Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2012

Hey, what’s up with Pixar? For 11 films it was the most consistently successful production company in film history, releasing delights like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Cars. These were all visually groundbreaking and highly entertaining, but, more importantly, they were emotionally engaging because the company never went to work until it had a good, original story. My belief that its tie-up with Disney would not derail this admirable filmmaking philosophy was weakened with last year’s lackluster Cars 2, and with Brave, it seems as though the formerly trend-setting studio has been reduced to a supplier of merchandisable princesses to the bland entertainment giant. Merida, a strong-willed (bratty) Scottish princess at odds with her mother over an arranged marriage, slips mom a magic tart (untested drug) obtained from a witch (street dealer) that will “change” her mom. It does. Into a bear. And dad’s a renowned bear hunter. Oh dear. It looks great, but almost all animations do these days, and for a movie so named, precious few risks are taken. The storyline is thin, there’s no romantic element or clear villain (unless you count brattiness), little narrative momentum and zilch sense of wonder. Get it together, Pixar.