Rebellious City

Brave is a 2012 American animated fantasy adventure film directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and written by Andrews, Chapman, Steve Purcell, and Irene Mecchi. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, it stars the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson. Set in the highlands of Scotland, the film tells the story of Princess Merida of DunBroch (Macdonald) who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed. When Queen Elinor (Thompson), her mother, is turned into a bear, Merida must look within herself and find the key to saving the kingdom. Brave features Pixar's first female protagonist and is their first film animated with a new proprietary animation system, called Presto. Originally titled The Bear and the Bow, the film was first announced in April 2008. Chapman, who had just wrapped up work as a story artist on Cars (2006), drew inspiration for the film's story from her relationship with her own daughter. Co-directing with Andrews, Chapman became Pixar's first female director of a feature-length film. To create the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years. Brave is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. Patrick Doyle composed the film's musical score. Brave premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 10, 2012, and was theatrically released in North America on June 22. Receiving generally positive reviews, it was a box office success, grossing $539 million against a $185 million budget. The film won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The film was dedicated to Pixar chairman and Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who died before the film's release. Merida became the first character in the Disney Princess line to originate from Pixar.