As a mom of four girls I know how difficult it can be to raise a headstrong woman coming into her own. I was one myself and I still very much am.
Last month I had the pleasure of visiting Pixar Studios in San Francisco and met Katherine Sarafian, the 
producer of BRAVE, the story of a fiery red-head named Merida who often disobeys her parents, which is a typical characteristic of a girl coming of age.
While I was only able to view the first 30 minutes of Brave, I was very interested in knowing if Merida’s actions would have any consequences. While I appreciated seeing a true to life scenario of what parents like me often deal with, I think it is important for young girls like my daughters to see that Merida’s defiance on screen would show that there is some retribution for her acting out.
Says Katherine, “There are tremendous consequences and we’ve offered up a character who is willful and strong and very sure of herself but also a member of a family, a royal family with huge ripple effects of any decision she makes and any reckless choice she makes. When you see the full movie I think you’ll know what I mean when you see that there are serious consequences for her behavior but without that rift in the beginning you cannot have healing. We really have tried to create something that’s about the relationship of a family and how it grows and develops during a, during a teenager’s coming-of-age.”
Katherine said Brave is an original story and it’s conceived by Brenda Chapman and based on the relationship similar to how Brenda butted heads with her own daughter. I haven’t seen the full movie yet because it comes out June 22nd. But it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I’ll keep you posted.
Brave is the story of Merida, a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the 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). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.
Make sure to like Brave on Facebook for all of the latest news!
Disney/Pixar provided me with an all expenses paid trip to San Francisco for an advance screening of Chimpanzee and select footage from Brave. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Comments are closed.