Brave

I graded this movie as an A+ in visuals by the wonderful, hard-working animators at Pixar, and A+ for music in the score by Patrick Doyle, but only a B for story.  A “B” isn’t really that bad, (and still above average), but it’s just not nearly as good as I’ve come to expect from a Pixar film.

Pixar misses the mark with the storytelling in this film.

The tagline for Brave was “change your fate,” and I’m sure if you saw the ubiquitous trailer this summer, you heard the line, “if ya had the chance to change yer fate, wouldja?” (spoken in a Scottish accent), but I wouldn’t really say that’s the main theme in this movie, –I would say it’s about the consequences our actions can have, and the importance of reconciliation.  (It’s also not really about being brave, so neither the title nor the tagline are terribly appropriate).

Scottish princess Merida of the Dunbraugh clan is “destined” to marry the heir of one of her father’s allied clans.  Merida’s mother is frustrated that her daughter doesn’t seem serious about applying any of her lessons in ladylike behavior and queenly decorum, and the heroine is equally frustrated that her mother doesn’t appreciate her interests and skills in horse-riding and archery and her disinterest in an arranged marriage.  Mother and daughter share a simultaneous line in split-screen about wanting the other to listen to her point of view.

The Queen does put an unbearable pressure on Merida when she tells her, “above all, a princes strives to be perfect,” as if that were attainable, and really doesn’t seem to understand her daughters anxiety and dread of betrothal with a throwaway “Oh, Merida, it’s marriage, it’s not the end of the world!”  For her part, Merida spits a very hurtful line at her mother, shouting, “I’ll never be like you!  I’d rather die than be like you!” as she slashes the family tapestry that her mother has been sewing all her life in two.  The Queen responds by throwing Merida’s beloved bow into the fire.  Both are deeply, justifiably hurt.

Merida runs away and comes across a witch, from whom she buys “a spell to change my mum.  That’ll change my fate.”  Surprise surprise, the spell doesn’t quite do what Merida thought it would.   **SPOILER ALERT**  It transforms her mother’s body into that of a bear.

The “will o’ the wisp”s are supposed to be “magic” or spiritual guides, but they really function as plot devices leading Merida to the place where the next scene happens.

Merida and the bear-Queen return to the witch for help reversing the spell, but she’s gone, having left behind only a potion-operated answering service, (that is supposed to be funny but annoyed me because it was ridiculously anachronistic to the story setting.)  They learn that if it is not reversed before “the second sunrise,” the spell will be permanent and the Queen will become a wild bear.  The formula for reversing the spell is:

Fate be changed,

look inside,

Mend the bond

torn by pride.

Merida and her mother are equally frustrated that the other doesn’t understand her point of view.

Merida and the bear-Queen interpret the witch’s instructions to mean that they must literally sew the family tapestry, torn apart in anger, back together.  This involves sneaking the bear-Queen back into the castle and past the roomful of gathered clansmen, and Merida has to utilize the skills in diplomacy and decorum (to distract the clansmen) and domesticity (to sew up the tapestry) that her mother was always trying to impress upon her.  (Earlier I guess we were supposed to think that the Queen had also come to realize the validity of Merida’s perspective, because as a bear she was quite un-ladylike and ate raw fish.  I’m not sure that being physically forced by magical coercion to behave differently than you normally would counts as empathizing with someone else, but then I wasn’t convinced that the Queen didn’t really understand her daughter’s point of view to begin with, just that she didn’t place much importance on it.)

As you could probably guess, mending the tapestry does not reverse the spell, because the “bond torn by pride” was between mother and daughter.  I was fully expecting Merida to have to utter the “magic” words, “I’m sorry”, but instead the movie went with the cliche and less powerful (in this situation) “I love you.”  Really, Pixar?!  This isn’t Beauty and the Beast!  Love and forgiveness overlap, for sure, but I don’t think they are always mutually interchangeable.  Merida to shouted to her mother’s face that she would rather die than be like her, she ripped apart the project her mother had spent years working on, and she tricked her mother into eating a bewitched pie to “change her.”  Even if she didn’t realize it would turn her into a bear, she was purposefully manipulative, underhanded, and selfish.  The appropriate thing for her to say is “I’m sorry”!  (This is one of the reasons I only graded the story as a B).

Looking at this positively, I guess it could be a good illustration of two scripture passages on anger.  The hurtful words and actions that the Queen and Princess exchange are spoken in anger–all the trouble and hurt feelings might have been avoided if they two had tried to apply James 1:19 to their relationship, which says:

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

The other verse this storyline made me think of was Ephesians 4:26-27:

In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Don’t let the sun go down (or the second sunrise come up) on your anger, or else your mother might be permanently transformed into a bear.  That’s the Brave version of Ephesians 4:26.  I should add that, while the Bible doesn’t place a two-sunrise time limit on reconciliation, it does urge a quick resolution to interpersonal conflict.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:23-24 that it is more important to make our human relationships right than to observe religious rituals:

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Despite the disappointingly weak and predictable storyline, the film is well worth watching just for the stunningly beautiful animation. Just look at the details in the gif below, like her pinky finger clenching, the light on the fabric moving, her ribcage expanding and contracting as she breathes.  And this shot doesn’t even include her hair, which is incredible–I read that Pixar developed new software in the process of making this movie, just to animate Merida’s hair!

In conclusion, this is a good film, it’s just too bad it’s not the great one I was hoping for.  The message of understanding another’s perspective and reconciling broken relationships is good, and it is one of those rare princess films where the girl has her own plot lines independent of any romantic interests.  (One little girl, after seeing Brave in the theater, reported that Merida doesn’t end up with a prince because “none of them were very handsome.” -thanks EBR).

Hugo

Let me just start by saying that everyone should see this movie!  It is my new favorite, the best that I’ve seen so far this year.  It’s a story with a message about finding and embracing one’s purpose and healing from brokenness, depicted through stunning, worth-while 3D visuals, accompanied by fantastic music and wonderful acting.  It’s a movie for movie-lovers, full of praise for cinema as “the world of imagination.”

Hugo's father described his first movie-viewing experience as being "like seeing his dreams in the middle of the day."

Based on the highly unique novel-and-picture book blend  “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick, the story centers on the young orphaned protagonist Hugo, (Asa Butterfield), who is apprenticed to help keep the clocks running in a busy 1930s Parisian train station.  On a quest to finish repairing the automaton he and his father used to tinker with together, Hugo gains a companion in the form of sophisticated-vocabulary-lover Isabelle, (Chloë Grace Moretz).  Meanwhile, Isabelle’s godfather “Papa” Georges Méliès, (Ben Kingsley), is an angry, bitter old man inexplicably upset by the children’s endeavors.

The children with the Automaton, salvaged from a museum.

One of the main themes in this film was purpose. Seen in a conversation over the yet-to-be-repaired Automaton:

Isabelle: It looks sad.

Hugo: I think he’s just waiting.

Isabelle: For what?

Hugo: To work again.  To do what he’s supposed to do.

And later, more beautifully, in an exchange between Hugo and Isabelle about how they might need to “fix” Papa Méliès:

Hugo: Everything’s got a purpose, even machines.  Clocks tell the time, trains take you places.  Maybe that’s why broken machines make me so sad–they can’t do what they’re supposed to do.  Maybe it’s the same with people–if you lose your purpose, it’s like you’re broken.

When Isabelle wonders aloud whether or not she might have a purpose, Hugo responds:

Machines never come with extra parts, you know?  They always come with exactly the right amount of parts they need.  So I thought, if the world was one big machine, I couldn’t be an extra part.  I had to be here for some reason.  And that means you have to be here for some reason too.

While there is no explicit mention of God, this metaphor of the world as a machine begs for a machine-maker, and Hugo’s assertion that everyone has a unique and necessary purpose is completely in line with scriptural passages such as 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, as well as being an inspirational sentiment.  (How much more at peace might we all be if we spent more time earnestly seeking God’s purpose for us in the world, and less time chasing shallow goals to be admired and popular, or clambering to buy the products mass marketing has told us we need, or to fit the mold society has decided we should wear?)

A depressed Méliès describes himself as "a broken wind-up toy," and bitterly states, "My life has taught me on lesson, Hugo, and not the one I thought it would: happy endings only happen in the movies."

Although this story is fictional, many of the events and characters referenced are historical, including Méliès himself.  I found it quite interesting to read up about him and some of the other historical references after viewing the movie, (though you could always read up beforehand if you don’t mind spoilers).

This film is simply terrific.  I was even impressed by the Station Inspector, (Sacha Baron Cohen), whom I had expected would be nothing more than a one-dimensional source of comic relief in the for of slapstick humor, but who surprised me with his depth and humanity.  (Even the “bad guys” have a purpose!)

I will end with the same words that Méliès uses to introduce a viewing of his films, which highlight the imaginative participation of the audience, and may be how I need to kick off any home movie-watching parties I host in the future:

And now, I address you all as you are: Wizards!  Mermaids!  Travelers!  Magicians!  Come and dream with me.

Puss in Boots

Loved it! I wasn’t sure this movie was going to be any good.  You can never tell with spin-offs, they often seem like unnecessary and lazy attempts to make more money off the success of a legitimately good film.  But “Puss in Boots” was certainly not lacking in quality, and though I may have sat down with an “eh, might as well watch this” attitude, I walked out singing, toe-tapping and high-clapping praises. Like a flamenco dancer. A feline flamenco dancer, of course.

This story is meant to be a prequel of sorts to the Shrek movies, but it doesn’t feature any of the Shrek characters except Puss. (It’s his backstory.)  It’s predictably fun, incorporating new variations of fairy-tale motifs and characters, and features almost totally positive messages. I absolutely recommend it.

This cat's got swagger.

In the opening sequence, Puss describes himself as “a bad kitty, a fugitive searching for a chance to clear my name.”  Later, we see just how a misunderstanding, a deceitful friend, and Puss’s own naivite and choice to ignore another character’s warnings to “be careful of the company you keep”, (advice that echoes Proverbs 13:20), led to Puss losing “everything that I cared about; my brother, my honor, my home.  All I thought about was the disappointment in my mother’s eyes, and I have been running ever since.”

A reunification with his old partner in crime, Humpty Dumpty, seems to provide Puss with a chance to redeem his mistake, (which resulted in the loss of the townspeople’s money).  The plot involves magic Jack-and-the-Beanstalk beans, with Humpty plotting, “we go up the beanstock outlaws, and we come back legends!”  Of course everything doesn’t work out just exactly according to plan.  Or, there may have been more than one version of the plan, I should say.

Humpty is a pretty rotton character throughout most of the film.  He’s devious, bitter, vengeful, and just plain mean.  Although I feel bad for the way Humpty was bullied and ostracized as a child, I think it’s clear that much of his isolation, especially into adulthood, was of his own making.  He chose to be bitter and unforgiving, and to act selfishly and dishonorably, despite his adoptive mother and best friend/adoptive brother encouraging him to be “better than this!”

The “Mama” character provides a good moral compass for the protagonists of this story.  At one point she tells Puss, who has his sword drawn and is surrounded by the Comandante’s men, “Pequeño!  Do not fight them, please.  No more running.  Please stop breaking my heart, and face what you have done.”  This speech is successful in convincing Puss to surrender, but even while Puss is misbehaving it is clear that Mama carries an unconditional love for him, but that she disapproves of his choices.

Towards the end, after Humpty’s evil schemes have come to light, Puss urges him to help fix the disaster he has created, saying, “It’s never too late to do the right thing!”  This is a terrific message!  It makes me think of Samson, who after all his mistakes asks God to grant him undeserved strength one last time.

Puss joins forces with Humpty Dumpty on a quest for the magic beans.

***SPOILER ALERT*** When Humpty, at the very end, decides to sacrifice himself so that Puss can save the baby goose and by extension the entire town, because “it’s the right thing to do,” he lets go of the rope they are dangling from.  Puss looks down and sees that amidst his cracked shell there is not a mess of yolk but a solidly golden egg.  “I always knew that you were good inside,” sighs Puss.  The Mother goose scoops the golden egg up with her and flies it and the baby away to their castle in the clouds.  It’s very beautiful and fitting, because when Humpty and the gang are breaking in to the beanstalk land, Humpty cries, “Look at this!  It’s egg paradise!  It’s so beautiful, I feel like I belong here!”  So in a very real sense, what is portrayed in this story is that Humpty changes his heart and his actions, and even though it is after a lifetime of rottenness he is rewarded by being taken to Paradise.  It reminds me of the Parable of the Workers in Matthew 20, where some labor all day and some only an hour, but God can reward everyone with the same price.  None of us deserves heaven, but all of us have the chance to earn admittance, (which can only be by the blood of Jesus Christ), as long as we are breathing.  It’s never too late to do the right thing!  **END SPOILER**

It gets a little confusing at the end, because Puss ends up still being an outlaw, running from the soldiers, even though I thought part of his whole lesson was to face up to the consequences of what he had done instead of running from them?  I mean, granted, it is way more fun to watch Puss and Kitty dance through the credits than it would be to watch Puss sit in jail and await trial during the credits, but still…it’s inconsistent with the main message. (Perhaps the ending is necessary to set up Puss’s eventual meeting up with Shrek and Donkey, in Shrek 2?)  The other bit of content that some might find objectionable in a children’s movie is the way Puss is repeatedly referred to as “a great, great lover of women.  Seriously, it is crazy!” but I think most of those references will go over kids’ heads.
Overall, this was a great film. I really enjoyed it. I saw it twice, and it will definitely be joining my DVD collection.

Puss leaves his mark, just like Zorro. (Ironically, Banderas has also played the role of the masked vigilante on the big screen).