Not So Brave: Why Pixar's Latest Falls Short

I have watched a lot of children's movies.  Even before Isaac was born (or old enough to watch movies), Matt and I would go see movies meant for children if we thought they would prove to be a good film overall, not just typical kid fare.  Pixar has always been a company whose movies we look forward to seeing.  Over the years Pixar movies have been strong not just technically, having amazing animation, but also in their storytelling, with well thought out plots and subplots and thoroughly developed major and minor characters.  They have had some misses lately (don't bother with Cars 2), but their reputation is enough to get us to the theater.  For the most part, Pixar gets that kids can handle sophisticated, complicated plots and characters.

Pixar's history of strong character development is one of the reasons we found their latest film, Brave, so disappointing.  Brave has been touted as breaking ground in children's movies because the main character is a princess who doesn't need a prince.  There is no romantic story line and the main plot centers around the princess's relationship with her mother.  It is supposed to provide girls with a new kind of fairytale female role model.  Merida, the princess is question, is physically strong and independent.  She takes care of herself and works through a difficult relationship with a very strong-willed mother.

What I have found so appealing about other Pixar films is that all the characters are fleshed out and you get a sense of their motivation and understand how they fit into the story.  In Brave, that level of character development is missing.  I understood Merida and her mother, the two principle characters, but all of the other characters (and note that they were all men) were relegated to the background or used as comic relief. As a modern, strong-willed woman I was glad to see Pixar breaking the mold of the damsel-in-distress-send-a-prince-to-save-her model.  As the mother of a young boy, I was distressed by the portrayal of men in the movie.

Even in their movies with male main characters, Pixar is not known for portraying women as weak.  In many of their movies the women have been equals of the men.  If the women are not equals, they are at least developed to the point that there is a purpose for them being in the movie.  Pixar has done an excellent job in the past of making their movies universally appealing.  A review that we listened to debated whether it was fair to hold Pixar to higher standards than other filmmakers -- if Brave had been a Disney movie it would be considered one of their better ones, but for Pixar it was sub-par.  And yes, I do think they should be judged based on their past work.  They have raised the bar in children's movies and we should continue to expect a high level of film-making from them, rather than accept lower standards because that is the kind of children's movie everyone else is making. We should also judge other children's films on the same standards and push for better movies with strong characters and sophisticated plot lines.

It was disheartening to watch Brave and get the feeling that the filmmakers had gotten lazy or just didn't put in the time or effort to make us understand the male characters in the movie.  It was is if they were so focused on getting the women right and making a different kind of princess movie that they forgot that good storytelling is about more than the title character.  It is important for girls to have strong role models, in art as in their everyday lives.  But isn't it also important for boys to see strong men and isn't it even as important for boys and girls to see strong male and female role models together?  I cannot think of one male character from Brave that I would want Isaac to emulate.  They were all buffoons (the Clan Chieftans, even the father) or thrown in for comic relief and no other purpose (the brothers).  What message is that sending to boys and girls?  That if a woman is strong she should surround herself with weak men?  That strong men will only be attracted to weak women?  In Brave, Pixar put all of their effort on the two women and the men ended up being nothing more than caricatures of every negative male stereotype.  That is lazy storytelling and Pixar can do, and has done, much better.  And children, boys and girls, deserve better from their movies.

Character development was not my only problem with the movie (the plot just didn't seem well planned and even the main relationship between the mother and daughter wasn't resolved effectively), but it was the main one.  There are many arguments for and against the film, but two good reviews/commentaries can be found on Slate's Spoiler Special podcast from June 21 and the Double X podcast from June 28.  The Slate podcast is just about everything I could say about the movie.  Many think that Brave will end up being a movie that is very popular with girls, with the focus being on the mother/daughter relationship.  And I am glad that maybe makers of children's films will begin to break away from the traditional princess roles.  But I hope that we can also find a model that portrays men and women/ boys and girls as equals rather than sacrificing the strength of one for the other.  Pixar has an established reputation, and is sure to continue to create good films.  But my expectations will be lower for the next one.

Movie Time

This is a blog about books that we read to and with Isaac, but occasionally I take the liberty to digress and talk about something I have read or seen that may inform my parenting or teaching. Today I am going to go in a different direction entirely and write about movies.

This should really be Matt's post since he is the film-hound and a much more thoughtful movie critic than I am. But Isaac and I have seen quite a few movies this summer and I wanted to share some of them.

Many of the movies that have come out recently for children have been based on books or book characters. Mr. Popper's Penguins was the first one that we saw a few weeks ago. It is based on a children's book that Isaac's teacher read to the class last year, so he was very excited when he found out they were making the movie. I have to admit that I have not read the book and cannot judge how closely, or not, the movie follows the plot. And Isaac is not yet discriminating enough in his movie tastes to care. It was pretty good for a summer-get-the-parents-to-bring-their-kids-to-the-theater-release. Jim Carrey was his usual funny self, but the penguin stole the show. It had heart, but really all the kids wanted to see was the dancing penguin scene and Jim Carrey make the zookeeper punch himself in the face. It did have Angela Lansbury, but anyone below 35 isn't really going to appreciate the sentimentality of her appearance. Show the penguins again, already.

We also saw Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. This movie is based on a children's series and the author co-wrote the screenplay. I liked that it continues the character's story, rather than simply takes one of the books and puts it on the screen. Fans of the series will find many familiar references and characters to connect back to the books. The movie employed some fun effects to bring out Judy's personality and the flavor of the books that are difficult to get across when you lose the inner-dialogue that the books allow the reader to be privy to. My only real problem with the movie was Heather Graham. I am just not a fan. And I don't appreciate the sexy-aunt character. She is supposed to be a free spirited artist, but that could have been portrayed just as easily in a caftan as a bustier. I am sure, though, that many fathers who were dragged to the movie by their children would disagree with me.

The one big movie disappointment of the summer was Cars 2. I should clarify that Matt and I were disappointed, Isaac liked it just fine. I have wanted to write about Pixar before, but just never took the time to focus on it. As a family, we love Pixar films. I believe they have made many of the best films of the past 20 years. Typically, Pixar movies have a strong story, relatable characters, and amazing animation. I really don't think there is one I have not liked, until now. Cars was one of Isaac's favorite movies for a long time, which means I have seen it a lot. We were really looking forward to this new one, and were also sad that Paul Newman had died before being able to be a part of it. A few days before the movie was released, we watched a documentary about Pixar and its rise as a creative force in the film industry. Over and over again the key players in the company emphasized the importance of "story" to their movies. Without a good story, the movie would fail no matter how great the animation. Somehow, they lost sight of that with this latest movie. The story was haphazard and the movie was simply a showcase for the funny stars and the cool animation. But again, Isaac liked it, and Pixar will make money on it and all of the merchandise it spawns. Hopefully, though, they will get back on track and find another good story for their next film.

I think today Isaac and I will go see Zookeeper. It's not one I would normally choose, but I have a feeling I will have sat through worse. (I actually took him to see Yogi Bear back in the winter -- it can't be worse than that, can it?) The one job that Isaac keeps coming back to when he is asked what he wants to be when he grows up is a zookeeper, so he has been excited about this movie for a while. It's really hot today (possibly getting up to 100), it's been a hectic week, and Isaac and I have been getting on each other's nerves. An air-conditioned movie theater, a tub of popcorn and some talking gorillas sound like just the thing we need.