever been said of a Pixar film that the visuals are the most compelling part.
By the climax, at which all right-thinking viewers will have dissolved in a puddle of warm appreciation, the new Pixar film has earned two cheers and a big bear hug.
Though it falls short of the studio's best in many respects, Brave is ravishing to look at. Merida's carrot corona is alone worth the price of admission.
As a Pixar production, Brave is perhaps lacking in the usual abundance of wit and wisecracks, but in its place is a reservoir of insight into the mother-daughter dynamic.