Brave proves Scotland is the last country the world can mock with impunity

The film was directed by Mark Andrews and – initially – Brenda Chapman, Pixar’s first female director of a feature-length film, who came up with the story and original screenplay.

Chapman considered it a fairy tale in the tradition of Andersen, HC and the Brothers G. Alas, there was no fairy tale ending for her as she was replaced by Andrews, which she found “devastating”, while remaining proud that her “vision came through in the film”.

So, what’s it a’ aboot? Well, in the Highlands during medieval-ish times, young, feisty, red-haired (natch) Princess Merida of DunBroch defies ancient custom, bringing chaos to the kingdom. Finding herself betrothed to whoever wins the Highland games, she competes for her own hand and beats all her suitors.

Her protocol-observing mammy, Queen Elinor, isn’t best pleased, so Merida scarpers to the forest where a witch gives her an enchanted cake. As they do. And, no, despite other attempts at Scottish authenticity, the witch was not called Greggs.

Elinor eats the cake and is transformed into a bear. Somebody is crushed by a menhir, a will o’ the wisp gets involved, and some of them live happily ever after. That is the gist. I hope I’m not spoiling the magic of cartoons when I explain it’s not the drawings talking but famous actors doing voiceovers. 

What a cast they had ululating here: Kelly Macdonald voiced Merida (with Peigi Barker, a Gaelic singing lass from the Black Isle, the voice of Young Merida). Emma Thompson was Queen Elinor, Billy Connolly King Fergus (Merida’s boisterous father), Julie Walters the Witch, Robbie Coltrane Lord Dingwall (with Callum O’Neill as Wee Dingwall), Craig Ferguson Lord Macintosh, and Kevin McKidd as Doric-speaking Lord MacGuffin and Young MacGuffin.

Taking the Mc
Ach, they were doing so well. Just as Scottish is the last nationality the world can mock with impunity, so being Mc-Mac is a name to which anyone with a brain the size of a pixel can append something inappropriate, such as McGlib or MacUnoriginal.

A MacGuffin, for those who care, is a fictional US college football award or an equally fictional object, event or character important to a plot but unimportant in itself.
Zatta fact?

Here’s another one: Reese Witherspoon was originally set to voice Merida but either (a) other commitments saw her unable to continue or (b) she couldn’t master the controversial accent. In 2017, asked about tricky accents, she blustered: “Scottish is really …  I was supposed to do … Oh no, I don’t really want to talk about it!” We’ll take that as a (b) then.

The score was composed by Patrick Doyle and performed by the London – natch – Symphony Orchestra. Doyle, who spent research time in the Hebrides studying unaccompanied Gaelic psalm singing, deployed traditional Celtic instruments such as bagpipes, solo fiddle, Celtic harps, flutes and the bodhrán.

He also composed several songs, including the lullaby duet A Mhaighdean Uasal Bhan (Noble Maiden Fair), with Gaelic vocals performed excellently by both the aforementioned Emma Thompson and Peigi Barker.

Pixar created original tartan patterns for three of the four clans – DunBroch, Dingwall and MacGuffin. This resulted in the traditional Scottish stooshie.

The DunBroch was registered with the official Scottish Register of Tartans, a move described by Tory MSP Alex Johnstone as “shallow and irreverent”, and precisely the sort of “nonsense” the Register was set up to prevent. However, Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotia, had no such qualms. 

At the British premiere in Edinburgh, he presented a certificate to director Andrews, averring: “This is a magnificent film – not only is it great fun, but it’s a terrific showcase for Scotland across the world. The scenery, accent, and story are all so real.”

Kelly MacDonald voiced the lead character in Brave

Tartan special
INCIDENTALLY, the Register contains another Disney tartan, the MacDuck, recorded on January 1, 1942 (prior to today’s Register). The official government website notes soberly (we assume) that it is an ancient pattern “as worn by Scrooge MacDuck, uncle to the famous cartoon character Donald Duck and Great Uncle to Huey, Duey and Luey”.

FYI, the DunBroch tartan consists of “ocean blue for the North Sea”, scarlet for “the blood shed during battles between the clans”, deep green for “Scotland’s majestic Highlands”, navy blue for “the forging of the clans within the DunBroch kingdom”, and grey for the Scottish people. 

Fair enough. As I’ve said before, our flag should be a grey cross – because being Scottish is a cross to bear – on a grey background.

Since I’m not DunMumping, Clan DunBroch? Aren’t clans normally named after original chiefs’ names rather than places? Hey, who’re you calling Mr McNerdy?

At the box office, Brave earned $539 million worldwide. Audience response was good, with an average rating of 7/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.

Among critics, Variety’s gave a positive review, saying the film offered “a tougher, more self-reliant heroine” whose spirit “blazes bright as her fiery red hair”.

The Herald’s Alison Rowat gave Brave five stars, describing it as “visually ravishing … funny and moving and thrilling and delightfully daft”. Alison also praised it for having “sneaked feminism into a family blockbuster film”.

However, later, feminists complained when, prior to being “crowned” an official Disney princess, Merida was given a revamp, made slimmer, less frizzy-haired, rounder-eyed – to look like classic predecessors.

Female-empowerment website A Mighty Girl filed a petition: “Say No to the Merida Makeover and Keep Our Hero Brave!” Among the 262,196 signatories, Brenda Chapman, original co-director and passionate Scotophile, said Disney had “betrayed the essence of what we were trying to do with Merida – give young girls and women a better, stronger role model”.

The online petition was successful. Disney discarded the redesigned image.

Snow bother
MARK Andrews, who took over the directorial reins from Chapman, clearly kept the feistiness while discarding original elements such as Scotland being magically covered in snow all summer (Narnia vibes, no?).

He also, as another Scotophile known to wear a kilt at the drop of a Glengarry, brought his team to the controversial country to immerse themselves in the “rich culture”.

This included joining the March of the Highlanders at the Lonach Gathering, six miles punctuated by large drams. “Boy, we were not walking in straight lines on the way back!” 

Yep, that sounds authentically Scottish, all right.

Bizarrely, Robert McNeil is a former BT Scottish News Reporter of the Year and Highlands and Islands Reporter of the Year. It’s been all downhill ever since.