Tomatometer Watch: Brave

"It might cause simple minded people to talk, but I can look at the Big Picture". Well, clearly this debate is over, and we all apologize for dissenting with what is clearly a film genius. You must be very proud of yourself. Of course if I could add, you would be right in keeping in mind that a few failures, hell, even just one failure and one film thats only slightly short of mammoth expectations, would not indicate a ruined company. However, while you're looking at the "big picture", you may want to keep studio politics in mind. For example, Toy Story 3 was a brilliant film in every way, but it wasn't a film Pixar wanted to do; Disney wanted to make it, and Pixar was just imaginiative enough to make the story work, something they were unable to do with Cars 2. Now, they've made a new film thats not quite as good as it should have been. So you had a surprise movie that luckily turned out well, followed by crap, follwed by a slight dissapointment. Its not simple-minded to think that something is amiss, and what it is is merchandise, and Disneys love for it. Theres a reason they made a second Cars, the first one is Disney-Pixars most valuable property in terms of merch. When Up was announced, the stock price actually dropped, because investors didnt see the merchandise opportunity. Now, Disney is more interested in making money than art, and just hoping that Pixar can do both, and it may not be able to forever. And it can't turn down Disney's proposals; Disney now owns Pixar. So, yes, Pixar could come back, but its also likely this will be a trend.

Jun 17 - 01:19 AM

Lenny Monroe

74% I predicted Prometheus at 72% and look at it now. I'm sure this will be the same. The only standout feature of this movie is that it's Pixar's first movie with a female lead character.

Jun 13 - 06:09 PM

Fred Brooks

Yeah, you we're right about "Prometheus" finishing in the low 70's on RT, i myself originally thought it would finish in the 80's on RT. I see "Brave" ending between 75%-85% on RT.

Jun 14 - 07:55 PM

Cierra Howell

I want to see this movie! but there giving away way to much!

Jun 13 - 06:39 PM

I was actually looking forward to this movie enough to read a short novelization of the story in a book store that I was meandering about in. The reviews aren't lying. It's very standard fairy tale fodder, but I have a feeling character development may be a stand out.
SPOILER : the "bear" part of the story is a hell of a lot like 'Brother Bear' (another Disney animation) if you ask me, but that similarity remains exclusively toward the beginning. END OF SPOILER

Jun 13 - 11:27 PM

Brave will likely remain in the 70% - 80% range.

Jun 13 - 11:31 PM

Bigbrother .

The bear portion remind anyone else of The Fox and The Hound? Which I felt was a very bright spot in a slightly down time for Disney the Elder. I've never seen Brother Bear so I can't comment on how it compares to that beyond the obvious Bear connection.

Jun 14 - 01:17 AM

Dawn HAvard

Transformation is at the heart of most fairy tales Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun, etc. etc.

I'm still looking forward to this one. (Well, I'm probably going to have to flip a coin next weekend - heads - A Lincoln - tails - Brave.) A great weekend for movies!

Jun 14 - 06:16 AM

King Crunk

I was hoping this would be a return to the greatness that preceded Cars 2, but it seems it will merely be good. I guess we have to hold out hope for Monster's University now, right?

Jun 13 - 07:07 PM

Bram Sterling

Oh, I do hope that this will be good!

Jun 13 - 07:31 PM

Robert Willert

Brave looks absolutely fantastic, and the story and characters seem interesting. Give Pixar another notch on it's belt of greatness.

Jun 13 - 07:44 PM

Ross Krothe

? seriously? This is DreamWork's How to Train Your Dragon, just rendered in Renderman...

Jun 15 - 10:57 AM

Brian Spiekerman

You speak of it as if it's a bad thing. Do you not see the big fat 98% on that movie's page?

Jun 15 - 10:19 PM

Brandon Cox

Brave has actually been in development long before How To Train Your Dragon.

Jun 16 - 07:16 PM

Laura Ortiz

No, this is how to train your dragon starring me :)

Jun 16 - 09:16 PM

Laura Ortiz

But seriously, it looks like How to Train Your Dragon, but does it remind anyone else of Little Mermaid? Red head making a deal with a witch to change her fate?

Jun 16 - 09:24 PM

Katie Pfeilschiefter

A similar setting does not make movies similar. Setting, creatures, music, etc. Those aren't what make movies identical. Plot and story is. Brave and How to Train Your Dragon only share the issue of having a character with parent issues.

Jun 17 - 12:01 AM

Andrew Rossi

82%

Jun 13 - 07:45 PM

Sarah Johnson

this looks like a great movie! i'd be shocked if it turned out to be rotten..... but anything could happen.......

Jun 13 - 07:57 PM

Eric Turano

dude , i love that movie.....CAR.....:)

Jun 13 - 08:16 PM

Bradley J

I'm so excited for this movie! Maybe it won't be Pixar's best but I'm sure it will be an improvement from Cars 2. Overall I predict it to land at around an 88%.

Jun 13 - 08:24 PM

Tommy D

This is the first Pixar movie that I won't pay to see.

Jun 13 - 08:30 PM

Josh Leitzel

You paid to see Cars 2?

Jun 13 - 10:10 PM

Griffin Hammersmith

I predict it will be 91%.

Jun 13 - 08:33 PM

Honestly. Pixar has a is 11 for 12, with only one miss out of 11 other great movies. Even though some people think Cars 1 was Pixar's worst (this was before Cars 2 came out), I have a lot of friends who love Cars 1.

With Brave, I am predicting that it will be great, because it looks impressive, yes, but then again will people think it's just another How To Train Your Dragon (based on looks, not on story)

Jun 13 - 09:04 PM

But you know, obviously completely different and without Dragons.

Jun 13 - 11:29 PM

Oh yes. But the style is similar. The more naturalistic look, the Scottish accents, the setting similar to Scandanavian setting, complete with the fact that Craig Ferguson is in both movies. But I don't think Pixar will copy Dragon's plot...

Jun 14 - 08:41 AM

I had no idea that Craig Ferguson was going to be in 'Brave'. That actually kind of makes me laugh.

Jun 14 - 03:24 PM

Laura Ortiz

But in fairness, Brave appears to actually take place in Scotland. Why would there be Vikings with Scottish accents?

Jun 16 - 09:29 PM

Ross Krothe

That's exactly what they are doing. DreamWorks has long been doing Animation better than Pixar. People just won't give it up. Pixar isn't going to survive having to split Lasseter's time with Disney.

Jun 15 - 10:59 AM

Are you insane? In the past 4 years, Dreamworks has put out Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek Forever After, Megamind, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, and Madagascar. Save for Shrek Forever After, these were all pretty good movies, but the only masterpiece was How to Train Your Dragon (and arguably Kung Fu Panda). Meanwhile, Pixar has put out Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3, and Cars 2. Cars 2 may have sucked, but it sure as hell wasn't as bad as Shrek Forever After, and the other 4 are 4 of the greatest movies ever made. In what way has Dreamworks outdone Pixar lately?

Jun 15 - 12:02 PM

Of all those, Puss in Boots and Shrek 4 are the ones that I liked the least. And of the Pixar films, only Cars 2 was a flop. I really don't want Brave to be a flop, for the love of all that is good and holy.

Jun 15 - 01:20 PM

I see what you mean, but lets take a moment to clarify "flop". A "flop" means a film that doesn't make money, not a film that's bad. Gangs of New York was a flop, Transformers 3 was not. I know it seems like I'm nitpicking, but a point needs to be made very clear: Cars 2, while a dissapointment, made a lot of money, which means Disney, who forced Pixar to make the film, didn't exactly get punished for its decision. Cars 2 didn't make nearly as much as Up did, but it made up for it several times over with merchandise.

Jun 20 - 03:49 PM

Whoops. Scratch that second How to Drain Your Dragon and add a "3" to the end of Madagascar.

Jun 15 - 12:04 PM

He was Exec. Producer of all those films though.

Jun 15 - 10:43 PM

True, but from an artistic standpoint that's not as significant of a role (I agree it's important, just not when considering the movie as a piece of art). His contributions as exec. producer have been important, but he's not the one who made those movies tug at our heartstrings.

Jun 15 - 11:03 PM

I don't think Lasseter's work at Disney and at Pixar is really being a hindrance.

Jun 15 - 01:18 PM

Yeah, and let's not forget that Lasseter didn't really contribute anything to Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, or Up. They can obviously make great movies without him.

Jun 15 - 03:51 PM

Jeremy Lamb

Pixar also loss brad bird.

Jun 17 - 02:12 AM

Ummm, no they didn't...

Jun 17 - 11:31 AM

Brad's still there. He had a couple of ideas in Toy Story 3. Just because someone has another project not Pixar-related, doesn't necessary mean that they left.

Jun 17 - 12:24 PM

David Maheu

Although I really loved it I think Dreamworks got lucky with HTTYD. Pixar won't be unseated for a long, long time.

Jun 15 - 04:03 PM

I think you're right.

Jun 17 - 12:25 PM

Josh Leitzel

Hmmm, I'm guessing a final rating in the low 90's or really high 80's. 91?

Jun 13 - 10:12 PM

James McKinnon

Pixar's Golden Age is likely over. I have no complaints. Their first eleven films are an unbelievable streak that it'll take fifty more years of looking back to full appreciate.

Jun 13 - 10:51 PM

That's a good way to look at it. Everything comes to an end eventually. You have a better understanding of this than the academy, who neglected Pixar for a Best Picture a good three or four deserved times, because, hey, they can just make another great movie next year right? Well, apparently not.

Jun 20 - 03:54 PM

Tams Bagaturia

There's no way it ending up rotten. I don't get why Up has generated such praise. While I did enjoy it, the second part of the film is a bit loony. Toy story(All tree films considered as one), on the other hand, is one of the best animations released in modern times.

Jun 14 - 12:22 AM

Lenny Monroe

Up was far better than Toy Story 3.

Jun 14 - 04:16 AM

Barney Funk

Dang straight Up was better!!!

Jun 14 - 05:42 AM

Fred Brooks

I still have'nt seen "Toy Story 3", but "UP" was outstanding.

Jun 14 - 07:57 PM

Corey Gallagher

Well, that's like, your opinion.

Jun 14 - 10:59 AM

Jimmy Gee

Yep, and you seem to be new here. Let me explain: This is like, about people's opinions.

Jun 14 - 01:21 PM

Corey Gallagher

You could click on my profile link and see that I'm like not new here, member since 09.

Jun 15 - 11:22 AM

Lol, no offense, but I think you're the one whose new here; otherwise you probably would have noticed that very obvious Lebowski reference

Jun 20 - 03:55 PM

Steven Bailey

TS3 was my favorite movie of 2010, Up was a movie that I wanted to like a lot more than I did but just couldn't, kind of like Wall-E.

Jun 14 - 02:12 PM

David Guti�rrez

As for me, WALL-E is the best movie ever.

Jun 15 - 02:45 AM

Josh Leitzel

Yeah! TS3 was great but I'd give it more of an 85 rating.

Jun 15 - 05:03 PM

Ian Fastert

All tree films?

Jun 14 - 12:53 PM

I completely understand the praise for Up. It understandably hits a higher note with more mature audiences than most other Pixar Films (I mean they all do, but UP has the most appeal to older audiences if you really take all 12 films into consideration). However, UP is not my favorite Pixar film. In fact, it sits towards the bottom tier for me because the first 8 minutes of the film are PHENOMENAL. The story of Ellie and Carl's relationship is flawlessly told and it is without question the best part of the movie, but that's the problem. The best part should not be the opening of a movie. Unlike Pixar's other films UP doesn't improve over time, because it had already reached its peak point. A film should not peak in quality at the very beginning of its tenure because logically speaking the only direction it can go from there is down... which is exactly what happened.

Jun 14 - 03:50 PM

Fred Brooks

Even if that turns out to be true, i'm sure Pixar will still make amazing films, maybe just not as consistantly as they used to.

Jun 14 - 07:59 PM

Lenny Monroe

Don't get me wrong, Toy Story 3 was AMAZING, and easily one of Pixar's best films, but it wasn't in the same league as Toy Story 1 and 2. It still was another trilogy that fell into the "the third is not as good as the first" category.

Jun 14 - 09:53 PM

Herson Cruz

Up was a classic. The best Pixar movie not named Toy Story 3.

Jun 15 - 10:50 PM

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I think Up is spectacular, and I might even consider it the best film of 2009. Toy Story 3 is equally good, but I really can't hank the Pixar features because they all are good. But I'll try.

1. Toy Story franchise (1,2, and 3)
2. WALL-E
3. Up
4. Ratatouille
5. Monsters, Inc.
6. The Incredibles
7. Finding Nemo
8. A Bug's Life
9. Cars 2

Brave will probably fit in between Monsters and Incredibles on my list.

Jun 17 - 01:07 PM

I like it. I'd probably put Nemo ahead of Monsters Inc., but thats just me

Jun 20 - 04:08 PM