Metacritic Movie Ratings
Brave Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 80

  out of 100

  Variety

  Brave offers a tougher, more self-reliant heroine for an era in which princes aren't so charming, set in a sumptuously detailed Scottish environment where her spirit blazes bright as her fiery red hair.

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• 80

  out of 100

  Village VoiceMelissa Anderson

  The animation studio's first film with a female protagonist, a defiant lass who acts as a much-welcome corrective to retrograde Disney heroines of the past and the company's unstoppable pink-princess merchandising.

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• 75

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  This is a great-looking movie, much enlivened by the inspiration of giving Merida three small brothers, little redheaded triplets.

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• 75

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  It's a lively, psychologically astute tale filled with humanity, wit and charming performances.

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• 75

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum

  Merida may be a headstrong heroine, a feisty animated hybrid who calls to mind Katniss Everdeen, Bella Swan, and the neo-fairy-tale protagonist who faces off against her evil stepmother in "Snow White and the Huntsman." But she is also, for safety's sake, a nice girl in a pretty green dress who loves her family and believes in dynasty.

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• 70

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan

  Brave simply doesn't feel as much like the Pixar movies we've come to expect.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The New York TimesManohla Dargis

  The tussling between Elinor and Merida is familiar, but while the mother-daughter clashes may make the story "relatable," they drain it of its mythopoetic potential, turning what could have been a cool postmodern fairy tale into another family melodrama.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthy

  Visually stunning and strongly voiced, but doesn't take any real risks.

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• 60

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  This is less a film in the lustrous Pixar tradition than a Disney fairy tale told with Pixar's virtuosity. As such, it's enjoyable, consistently beautiful, fairly conventional, occasionally surprising and ultimately disappointing.

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