Brave
100% predictable, but quite funny and moving nonetheless.
Definitely a mother-daughter movie, à la Freaky Friday, but with lots naughty boyish laughs and seriously scary action.
It certainly lacks the imagination and originality of previous Pixar movies, but it's the first movie I can think of that has a princess for a protagonist that isn't about romance (correct me if I'm wrong), and I consider that pretty fucking original... and pretty fucking admirable. And I like the messages: think for yourself but be respectful of the other people in your life; don't make important decisions while you're angry; listen to each other; don't boss people around; tradition is not inherently good or bad, what matters is doing what works and what's right; and DO NOT FUCK WITH MY DAUGHTER.
But mainly I liked the symbolism of turning the mother into a bear, representing both how scary and dangerous and hated bears are (one of my Scottish ancestors, about 1,000 years ago, was made a lord in reward for killing a bear that was terrorizing the area where he lived)), and how protective mothers are of their children: This movie gives new meaning to the term "mama bear". I loved the scene where the mother (as a bear) beat the crap out of the big evil bear, even though you had known that scene was coming for about half an hour. I was surprised at how much I related to the mother: partly because I never relate to mothers (real or fictional) because my experience of motherhood has been so different from what it's supposed to be; and partly because she is very prim and proper and restrictive, which I'm not. But she was sympathetic nonetheless, and conveyed well what an overwhelming and exhausting and confusing responsibility motherhood is.
Also seeing The Hobbit trailer on the big screen gave me goosebumps.
Definitely a mother-daughter movie, à la Freaky Friday, but with lots naughty boyish laughs and seriously scary action.
It certainly lacks the imagination and originality of previous Pixar movies, but it's the first movie I can think of that has a princess for a protagonist that isn't about romance (correct me if I'm wrong), and I consider that pretty fucking original... and pretty fucking admirable. And I like the messages: think for yourself but be respectful of the other people in your life; don't make important decisions while you're angry; listen to each other; don't boss people around; tradition is not inherently good or bad, what matters is doing what works and what's right; and DO NOT FUCK WITH MY DAUGHTER.
But mainly I liked the symbolism of turning the mother into a bear, representing both how scary and dangerous and hated bears are (one of my Scottish ancestors, about 1,000 years ago, was made a lord in reward for killing a bear that was terrorizing the area where he lived)), and how protective mothers are of their children: This movie gives new meaning to the term "mama bear". I loved the scene where the mother (as a bear) beat the crap out of the big evil bear, even though you had known that scene was coming for about half an hour. I was surprised at how much I related to the mother: partly because I never relate to mothers (real or fictional) because my experience of motherhood has been so different from what it's supposed to be; and partly because she is very prim and proper and restrictive, which I'm not. But she was sympathetic nonetheless, and conveyed well what an overwhelming and exhausting and confusing responsibility motherhood is.
Also seeing The Hobbit trailer on the big screen gave me goosebumps.