Manic Monday: Review of Brave, by Disney/Pixar

Merida, star of the Disney/Pixar film "Brave," released June, 2012

Meet Merida, a Celtic princess fighting for the right to choose her own fate. She's handy with a bow and arrow. She's got a mane of flaming red hair that matches her fiery temperament. The tradition of her land states that she'll marry the man who wins the skill challenge.

Only problem is, Merida doesn't want to get married - at least not yet. And she wants to be in control of her own fate. She's not inclined to marry someone just because they won the challenge.

In Brave, Disney has created a princess story unlike any other that they've made before. First, the mother is alive. Snow White? Dead mother. Cinderella? Dead mother. Beauty and the Beast? Dead mother. Finding Nemo? Okay it's not a princess story, but still, dead mother.

Merida's mother is alive and well and trying her best to forge Merida into queen material. While her mother coaches her on the the ways of a princess, Merida is more interested in riding her horse, shooting her arrows at targets, and generally doing the opposite of what her mother wishes her to do.

While Brave is about a Celtic princess in ancient times, the relationship between Merida and her mother is timeless. I think Disney got this just right. I could almost hear the shadows of my own arguments with my mother when I was a teen, and I could almost hear the foreshadowing of arguments I'll have with my own daughter in just a few years. It's rare to see a movie, animated or live-action, that portrays a mother-daughter relationship in any depth and without pandering to emotional manipulation tactics. I truly enjoyed this aspect of Brave and applaud Disney/Pixar for making a female centered movie that got it right.

The second thing that Disney did here - that they haven't done before - is to create a story that draws heavily on the magic and mysticism of a Celtic tradition. The story is set in the Scottish Highlands and the story prominently features a circle of stones in the plot as well as wisps and other features of Scottish myth and legend.

Given that I have read a lot about Celtic myth and legend as research for my book Emily's House (much of which takes place in Ireland), I really enjoyed seeing this take on Celtic myth on the big screen.

Merida being led by a wisp

And the movie is BEAUTIFUL. Merida's fiery, red hair is the perfect contrast to the lush greens used to paint the Scottish countryside. The rendering is lush and just plain gorgeous.

I've seen some reviews saying that this movie rates up there with Finding Nemo. As much as I loved Brave and applaud Disney for stepping out of their comfort zone with this story, I disagree that this movie will have the wide appeal of Finding Nemo.

Why? Mainly because this movie will not appeal to the youngest viewers. In fact, I think this movie is probably an 8 and up movie. It does not have the fast-paced feel of Finding Nemo, nor is it full of jokes and goofiness. While it has plenty of laughs, overall it is a more serious, relationship centered story. It reminds me more of Up, but without the ridiculous dog stuff that, in my opinion, was a let down in that movie to the opening scenes, but that added the goofy humor that smaller kids might appreciate.

As much as I liked this movie, I also think it is not as tight in the storytelling as it could have been - should have been. Without giving away the surprise in the plot, the story borrowed heavily from a prior Disney film, Brother Bear (which, in turn, "borrowed" heavily from native myths and legends). There is a "been there, seen that" quality to the film which is not present in some of Disney's most popular films.

Additionally, there are moments when the story builds to a dramatic moment, making a big point, but a point which was never returned to later - just dumped out and left hanging. Now this is not likely something that a young viewer will notice, but it bothered me.

For example, there is a scene early on when the clans are meeting in the great hall and a fight erupts. The queen is exasperated. Her husband, the King, cannot seem to wrest control and ends up (joyfully) joining the brawl. The queen clears her throat and merely walks into the throng, standing tall and with poise, and the men stop their fight and listen to her.

The point of this scene is that before it, the queen was trying to teach Merida how to be a queen - how to exude her female power. And then the queen has an opportunity to demonstrate all of the skills she was trying to teach Merida. The scene shows Merida's face and she is in awe of her mother's power in that moment. It is the queen who takes control of the scene, not her king.

This is a great scene. It creates the idea, that you assume will connect up later, that Merida may have a thing or two to learn from her mother after all. That maybe a woman, though not armed with sword or a bow, can exude great power too, through her poise and intelligence. Wouldn't it be great if later in the story, Merida is able to recognize this lesson and see that her mother has a thing or two to teach her?

The problem is, even after all that Merida goes through and lessons she learns, they storytellers never connect up this scene in any way. In fact, it ends up feeling that it is her mother, more than Merida, who learns that Merida has something to teach. Now that's not a bad thing, and it fits with the storyline. But they created this wonderful scene so rich with promise - but the promise was never delivered.

This movie has such great potential with the storytelling - much greater potential than probably any other Disney movie before it. But as a storyteller myself, I felt that they did not deliver on the story's promise. It was like there was no editor telling them to tighten it up and leave no dangling threads.

Isn't this just beautiful? Merida led to the ring of stones by the wisps.

But this is a nit-picky complaint. Overall, the movie is fun, beautiful and tells an engaging story. The backside shot of the men without their kilts is probably worth the price of admission. ;-)

Bottom line: Go see it. It is lush, beautiful and almost perfect. Leave your tiny ones at home - they'll be bored and detract from your enjoyment of the art of this movie. Do take your daughters because it's about time we had a Disney movie with a princess that can actually serve as a role model for strong, capable girls.

Summer Teen Reading Party with Marva Dasef

Happy Wednesday! We continue the Teen Reading Party and I welcome Marva Dasef, author of a fabulous series, The Witches of Gadlorheim, as my guest today. Check out these great covers:

Marva's stories incorporate Celtic mythology by way of Scotland. My first novel, Emily's House, incorporates Celtic mythology by way of Ireland, so I enjoyed this post from Marva a lot! And there is an excerpt of Scotch Broom so be sure to read through and check that out:

SCOTCH BROOM: Book 3 of The Witches of Galdorheim

A magical trip to Stonehenge lands a witch in the Otherworld where an ancient goddess is up to no good.

Blurb:

Kat expects to have a great time on her graduation trip to Stonehenge. However, from the moment she leaves the witches’ arctic island, Galdorheim, she gets in nothing but trouble.  Her younger half-brother tries to horn in on her trip, she gets lost in the magical Otherworld realm, is led astray by a supposed friend, then she has to confront a Scottish goddess who’s fallen on hard times.

While dodging the goddess’ minions and trying to find her way out of the Otherworld, Kat soon learns she shouldn’t underestimate the old has-been for one second; the crone still has a few tricks that can drain a witch’s magic in a flash. To make matters worse, Kat's brother secretly followed her into the Otherworld. Now he’s in danger too.  Kat has to go one on one with the goddess to save herself and her brother.

Leave a comment to win a free ebook of any of the Witches of Galdorheim. To win a GRAND PRIZE, read the posts carefully, then answer the easy quiz on Marva’s Blog at http://mgddasef.blogspot.com between May 27^th and 31^st. All the information and links you need will be posted.

The Cat Fairy, Cait Sidhe

From the Encyclopedia Mythica:

Sidhe (pronounced 'shee') literally means "people of the (fairy) hills". It is the Gaelic name for the fairies in both Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. Usually these fairies are attracted to those who are beautiful as well as wealthy.

Many many, many, many writers are in love with the Celtic myths. I’ve delved into them, too. However, I’m not a big fan of the flitty little cute faeries (or fae or fairies). In Celtic mythology, there’s a fairy (or fae or faerie) for just about any purpose. The “serious” fantasies love the idea of the fairy troupe. More than a few equate fairies to Arthurian legends, many specifically to Merlin.

The third book in the Witches of Galdorheim series, Scotch Broom, is set in the Scottish Highlands, or, rather, the Otherworld which is another dimension that exists within the Flow Country. Of course, I had to include at least one fairy in the mix or I’d be violating some unwritten fantasy rule.

If you write Celtic fantasy, then you know that Sidhe is pronounced Shee in Ireland and Sith in Scotland. I wonder where George Lucas got Sith lords? Hmm.

Anyway, I found a particular sidhe I liked. She’s a big black cat with a white chest. Aha! I happen to have the model for said cat (in a much reduced size) sitting at my door every morning demanding a handout. We call her Bitch Kitty. Yes, she has attitude in spades. So, there’s my model for Cait Sidhe, a companion to my erstwhile heroine, Kat.

Excerpt

Kat has already found two companions: Sianach a stag and Cusith (another sidhe) a giant, green hound. They’re tromping through the swamps trying to find the Trow King’s hall in the middle of the Otherworld (the alternate magic world in the Scottish Highlands).

They marched on in a straight line, having no better idea of which direction to go, while Cusith zigzagged ahead of them with his nose close to the earth. Suddenly, the green hound raised his head and bayed. A moment later, he galloped across the moor, water splashing when his huge paws hit the tiny pools.

“What’s up with him?” Kat asked.

Sianach lifted his chin for a better view. “He appears to be in pursuit of an animal of some type.”

“I hope he’s not hurting some little swamp creature.”

“If he is, then the beast is making Cusith pay for the privilege.”

Kat and Sianach walked faster after Cusith, the dog’s trail marked by flying grass and water. When Cusith finally stopped, Kat and Sianach trotted to catch up. The hound was standing over something furry and black that lay on the ground beneath his huge paw.

“No, don’t! Don’t hurt it,” Kat called out. Cusith turned his head toward her, tongue lolling.

“I won’t. It’s not food.”

Kat reached Cusith’s side and knelt down to examine the raggedy clump of ebony fur. It leapt up, scrabbling for a foothold, but Cusith clamped his paw down harder to hold it still.

“It’s a cat!” Kat reached out with her mind but met the same blank wall she had with Sianach and Cusith. So, she tried the old-fashioned way. “Here kitty, kitty. Nice kitty.” An ear-splitting yowl almost knocked Kat back on her rear.

“I am not your ‘nice kitty,’ you rude thing! I am Cait Sidhe; I’ll have you know. Surely, this stag...and mutt...have heard of me.”

Sianach, who stood to one side to stay out of the fray, nodded his elegant head. “Yes, I know you. Not that it is a pleasure.”

The cat hissed and swiped a pawful of razor sharp claws across Cusith’s foot. The big dog quickly released the black cat. “Sorry. Just having some fun.”

Cait sat up and licked a couple of swipes over the white spot on her chest. “Now you’ve covered me with mud. It’ll take hours to get clean again.”

Although it looked much like a normal house cat, standing Cait Sidhe would reach Kat’s knee. The cat had to weigh in at thirty pounds or more. Both Sianach and Cusith were of the extra-large size, so she wasn’t too surprised.

Kat stood and moved closer to the cat. “Hello. I’m Kat, a witch from Galdorheim. I’m pleased to meet you.” She resisted the urge to scratch behind the cat’s ear. She had a feeling she might end up with severe lacerations.

“I didn’t quite catch your, um, last name. How do you spell it?”

“S-I-D-H-E. Just like it sounds, stupid biped.”

Kat gritted her teeth at the cat’s rude answer but decided to stay calm. “Is that sidhe as in faery?”

The cat quit licking and looked at Kat with penetrating yellow eyes. Curling her lip, she exposed gleaming fangs. “The pronunciation varies, depending on where one is. Sidhe is shee in Ireland and sith in Scotland. We are in the Scottish section of the Otherworld, thus sith is proper.” Cait licked her right paw and swiped it over her ear. “Personally, I prefer shee since it is more commonly used. Nobody seems to say sith anymore.” She tipped her head in Cusith’s direction. “Except that dog, of course.”

“Um, okay. That’s interesting. Are you friends with Cusith and Sianach?” Kat asked.

“Not even.” Cait Sidhe glanced at Cusith. “Cusith is a mutt, or dog, if you will. And I am a cat. We do what cats and dogs do, but we are not friends. Sianach, well, as a meat eater, I see Sianach as lunch.”

“Oh, sorry. I just assumed since you know each other—”

“Do not assume anything in the Otherworld.” Cait Sidhe examined Kat. “What are you doing wandering around in the magical realm? Witches generally stay in the mundane world.”

“Oh, I’m looking for King Connor’s hall. I have messages, or I guess I should say I had messages. Someone stole them and took my map to the hall. Now, I just hope he can get me out of the Otherworld in one piece.”

“I see. Well, I have nothing better to do today, so I’ll come with you.”

“Sure, if you’d like to. Do you have any idea which way to go?”

“I do. However, my path to the Hall isn’t one you can follow.” The cat raised her head and looked around. “Maybe I can find an alternate way. After all, I am a hunter, therefore I hunt.”

“Makes sense,” Kat replied, a little doubtful of the cat’s word. She had the same sense about Sianach’s reasons for helping her. A private matter, he had said. The cat didn’t give any reason at all. Should she trust Cusith? He seemed to be Sianach’s good friend, so that might be his only motive for coming along on the trip. It troubled her she could not delve into the minds of any of them.

* * * *

About Marva:

Marva Dasef lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a fat white cat. Retired from thirty-five years in the software industry, she has now turned her energies to writing fiction and finds it a much more satisfying occupation. Marva has published more than forty stories in a number of on-line and print magazines, with several included in Best of anthologies. She has several previously published books. Her latest pride and joy is the Witches of Galdorheim Series from her super duper publisher, MuseItUp.

Where to find her:

MuseItUp Author Page: http://tinyurl.com/MIU-MarvaDasef

Blog: http://mgddasef.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/MarvaDasef

Twitter Handle: @Gurina

Book Trailers: http://www.youtube.com/user/MarvaDasef/videos