“Brave” is a Disney/Pixar animated film set in Scotland. This movie is a well-written enchanting tale that was fun to watch. This was a very unique tale and unlike anything Disney and Pixar has released before. The whole story is set around Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) and her wild and crazy royal family. However, Merida is not your typical Disney Princess because she is never the “damsel in distress,” doesn’t have a love interest in the movie, is an expert archer, and does a great job of taking care of herself and kicking butt. The only issue is Merida’s mother, Queen Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), wants to follow tradition and holds a competition to find a suitable husband for her daughter. Merida does not want to get married and makes a deal with a witch that causes chaos for everyone.

In true Pixar fashion, the visuals were stunning and so realistic. From the amazing scenery to the character models to the weather conditions and lighting, Pixar paid attention to every fine detail. They also included several Pixar Easter eggs throughout the entire movie to make things interesting. As for the 3D, I like to think Pixar has perfected the proper use of 3D without being too cheesy and gimmicky. Some of the best movies to view in 3D are animated films and “Brave” was no exception to this rule and at the top of my list of really well done 3D movies. As I watched the whole movie, I was in total awe of how well Pixar manages to outdo themselves every time.

In true Disney fashion, the music was very fitting, memorable, and helped set the mood of the film. The music for “Brave” helped pace the movie and set the tone to make you feel like you were in Scotland. The songs were never forced and fit very nicely into the storyline. The sound quality was also very sharp and immersed you into the movie. My husband loved the music so much he said he would want to either buy or download the soundtrack to add to his music collection. This is one area Disney never gets wrong and seems to excel with all of their movies.

The only issue I did find with this movie was the slight disconnect. It seemed to take a while to get to the actual conflict of the movie and there wasn’t a clear villain until halfway through the movie. I just felt the other Pixar movies were a bit more cohesive in their characters and storylines. However, it was different and did not follow the other Disney Princess movies, which was a breath of fresh into the Princess Lineup. However, I think Princess Merida is a good role model for young girls these days. My 3 year old niece loves this movie and I think it is cool she has a strong independent woman to look up to instead of waiting for her prince to come and save her like the other movies. Besides “The Avengers,” “Brave” was one of her top movie picks of the year and I can see why.

Lastly, they loaded the Ultimate Collector’s edition with a ton of extras. They included everything from short films to alternate and extended scenes to trailers to art galleries and so much more. This particular pack also included the movie in 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, a digital copy, and another Blu-ray filled with extras. The extras alone were enough to make this edition more than worth the buy. Overall, I loved the movie and I highly recommend watching “Brave.” Besides the mentioned minor issues, this movie was very well done and totally worth it to buy, especially if you have little ones at home. For those reasons, I am giving this movie an “A.”