The story of Disney/Pixar's new
animnated feature “Brave” was very personal for the film’s directors, Mark
Andrews and Brenda Chapman. They drew from the experiences of their own
families, combining that with their Scottish heritage and love of the country.
With their strong backgrounds in storytelling and filmmaking, they were able to
weave a tale that was original, emotionally stirring and full of thrilling
adventure.
“Brave”
follows the heroic journey of Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong 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 unruly and 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 Witch (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an
ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her skills
and resources—including her clever and mischievous triplet brothers—to undo a
beastly curse before it’s too late, and discover the meaning of true bravery.
There’s
a reason why the story of “Brave” is so relevant, says Chapman: it’s inspired
by a real relationship. “I was dealing with a very headstrong daughter,” she
shares. “She was so passionate and so strong—and she was four at the time. I
thought, ‘What’s she going to be like as a teenager?’
“I
started to imagine what a fairy tale would be like,” continues Chapman, “with a
working mom and a really willful daughter whose strength you don’t want to
squash—but sometimes you do want to squash it a little. But in the end, it
wasn’t a fairy tale at all. ‘Brave’ turned out to be more of an epic
action-adventure.”
Chapman
knew instantly where she’d set this new action-adventure fantasy tale. “I have
a love of Scotland,” she says. “It’s my ancestry, though I’m one of the great
American mutts and my family has been around since before the Revolution, so I
can’t find that old country family connection. Scotland’s just such an amazing
place. It’s beautiful. The people are really hearty and they have an incredible
spirit.”
In
creating the story for “Brave,” the filmmakers took elements of Scottish
history and lore to construct their own legends. A demon bear named Mor’du, the
gathering and unity of the clans, the role of the mystical will o’ the wisps
and a mysterious witch with the power to create change are all rooted in
reality and mythology.
“When
we visited Scotland on our research trip, we met amazing storytellers and
historians who had a big influence on us,” says Larsen. “Scotland is a
storytelling culture—wherever we went, the locals erupted into stories of their
everyday lives and the people they knew. The story of Mor’du was inspired by
the stories we heard while we were there.”
Filmmakers
infused the folklore and magic they soaked up in Scotland throughout the story.
According to production designer Steve Pilcher, even a hint of magic enhanced
the mystical tone of the film. “We evoke the feeling of magic without using
magic,” he says. “Adding lichen to the standing stones or dew drops on the
grass—it catches the light and emits a little sparkle. We created the fantasy
with a natural element, which is great for this story in this place.”
Adds
director Mark Andrews, “The will o’ the wisps are in a lot of Scottish
folklore. They were said to lead you to treasure or doom—to change your
fate—but they’re an actual phenomenon of swamp and bog gas seeping up through
the earth and interacting with the natural resources to create the blue flames.
People would follow these lights thinking they were little fairies, and
basically drown or get sucked down into the bogs. [So] we made the wisps like
actual little spirits.”
Once
Pilcher had that directive, the design of the wisps came together. “We liked
sapphire blue against the natural environment because there's nothing like it
in the rest of the film. That shade of blue is the hottest part of a flame, yet
it feels cold. That contradiction is intriguing and that's what magic is about.
There is a desire to touch it, to follow it, but also a little fear.”
“They’re
almost like Marley’s ghost in a way,” says Andrews, “because Marley’s ghost
isn’t an evil spirit—even though he’s frightening, he’s trying to warn Ebenezer
to change his ways. That’s what the wisps are doing. There’s a duality to them,
because they’re either good or evil—they lead Merida into more and more
trouble, but in the end, they’ve led her exactly where she needs to go.”
Distributed
by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International, “Brave” takes aim at Philippine
theaters on August 01, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select
theaters.
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