I thought Brave would be about a young girl that has to go to battle and display extreme bravery. My wife thought she would fight a dragon to protect her people. Boy were we wrong. Brave is a re-heated version of Disney’s Freaky Friday, minus the humor, the crisp dialog, the well-drawn characters, and the detailed portrait of the mother/daughter relationship. It contains an extremely boorish depiction of Scottish people (though my largely Scottish wife was not offended,) and a good dose of really obvious, simple-minded humor. I’m not even sure why the title is “Brave,” as bravery is clearly a secondary consideration in the story.

Despite all this, I think Brave is not a bad little film. The animation is gorgeous; as my wife pointed out, it makes you realize just how far animation has come. Kelly Macdonald has the kind of voice that you can listen to all day. And there are some nice little moments strewn about the story. I thought the score was pretty decent as well, even if it seemed a little “canned.”

The children in the Union Square Theater seemed to like it, for what it’s worth.