Pixar's BRAVE gets Four New Character Posters

PosterMovie BravePixar by Joey Paur

Disney has released four new character posters for Pixar's latest film Brave. This will be Pixar's 13th film, and it looks like it could end up being one of their best. I love the beautiful setting and darker tone that they've created for this Scottish fairy tale. One of the directors of the film, Mark Andrews, talked about the darkness of the story saying,

It’s appropriately scary, as much as it needs to be to tell the story effectively. But it’s not overly horrific or terrifying — we’re not going for a PG-13 rating. You’re in good hands with a Pixar movie, as always.

Andrews goes on to talk about the main cahracter of the story Merida voiced by Kelly Macdonald,

Merida just happens to be, by default, in the society of a princess. We don’t really call her Princess often in the movie. And she’s trying to reconcile this difference between how the world wants her to be, and how she sees herself. Ultimately, she’s going to have to look inside herself, and what she finds in the mirror is not exactly what she expected. That’s kind of our definition of ‘brave’ in the movie — looking inside yourself and coming to grips with who exactly you are.

She can compete with anybody. She knows how to ride, how to defend herself. She can use the sword, and she’s an excellent archer — that’s one of her loves. She climbs and is not afraid to get dirty. She’s very much a tomboy, and kind of unbridled in contrast to her mom, Queen Elinor. The [character] design of Merida is all about this free-spirit nature. Her curly red hair is all over the place. How are you going to visually tame that, you know?

Brave comes out on June 22nd, 2012, and also features the voices of Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltraneand Julie Walters. Check out the new images, and click here to watch one of the most recent trailers. With each of the posters below there a little character description revealing their role in the story. 

Merida’s father, King Fergus, is the appointed ruler of the DunBroch kingdom. “He is the Bear King — this big, boisterous monarch who’s full of life,” says Andrews. “He still has that kind of berserkness about him. He’ll rage, like all good passionate folks, but he cools quickly.” Fergus also sings a “party song” at one point in the movie. “The song’s about his trials and tribulations with the great demon bear Mordu,” says Andrews. “It’s the evil bear of the kingdom — the one that Fergus hasn’t been able to defeat yet and is responsible for taking his leg.”

In contrast to Fergus, Queen Elinor is focused and composed. “She actually runs the kingdom,” explains Andrews. “She’s the smart politico — diplomatic, refined, elegant. Elinor has big plans for Merida, since she’s the next in line. And Merida doesn’t want to do it. There’s this difference between mother and daughter, and it goes back a long ways. When we come into the movie, we show how they were [when Merida was a child] and what they’ve become at this turning point in Merida’s life.”

Merida is expected to marry the first-born son of Lord Macintosh, Lord MacGuffin, or Lord Dingwall. “Lord Macintosh, the wild-haired one who looks like a rat and a weasel, is always looking for the conspiracy,” says Andrews. “He’s not trusting and paranoid about everything. He’s always thinking that somebody’s trying to get the better of him. And he’s got his eyes on you, with those big, googly eyes.”

Macintosh is also sporting blue woad dye on his skin. “That’s a traditional thing for the Picts, which are the ancient ancestors of the Scots,” explains Andrews. “It’s part of that Celtic culture that gives you protection from sword blades in battle, or strength to meet your foe. We wanted to respect those roots, so we gave him some blue woad.”

The hulking blond guy is Lord MacGuffin. “He’s stoic and loyal,” says Andrews. “He is the steadfast, true one. He’s a rock, though he can be bawdy in his own right.” And next to him is Dingwall, the curmudgeon of the trio. “He’s the oldest member of the clans,” says Andrews. “He’s been in the most battles, as you can see by his fused neck and spine. He’s done it all, seen it all, and he will call it as it is. He’s like the guy in your family you never want around because he’s always going to call people on their s—.”

Merida’s younger triplet brothers are named Hamish, Hubert, and Harris. (Clearly Fergus and Elinor are big fans of alliteration.) “You can’t tell them apart, and they steal the show,” says Andrews. “They love sweets and are always getting into mischief. And they can do no wrong as far as Fergus and Elinor are concerned.” Andrews also revealed that the triplets won’t have any spoken lines in the film: “They giggle and laugh — that’s it.”

Here's the synopsis:

Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In "Brave," a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts. Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous 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 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 old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it's too late.

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