Monday, July 2, 2012

Brave. I loved it.



I took Peanut to her first big-girl movie. It was a Mummy-Daughter date of the most awesome kind.

We left Daddy and the baby sister at home, skipped nap time (!) and headed into the city. Medium popcorn, just-in-case bathroom trip before the film, and then my three year old was perched on a giant theater chair and ready to be enchanted.

And she was.

I don't think she moved an inch during the entire film.

I have to admit, I may have cried a little during the opening scenes. Not as a response to anything on screen, but out of joy and relief that there was finally a Disney movie I could take my impressionable daughter to see, without an under dressed, boy-crazy, marriage-chasing princess as the "heroine", or a suitably handsome rescuing Prince in sight. And (I don't want to spoil it for you) the heroine's marriage may be a plot point in the movie, but it's not the end point. Thank goodness.

Merida (the princess) is a wild haired, impudent girl who rides an enormous horse, knows her arrows from her arrowroots, and finds corsetry restrictive. I loved her.

But I especially loved how her relationship with her mother developed throughout the movie, as they each came to realise and appreciate the strengths of the other, and move from a directing mother - directed daughter relationship to one based on mutual  respect and admiration.

I hope that my relationship with my daughters can do the same, but hopefully without the intervention of a scatterbrained witch with a malfunctioning cauldron voice mail. Cause, you know, I like my witch's technology to work. Disney and Pixar have previously done some fantastic father son movies (Finding Nemo, for example) and it's great to see them successfully doing the same for mothers and daughters. Hopefully they will see that the format works, and make many more!

Get your kit sorted, lady!


Most importantly, I want Merida to come to my house and stay here, as a role model for my daughters. The split second this movie is available on DVD, I'm buying it. Tangled (the Rapunzel movie) is the only Disney Princess movie in our house at the moment, and already Peanut is spouting garbage about marriage and handsome princes. It's insidious, and it alarms me, but hopefully Brave will help me fight fire with fire, even if I bought the fire from the same shop!

But until the DVD arrives, Peanut and I will just keep on chatting over what happened ("She roded the horse! That was my favvite bit. She climb the waterfall! Acksually, that was my favvite bit too...") and eating our treats. Yup, because if you want to win the Mummy of the Year award, and spoil a kid who's been an absolute gem while her baby sister's been sick, don't leave anything to chance. After the movie, hit up the lolly shop. Let her pick one of EVERYTHING from the loose lolly bins (grand total, $3.20) and she'll be yours for life. Well, until you suggest it's bath time, anyway.



So, dear reader, if you have the spare cash and a few hours this week, I suggest you hit up the movies and watch Brave. Show the Hollywood studios that they can make good money in kids movies with strong, empowered female leads. And take your girls, so they get inspired. And take your sons, so they learn that strong willed, smart girls with crazy hair and good aim are heroes, too. You'll like it, I promise.

Now help me out, do you have any suggestions for other movies in the same vein, suitable for very young ladies? I'm not a big film buff, and I could use some advice!

23 comments:

  1. We took the chidlets on Saturday night, and I was impressed with the mother/daughter story line as well....plus I love anything swordy and scottishy....my older kids loved it...little m was a little freaked out by the loud furry snarly creature...but yeah, it was a nice movie.....hope everyone is well now at your home.x

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    1. I loved the sword, scottishy stuff too. I suspect it's deep in my genes! Peanut was surprisingly calm about the whole thing. I kept checking she wasn't scared, but she just patted my hand and said "no mama, I'm fine..."

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  2. I'm so glad you went to see this - we have to be careful what OFG watches as she gets so scared at things - some of Pixar's stuff is not suitable...we only just watched The Incredibles and she had a short time of being afraid of spider shaped robots! I am so glad this isn't another princess movie with the screaming and the dresses etc - bravo!
    Our favourite family movie is Meet The Robinsons - keep moving forward!!!

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    1. Peanut may be a bit of a "girly" girl at the moment, but she seems to weather scary tv thing quite well. Her favourite tv show at the moment (besides play school of course) is Clash of the Dinosaurs, complete with *very* graphic hunt scenes (she cheers the t-rex). So her acceptable violence without fear level may be a little higher than some other kids... I wouldn't use her as a yard stick! I reckon OFG might need to wait a while before seeing this one. It's flat out scary in bits.

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  3. I'd like to see this movie, but I still haven't taken my 4.5 year old to the movies yet. We'd have to practice being quiet, which isn't her strongest quality.

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    1. Well, I find the movies are so loud anyway, it's rare to be disturbed by noisy kids, and seriously, when we went, the adults next to us were as loud as Peanut finds it possible to be!

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  4. Apart from an obsession with pink, usually in a bright raspberry shade (at least she's easy to spot at the shops), Mini has not gone the girly-princess route, no matter what she watches. Of course, having a Star Wars obsessed older brother helps.... Mini is usually Darth Vader.

    Mini quite enjoyed watching Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds with me, but it could easily be a bit scary for kids who are not mine....

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  5. Have you heard of the movie Topgun? A delightful tale of adventure, love and also dabble in a bit of Military Aviation? Kids should love it! There are even one or two musical numbers throughout the piece!

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  6. I'm hoping the budget extends to a movie trip these school hols. Hubby and I both want to see brave, the kids want to see ice age :(
    @ Starr, we stressed about our kids at the cinema, but when we finally took the chance, they were surprisingly good.

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  7. Have you tried watching Mulan or Pochahontas with them? They have strong female leads and aren't stereotypical 'princesses'

    I think Shrek is an awesome example of a beauty within motto. And the prince isn't necessarily handsome.

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    1. Good suggestions! I love shrek, I reckon the girls would too, thanks for the reminder. :)

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  8. I really want to see this now! I've always been a fan of Disney, not for the backward sexist attitudes, but for the music. I'm a sucker for a catchy toon (get it? Ha!).
    ~S.

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    1. *lol*

      I'm hanging out to take my girls to Disney. I'v checked the ride height restrictions, extrapolated their expected heights from the growth charts, and we're going when they are ten!

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  9. Wow that sounds like an awsome movie will have to see that one. Just so happens were taking the kids to the movies tomorrow and it'll be little miss 3s first time to the movies but were going to see ice age. Love those movies funny as. Jodie

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  10. But you forgot to mention THE most important part...

    SHE'S A REDHEAD!!!

    If you think there is a lack of strong female cartoon role models for children, spare a thought for me, very few of the nice heroines of my childhood had red hair. It's a sad fact us redheads are overlooked, and we're usually so cute. (according to my husband).

    I was pretty chuffed to discover Anne of Green Gables, she's probably the most famous childhood role models for us red heads, and if I remember correctly I think Pippy Longstocking had red hair too, no wonder I liked her.

    More female role models please with flaming auburn locks.

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    1. Of course Pippi had red hair! And a horse in her living room :)

      I just reread Anne, it's still absolutely lovely. I can't wait until Peanut hears it for the first time! We're reading Pooh at the moment though.

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  11. Oh, I love Pixar movies. They're wonderful. Up is one of my favourite movies and I could watch Finding Nemo and Wall E anytime. Tiny J is not at the age where he's interested in watching movies but I'm making mental notes of the suggestions here for when he's older. Brave looks amazing.

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    1. Ok, spill, does Wall E make you cry too? I always end up sobbing....

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  12. How exciting! I'm taking my little boy to his first movie this week...was thinking Ice Age 4, but now you've got me thinking Brave.... He is a little red-head and it would be pretty cool to see a red-head protagonist in a kids movie. For this reason I love Busy mum of 3's comment above!

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    1. Well, I ought to warn you, the three little red-headed brothers are NOT exactly the role models you may want for a young impressionable, flame haired lad...

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  13. I saw Brave yesterday, by myself and it grew on me as the movie went on. As I progress into 'grumpy old lady' territory I have diminishing tolerance for uppity teens with no shortage of misplaced self esteem, and my fingers itch to wipe the smug self satisfaction off their (animated or otherwise) faces. I seriously hope this mellows before I have any grandkids in that age group!
    While you and I were tut, tutting as Merida avowed that it wasn't her fault that her mother had become a bear, lots of little (and teen sized) heads in the audience around me were nodding in agreement. While the teens may have 'got it' by the end of the movie, lots of the youngers will have missed that point. I even heard one (14 or so) girl telling her little sister on the way out that the mother had got what she deserved. Hmmm. Perhaps not what we thought was the moral of the story.
    End of grumpy old fart soapbox!!

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    1. I don't think annoyance with uppity teens is a grumpy old lady trait... or if it is, I've reached it prematurely! Probably the year I spent working with new recruits has tarnished me.

      I suspect, however, your grandchildren will be paragons of virtue, in your eyes at least. ;)

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  14. I had a mother-son day with my middle guy and we went to see Brave. We both really enjoyed it, but when you've got three kids part of that enjoyment comes from the simple fact that I had special solo time with one of my three favorite people.
    This isn't a movie suggestion, but I loved the Ramona Quimby books when I was little.

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