The plot here is sort of what you'd expect from a would-be disney princess tale. A headstrong young girl makes a rash decision with cataclysmic results. She and her allies must do their best to undo the unfolding disaster. Pretty formulaic.
The execution here is key though. Don't judge the movie totally by its trailers. The cut scenes we're teased with all occur early on in the film and really don't drop many hints about the meat and potatoes of the story.
Some things you CAN take from the trailer though... The casting is pretty spot on. Billy Connolly is insanely funny. He fits the over enthusiastic, but somewhat dimwitted King Fergus very naturally. Kelly Macdonald and Emma Thompson face off as a believable disagreeing daughter/mother pair. You totally feel the mutual frustration between the two characters through the voices. As an American, I dig all of the accents too.
Something to look out for if you decide to plunk down your cash to see the movie is the pacing. Brave was directed by not one... not two, but three distinct directors. I'm not sure how the directors themselves divvied up the work, but you can logically divide the film into three segments, each having a definite pace and flavor.
As far as overall atmosphere of the movie, I think that Pixar has definitely outdone itself with the shear beauty of the world they've created. Everything has a seriously earthy, organic feel to it. It's almost like this was a deliberate departure from the safer, more geometric shapes of Cars, Toy Story, or Wall-E.
I think that this film is definitely worth seeing on the big screen. I also predict that we'll see a sequel or two come out of this franchise. I hope the world is ready for a new Disney Princess!
I give this movie 4 CG sheep!
