
She easily bests her suitors in an archery contest, shaming the other clans, and runs away into the forest after a heated disagreement with Elinor. Merida twists the rules, announcing that as her own clan's firstborn she is eligible to compete for her own hand. The allied clan chieftains and their first-born sons arrive to compete in the Highland games for Merida's hand in marriage. Elinor explains that failure to consent to the betrothal could harm Dunbroch, reminding Merida of a legend of a prince whose pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes destroyed his kingdom. Ten years later, Merida, now a free-spirited and fiery young woman who dislikes her princess duties and is now big sister to identical triplets-Harris, Hubert, and Hamish, discovers that she is to be betrothed to the son of one of her father's allies. Merida flees on horseback with Elinor, while Fergus and his men fend off Mor'du, though the fight costs him one of his legs. Soon afterward, Mor'du, a huge demon bear, attacks the family. While venturing into the woods to fetch a stray arrow, Merida encounters a will-o'-the-wisp. In Medieval Scotland, Princess Merida of the clan Dunbroch is given a bow and arrow by her father, King Fergus, for her sixth birthday to the dismay of her mother, Queen Elinor. Preceding the feature theatrically was a short film entitled La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa. The film won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Brave is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format.īrave premiered on June 10, 2012, at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was released in North America on June 22, 2012, to both positive reviews and box office success. To create the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years.

Co-directing with Mark Andrews, Chapman became Pixar's first female director of a feature-length film. The film is also dedicated to Steve Jobs, who died before the film's release.Ĭhapman drew inspiration for the film's story from her relationship with her own daughter. Merida is the first Disney Princess created by Pixar. When her mother falls victim to a beastly curse, Merida must look within herself and find the key to saving the kingdom. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of a princess named Merida who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed. The film's voice cast features Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson. The film was produced by Katherine Sarafian, with John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter as executive producers. The story is by Chapman, with the screenplay by Andrews, Purcell, Chapman and Irene Mecchi. It was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and co-directed by Steve Purcell. Brave is a 2012 American computer-animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
