Strong character takes the lead in Pixar’s “Brave”

Just as the main character of “Brave” works to defy tradition, so does Pixar.

Cartoon… Just as the main character of “Brave” works to defy tradition, so does Pixar.

Cartoon heroine Merida is everything a typical leading lady is not.

She doesn’t fit the beauty conventions of today with her curly, ginger locks, yet there’s never a critique of her looks — she’s not considered unattractive. Merida is bold and assertive without being portrayed as a completely hopeless tomboy. She’s smart, while still being a child.

And she’s not hurrying to love. Thank you, Pixar, for finally straying from the traditional boy-meets-girl romantic comedy formula that seems inextricably linked with a female lead.

Instead, the plot follows main character Merida’s relationship with her mother, Elinor. The two find themselves at odds over the proper decorum of a princess, such as whether Merida should work so hard on her archery skills and whether she should follow a tradition that involves marrying a suitor who wins her hand in games.

In the midst of a quarrel, Merida runs out and finds a mystical circle of stones that lead her to a witch. There, she rashly and regrettably wishes her mother was different, only to accidentally turn her into a bear. Bears happen to be the king’s sworn enemy after an incident that cost him his leg.

Merida finds out she must “mend the bond torn by pride.” As she and her mother venture through the movie trying to undo the spell, they learn to appreciate each other. Though, even then, there’s the small problem of reversing the bear spell, which involves some more humility.

The plucky, redheaded princess who just wants the freedom to make her own destiny brings a somewhat unconventional heroine to the forefront. Blessedly, Merida isn’t a preachy defiance of the norm, but instead, she’s just a pleasant deviation.

Her character, while perhaps somewhat more mature than the average adolescent — she’s even exceptionally skilled in archery — is also someone you might be friends with. And while the audience roots for her to get out of a marriage to one of the ridiculous suitors, it’s also apparent that she’s somewhat petulant, sometimes churlishly whining and berating her mother.

“Brave,” like other Pixar films, discusses parent-child relationships in the movie, but it tackles the difficulty of adolescence, as well. Merida is just hitting the age where she begins to define herself, a time when many children’s relationships with their parents change.

Frankly, it’s brave for the studio to tackle such a stormy time in her life without patronizing it too much. Adolescence is a delicate subject matter to discuss at a time when many parents and children feel they’re walking on eggshells around one another — after all, the common adolescent phrase “You just don’t understand” isn’t cliche for nothing.

And yet, both female characters are endearing and have merit. This is perhaps because the film doesn’t paint the issue in black and white. Merida’s mother has a very narrow view of appropriate behavior, but Merida reacts to it in a childish and explosive way.

Both of them deserve to apologize to the other and, inevitably, they both do.

On another front, it’s refreshing that Merida isn’t all consumed with love. The movie doesn’t demoralize traditional cinematic romance. It’s just not on the character’s radar. She has a very healthy view: She’ll get married when she finds someone she loves and feels ready, until then, she’ll enjoy her family.

And that includes her dear, or rather bear, mother.