WHILE writer/director Mark Andrews may have taken liberties with Scottish tradition, it doesn’t greatly matter, for this cheerful animated fable could have happened anywhere.
Pixar’s CG visualisation of the land and its people is delightful, a Disney animation refreshingly uncluttered by cutesy-poo wildlife with human attributes. Its animal content is a savage black bear that took off Fergus’ lower right leg, a soft one that’s actually Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) under a spell that will be permanent if it isn’t broken before the sun rises twice, Fergus’ two hounds and Merida’s Clydesdale whose stable she mucks out daily.
Breaking the spell is one of the story’s two main structural members. The other is choosing a mate for Merida. Will it be a Dingwall, a MacIntosh or a MacGuffin? It’s academic. Merida rejects them all, but Fergus has a jolly time entertaining them during the games to decide the matter.
Great fun, fine for school-age children and over, but perhaps not for littlies.
At all cinemas
Who can be trusted?
In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.
If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.
Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.
Thank you,
Ian Meikle, editor
Leave a Reply