Brave 3D

Set in the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland, Disney Pixar's Brave follows the heroic journey of Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald), a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to change her fate, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane), unleashing chaos in the kingdom. When she turns to an eccentric Witch (voice of Julie Walters), she is granted an ill-fated wish and the ensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her resources including her mischievous triplet brothers to undo a beastly curse and discover the meaning of true bravery.

What a charming movie.  It was a funny story with all the usual laugh out loud and sentimental parts that Pixar animated films usually have.  Being a Scot living abroad it was also nice to hear a lot of Scottish accents together (even if some were a bit dubious) and even I laughed heartily at trying to understand the "Aberdonian" accent of Lord MacGuffin's son.  It also made me a little home sick to see the beautiful Scottish scenery reflected in this cartoon - there is nowhere in the world like it.

My only concern about the movie itself would be that a lot of the humour felt very Scottish and I think it would be lost on your average American movie watcher.  The story was nothing special and there were several things that happened that were not explained.  Why a bear, for example?  Perhaps, I am just overthinking it a bit.

I was also disappointed in the 3D effects.  While it gave the scenery some depth it felt as if the movie had just been an old movie made in normal 2D and then converted into 3D.  There was some scenes that could have been made more dramatic by using the 3D effect in a more effective way.

So if you are looking to pass 90 minutes with a charming animated movie, then try it but don't worry about seeing it in 3D.