To be honest, I was expecting rather more from this feature. It centres around the tomboyish princess "Merida" who is being groomed by her fastidious mother 'Elinor" into a refined and genteel lady befitting her station. Her father, "Fergus" is a bit rougher round the edges but by and large the family - along with the two younger twin boys - rub along ok. That is, until the king and queen announce to their daughter that it is time for her betrothal - and that she just marry one of the pretty hapless heirs from one of the three great clans of the kingdom. Unimpressed, she runs away and encounters a witch who agrees to cast a spell that will change her mother's mind... Well it does a load more than that, and soon the young "Merida" has to reconcile the fall out from her hastily sought wish as well as fend of a legendary bear that has already robbed the King of half of his leg. The adventure is entertaining enough, but the story is too thin to stretch for ninety minutes and despite some characterful and amusing efforts from Julie Walters, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson, I found this just a bit slow. The accents are Scottish, but it really could have been set anywhere and be about anything. The standard of animation isn't brilliant either - it has a very linear style to it that I didn't think so natural, especially as much of this takes place outdoors in a dense and colourful forest. It's still an engaging family film though, one that you could safely leave the youngsters in front of without worry. One from the factory, you might say.
