Brave
2. Choose one specific character to analyze.
Mor’du – Myths and legends always have some modicum of truth and this was no different. Mor’du had been a man once – one of four brothers – and because of greed had caused the destruction of the kingdom. The references of him and his three brothers always set him apart visually. It’s almost as if he was an outcast long before he became a bear. He represents the evil in the story and he is given the stereotypical characteristics to that end. He is deformed, mangy looking, missing an eye, full of the arrows that have been shot into him over the years, and larger than life – even for a big bear. In the ruins of the castle Merida finds the tablet that depicts him with his brothers. The tablet has damage to it, separating Mor’du from the other three; isolating him, and reinforcing that outcast design. Any modicum of humanity that may have been in him was long gone – lost to the malevolent monster he had become. Only at the very end, when he was finally slain do we see him for who he once was. As the bear died, the spirit of the man rose from the body and in a brief moment, gave Merida a respectful nod – as if thanking her for freeing him from the curse that he’d been living. Then he seemed to disappear as a wisp.
3. Choose one specific scene or sequence to analyze – tell me what response is it trying to evoke from the viewer and how does it go about getting that response?
Merida teaching Elinor how to fish like a bear – This sequence of events is literally and figuratively a teaching moment – for mothers and daughters. I say that specifically because that “female to female” relationship is a different dynamic than one of father and son. The river and highlands are a great backdrop but it is the evolution of characters in these scenes that pushes the emotional buttons.
In this case the viewer is wrongly set up for one emotional response – to side completely with Merida, and have some form of disdain for Elinor and her stiff-backed old-fashioned discipline and beliefs. The story is a traditional
rebel vs authority scenario. We are given that base to work from as we see the bickering and rising animosity. The entire beginning of the film shows the head-butting between them. Elinor is trying to raise Mereida as she was – a proper lady. And of course, Merida is rebelling against the restrictions placed on her. (It doesn’t really help Elinor’s case that Fergus allows his daughter to run wild.)
That austere authority really pushes Merida over the proverbial edge and into recklessness. Obtaining the spell and actually using it reveals just how far she thinks she is willing to go to change her fate.
The ramifications of her actions are immediate.
Once the deed is done and Elinor has turned into a bear, Merida realizes her mistake. Instead of just letting it be what it’s going to be, she works hard to counteract the spell. So, in this case, the viewer is left changing emotional direction as the bond between them becomes stronger with the adversity of the situation.
Elinor knows nothing of the wilds, nor being a bear, so Merida has to become her teacher. In the beginning of the river and salmon run scenes Elinor is reluctant to get in the water and go after the fish. Even eating them raw was definitely a hard “no.” Catching a few by accident, she finds how good they are and then goes on autopilot. Instinct takes over, as does the full characteristic of the bear. She nearly takes out Merida in the end of this sequence.
You can’t help but feel a bit sorry for Elinor at first. As the interplay evolves, things become alarming as Elinor cannot fully control the bear instincts that come to the surface. They both realize the timebomb that this disagreement has become and must overcome their own ideals to fix it before it becomes irreversible.
5. Choose one specific symbol in the film to analyze.
Will-O’-the-Wisp – They can lead you to your fate or to your doom, depending on which folklore tale you read. In
Brave, wisps are not a being that falls into a category of good or bad – they simply are. Legends say they lead one to where they need to be. In this case they are portrayed as tiny blue spirits, with a very air elemental look to them.
The wisps are seen six times in
Brave. Each time there is specific purpose to their appearance:
1) They lead a very young Merida to her missing arrow, and out of the woods, away from the clutches of the stalking Mor’du.
2) After Merida has the fight with her mother: They lead her to the witch/woodcarver’s cabin where she acquires the spell.
3) The third time is to the ruins of the castle where Mor’du is. Here is where she realizes that there are truths behind the legends her mother told her.
4) They take her directly to the stone ring where Fergus and the clans have captured Elinor. They lead her there just in time to save her mother…and reveal that her brothers are in the same mess.
5) The spirit of Mor’du rises as a wisp from the carcass of the monster he has been trapped in for untold years.
6) The final wisp is a loner, giving the viewer a knowing laugh and a wave good-by.
Each time the wisps appear they bring about life changing events. Some were concerning as to their intentions but all were for the better in the end.
6. Choose a single line of dialogue that you find to be the most significant/impactful line in the film and why.
“Your father doesn’t believe in magic.” – Elinor
If Fergus didn’t in the beginning of the movie, he certainly did by the end! Merida is a small child when her mother tells her this. She had just seen her first wisps – and they had saved her from Mor’du. The fact that Merida and Elinor both do believe in magic is important. It drives the story. When Merida realizes the woodcarver is a witch she begins to negotiate for a spell. Elinor, of course, is a bear – something that’s not going to happen without magic. However, she recovers nicely upon learning that it was a spell (even if it was a
gammy one.) When Merida admits giving it to her, she gives her daughter one helluva mother’s dirty look that comes right through the bear face.
Knowing that the transformation is a work of magic means there is a way to undo it. As believers in magic, they know this and together they look for the counter-spell – or at least the witch who created the spell so they can overturn it.
The never do find the witch but what they find is a short riddle that tells them how to reverse the spell. “Fate be changed. Look inside. Mend the bond, torn by pride.”
9. What is the iconic shot of the film? What single frame of animation do you find to be the most memorable and why?
Merida shooting her bow while on Angus going at a flat run is my pick. That shot is everything that is Merida. It’s everything she is, wants to be, and more.
10. What single pin do you think best represents this film for you? Why?
The tapestry. Even though it is before Merida cut it, the tapestry represents family, and togetherness – something that Merida had to lose to learn to love.
Pin 115181 Pixar Party 2016 – Pixar from the Vault Collection: Brave
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