Brave....Are YOU Brave Enough?

I was lucky enough to be invited to see an advanced screening of this new Disney movie (at the Disney Studios no less!!) and I thought I would share my thoughts with you.  These opinions are my own, even thought I was invited :)

Brave is a tale of a young princess who is torn between her mother's wish for her to stay true to her destiny, and her own longing to be true to herself.  Merida, the main character, is a fiery free spirit who wants to buck tradition and live life on her own terms.  Her mother, the Queen, tries to teach her the ways of a proper princess.  Pushed to the edge, and led to a witch by some magical wisps, Merida goes to great lengths to change her fate.  In the end, this story is a love story...between a mother and daughter.  This clip sums it up rather nicely.



Now, this movie is rated PG for a reason.  It really is scary.  There are some very large, very ferocious, very loud bears who take center stage for a good portion of the film.  Because of this, my 5 year old daughter spent a bit of time in my lap.  (On the whole though, she did love it....especially when the little kids in the movie run around naked.  She thought that was hilarious)  However, because of the PG rating, it is automatically out for a showing in my classroom.

What I think is most applicable to the classroom (because this is, after all, a teaching blog ;) ) was the digital short before the movie!  It is called "La Luna" and it is a PERFECT myth story to explain how the moon changes shape.  I LOVED it.  As a teacher watching this, I could see so many applications to my own classroom and study of the phases of the moon, as well as when we study myths and creation stories.  It was really great.  Here is a little clip of it.



On the whole, both my daughter and I enjoyed this movie (minus the scary parts ;) ) and I REALLY enjoyed the relationship that you see developing between Merida and the Queen. It is very special.  The animation on this film is also AMAZING!  It is so lifelike.  At times, you forget you are watching an animated film (until the people walk on) I also hope that when it comes out on DVD, the digital short is on there as well. I can't wait to show that to my class!