Brenda Chapman

Review: Brave

I'd love to be able to say with complete authority that Brave is a colossal return to form for Pixar, but I can't, because... well, frankly, I didn't much feel like seeing Cars 2. Though I can't comment on the specifics, Pixar's last movie felt so cynically made, so driven by the wrong factors, so unlike them. What I am qualified to comment on, however, is Brave and how it's seemingly the complete antithesis of Cars 2: lovingly crafted for all the right reasons and built from the ground up around story and character, not market share or brand recognition. Brave strives above all else to make an emotional connection, and boy does it connect: a hugely atmospheric fairytale of old, it's Pixar's most mature movie to date.