Brave

This sweet, spirited Pixar animated action fantasy tale set in medieval Scotland introduces a spunky teenage princess named Merida. Willful Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) has often found herself at odds with her prim-and-proper mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), but never more so than when she's told she must prepare for marriage. Schooled in bow and arrow skills by her goofy, garrulous father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), Merida rebelliously bests three bumbling suitors—scions of neighboring clans—in an archery tournament, jumps on her Clydesdale horse, and defiantly rides off into the Highlands. Following twinkling blue will-o'-the-wisp, she meets a devious, wood-carving witch (Julie Walters) and begs for a magical spell that will change her mother's mind about traditional arranged weddings. But when the spell turns out to be an ill-fated curse, Merida is faced with the challenge of righting the mistake she made. Conceived for modern audiences, this mother/daughter story from directors Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Purcell veers away from the standard European fairy tale mold of having a passive young woman wait around for a handsome prince. Instead, our Celtic heroine with cascades of curly red hair explores her own path, finding exciting adventures along the way. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by director Mark Andrews, co-director Steve Purcell, story supervisor Brian Larsen, and editor Nicholas C. Smith), the 2011 theatrical short “La Luna” (7 min.), “The Legend of Mordu” character short (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Brave Old World” location featurette on Scotland (13 min.), extended scenes (13 min.), production segments on “Merida & Elinor” (9 min.), “Once Upon a Scene” (8 min.), “Magic” (7 min.), “Bears” (6 min.), “Brawl in the Hall” (6 min.), “Clan Pixar” (5 min.), “Dirty Hairy People” character design (4 min.), “It is English…Sort Of” on the dialogue (4 min.), “Angus” (4 min.), “The Tapestry” (4 min.), and “Wonder Moss” (3 min.), as well as an alternate opening (3 min.), a “Fallen Warriors” deleted montage (2 min.), a promo section with trailers, an art gallery, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning Disney animated film.] (S. Granger)