Brave

Director: Mark Andrews

Nominated for: Best Animated Feature Film

It’s certainly not a surprise that the latest offering from the Disney Pixar studio is one of the nominees for the Best Animated Feature Film in this years Oscars seeing as they are still considered to be the cream of the crop in the animation field. What makes Disney Pixar the stand out studio for animation is the combination of excellent technical abilities and moving, magical stories for the whole family, something some of the other animation studios still don’t have in quite the same way. The animation is once again exceptional with the wisps being particularly good as non-corporeal elements have previously been notoriously difficult to create with any sense of weight of believability.

Being half Scottish this film made me chuckle at the stereotypes being lovingly portrayed – you have every type of Scots man you can have represented in the four clans; the painted faces like those seen in Braveheart; a Glaswegian who’s almost incomprehensible. The bickering between the four clans provides much of the humor of the film. There are some really interesting angles used throughout the film but especially during the Games, (held to win the hand of Princess Merida) which have all the classics … tossing the caber, hay-bale toss and so on.

Everything quintessentially Scottish is included like highland cows wandering around, people playing bagpipes and of course everyone is wandering around wearing kilts. One of my favourite scenes, where I roared with laughter, that sees the clansmen shimmying down the tower has kilts playing an integral part to it. And was somewhat of a shock – you just don’t expect to see bottoms in a Disney Pixar movie!

Billy Connelly is epic as the burly king – his voice is perfect for that character! Princess Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald, is awesome! She’s so headstrong and sure of herself, totally unsuited to being a princess and yet at the same time perfectly suited to be the future Queen of the bickering four clans of Scotland. I love her hair, a shock of ginger hair which is the perfect visual representation of her fiery nature. Plus she’s an archer and archers have come back in a big way in the last 12 months of movies with characters like Katniss (The Hunger Games, Gary Ross), Hawk Eye (Avengers Assemble, Joss Whedon) and Kili in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson) all deftly mastering this difficult skill (and of course there was the Olympics which also raised the profile of Archery!)

It’s a lovely story – one that is ultimately about the relationship between mother and daughter. It just takes one of them changing into a bear for them to finally understand one another. The characterization of the Queen once she’s been transformed into a bear is spectacular, but then Disney excels at anthropomorphizing animal characters.

I really enjoyed Brave. I will always love films that come out of the Disney Pixar studio no matter how old I get and that I think is the root of their success. They are creating films that move beyond childhood and yet remind you of it at the same time.

The Lion King

Director:Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff

1994

“The Lion King […] not only improved on the standards set by Beauty [and the Beast, 1991, Gary Trousdale] but also instantly became a Disney classic, to be ranked alongside other tearjerkers like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and of course Bambi (1942).” (830, Joanna Berry, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) The animation as expected, is top-notch, with beautiful rendering of not only the animals but also the African Savannah.

The Lion King along with Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (1992, Ron Clements & John Musker) are my all time favourite Disney films. they are the films from my childhood that I continue to love. One of my earliest memories of going to the cinema is seeing The Lion King (I must have been about 7 when it came out). It is a very spiritual movie which deals explicitly with the facts of life and death most wonderfully explained in the idea of the Circle of Life. Simba’s reaction to Mufasa’s death is heartbreaking. I can’t cope when he curls up beside his father after having tried unsuccessfully to wake him up.

The music is incredible – one of the most memorable scores to any Disney film which is saying something as music is such a key element in the magic of Disney. I love the African influence on the music, even more so since having done an amateur production of the  musical (it’s not an easy score to learn let me tell you!) It seems to me to be one of those films where everything just works ad comes together in perfect harmony creating an instant classic, much like the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001 – 2003, Peter Jackson)and the Harry Potter series. “This animated adventure works so well because it has all the elements of a terrific movie and plenty of action and adventure.” (830)

Scar is delightfully acerbic as the ambitious and manipulative baddie – predictably voiced by a Brit, Jeremy Irons (clearly we Brits have excellent voices for baddies!) While the film is surprisingly sad and incredibly moving, especially at the beginning, it is also filled with hilarious moments provided by the characters of Timon, Pumba, Zazu and the hyenas, all voiced by well-known comic actors. Oh and Rafiki of course, the wise, sage and ever so slightly insane soothsayer. “Luckily the voice talents of [Nathan] Lane, Rowan Atkinson (as wisecracking bird Zazu), Cheech Martin, and Whoopi Goldberg (as cackling hyenas) are on hand for some side-splitting light relief.”  (830)

The relationship between Simba and his father Mufasa is endearing although I am now always waiting for Mufasa to say “I am your father” what with him being voiced magnificently by James Earl Jones, Darth Vader himself (a fact that has become more recognizable as I’ve gotten older). Rowan Atkinson is brilliant as the put upon and self-important Zazu, the King’s Major Domo as he is so fond of reminding everyone. He takes on much the same role as Sebastian in The Little Mermaid (1989, Ron Clements & John Musker) becoming a rather reluctant chaperone to their young ward.

The hyenas are genius, especially Ed. Disney are really very good at creating memorable characters that don’t say a word. While providing comic interludes they also have some of the scariest moments in the film where they are lit sinisterly in deep red, vivid green and smoke. Pride Rock is such an iconic image (we once recreated it on a group holiday in Wales to hilarious effects!!) The pride land is drastically changed … and not for the good … under Scar’s rule. It becomes almost unrecognizable from the lush and light country Mufasa rules. It’s also a massive contrast to the jungle Simba grows up in.

The challenge between Simba and Scar is the ultimate show down and an epic conclusion to the story. And then in keeping with the theme of the circle of life we end the film as we started it, with the introduction of a new cub, the future king and the new generation.

Timon and Pumba are some of the most beloved creatures to come out of the Disney studio. They are the ultimate comic duo bouncing off one another effortlessly; the perfect foil for each other. And they have the best songs in the film – who can resist singing along to Hakuna Matata? And there is a little nod to De Niro and Taxi Driver (1976, Martin Scorsese) for the adults with Pumba saying the classic “Are you talkin’ to me?” Not that you really need to put anything in for the adults as the film easily appeals to all ages. I may be in my mid 20s now but I will never be too old for Disney movies, they will stay with me always and are some of my most watched dvds!