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You are here: Home / Archives for brave

Have a Brave On Demand Viewing Party

November 19, 2012 by Momstart 4 Comments

When we have a Brave party we go all out. On Demand Video sent us some swag to enjoy our very own in home viewing party and we went above and beyond so we can practice for my daughter’s birthday party. She’s got her mind set on having a Brave themed birthday party. So we got out all of the supplies we already had an we combined with the things that On Demand sent us and had a blast. Brave is our family favorite movie right now. We’re going to watch it over and over and over……

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Disney Pixar’s BRAVE is Now Available On Demand – contact your Cable or Satellite provider to order BRAVE on demand now!

Pixar Animation Studios whisks you away on an astonishing adventure to an ancient land full of mystery and tradition.  Bursting with heart, unforgettable characters and Pixar’s signature humor, for the whole family.  The Film is rated PG.

 

Set in the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland, Disney Pixar’s “Brave” follows the heroic journey of Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald), a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to change her fate, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane), unleashing chaos in the kingdom. When she turns to an eccentric Witch (voice of Julie Walters), she is granted an ill-fated wish and the ensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her resources—including her mischievous triplet brothers—to undo a beastly curse and discover the meaning of true bravery.

Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and produced by Katherine Sarafian

Zoe walked down the red carpetIMG_1914

Miles and Zoe put together the Brave themed puzzle. IMG_1909

We had drinksIMG_1908

We had popcornIMG_1919

We decorated with our movie posters

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and had our pictures taken on the backdrop.

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Oh and you can watch your favorite movie without getting all dressed up too.

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You can enjoy Brave at home anytime as well just Contact your Cable or Satellite provider to order BRAVE on demand! (Starting November 13th)

Like BRAVE on Facebook

Visit the official website

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We received samples.

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: brave, Disney, movie, On Demand, Pixar

Merida’s Coming Home Your Home: Brave to Blu-ray 3D & DVD Combo Pack

November 6, 2012 by Momstart 10 Comments

Disney Pixar’s Brave is the movie I’ve seen three times and it’s not even out on DVD yet. Merida is Zoe’s princess, everyone’s princess she’s the princess that really doesn’t need a prince, at least she’s not ready yet. She does need her mom and Brave is the story of finding the path to a solid relationship with her mom. The movie ended up having a completely different story that I hadn’t expected.

clip_image002Disney•Pixar will be releasing BRAVE, the year’s #1 animated movie and Pixar Animation Studio’s 13th consecutive hit, on November 13, 2012. An original and thrilling journey set in the ancient and magical Highlands of Scotland, BRAVE follows the heroic journey of the headstrong, young adventurer Merida.  Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida confronts tradition and defies an age-old custom that inadvertently unleashes chaos, and forces her to discover the true meaning of bravery.

Set in ancient Scotland, Brave is abundantly green and lush and absolutely gorgeous. Pixar left no detail untouched. The land, the mountains, the waterfalls, the people and the hair are all amazing. Merida in particular has the most fiery red curls that are full lush and wild like she is. Yes Princess Merida is wild as any proper teenager should be, she’s not your typical princess. She’s a person that makes mistakes and doesn’t need a prince to come and save her and that’s how Brave differs from most of your princess stories.

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A breathtaking adventure that has entertained audiences of all ages, the stunning Blu-ray release of BRAVE includes hours of all-new bonus material, including extraordinary behind the scenes features, extended & deleted scenes, a mysterious and exciting, new short film, ‘The Legend of Mor’du,” and much more!!!

Like BRAVE on Facebook

Visit the official website

 


Oh and be sure to find the Hidden Mickeys or Gems in Pixar’s Brave

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: brave, Merida, movie, Movie review

Mattel’s Brave Adventures with Princess Merida Toys

July 20, 2012 by Momstart 347 Comments

Mattel was kind enough to send us some really cool Brave dolls. Zoe’s been ecstatic playing with them and the Merida doll actually went to Utah with us and had quite an adventure in the car with us playing with Batman and Ironman. Here’s Zoe as she found out about the dolls

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Brave Princess Merida
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The details about what we received:

Brave Gem Styling Merida doll gives girls the chance to decorate Merida’s signature blue gown or red hair with “gems.” They can even flip her reversible cape to reveal a beautiful sparkly print. $20.99, Age: 3+IMG_2951

Brave Castle & Forest Playset brings Merida’s magical world comes to life. When closed the play set is outdoor “forest” where Merida can venture with Angus. Open the play set to play out Merida’s life within the kingdom. $26.99, Age: 3+

How she plays with them:

Brave Gem Styling Merida is the doll that went to Utah with us. She plays with her all the time. Zoe LOVES jewels and the fact that this Merida doll came with jewels was phenomenal to Zoe. She loves princesses and she loved Merida in Brave. So seeing a princes that has the same interests as her just made her beautiful day.

Now the Brave Castle & Forest Playset has been a great playset for her and her brother. Sometimes Zoe will let Miles be the horse Angus and Merida gets to ride on him and that’s fun for both of them. It’s actually kind of funny when Zoe won’t let him play with Merida but she wants to ride Angus. I haven’t figured out how that’s going to work for them but somehow when the yelling stops they’ve agreed on something. LOL.

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Just this morning she set the whole thing up for me for the perfect set of photos. She gave Merida the bow so Merida would set it on the table just to upset her mom. Yes she actually did. She also said that she lets Belle be Merida’s mom sometimes, but she didn’t want to go upstairs to find Belle. I was ok with that. I’m just glad she was ready for the photo opp!

What kind of play do toys invoke from your children?

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Jennifer R.

 

we received samples

Please see the giveaway rules

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: brave, giveaway, Mattel, Merida, Princess Merida

Disney Pixar Brave World Premiere Event in Photos

June 22, 2012 by Momstart 26 Comments

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Earlier this week I saw Brave on the red carpet. The carpet was actually green like the beautiful lush surroundings of Scotland. Pixar captured the look and feel of Scotland in grand details through their talented animators. I was blown away with how outstanding Brave looked in 3D too. While walking the red carpet I had my camera out and snapped a few shots of my friends.

 

IMG_2716red carpet

I had a fantastic time seeing so many new friends and old friends. I feel like I had time to talk to everyone on the trip, almost everyone. It was a jam packed event where one day I walked 12 miles and one day I went hiking and on day, I was doing the red carpet and surrounded by movie stars and blogging stars.

And Disney captured amazing shots of the stars on the red/green carpet of the World Premiere of Brave.

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Pixar’s Brave Red Carpet Photos of The Stars
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And the after part of the red carpet premiere of Brave was more than I expected. There was amazing Scottish food including Haggis and fabulous desserts and a whisky tasting. I had fun getting my face painted and listening to the music and shooting arrows. It’s amazing but with Disney and Pixar no detail ever gets overlooked. I’m honored to be included in the Disney Family and having the opportunity to walk the red carpet. IMG_2739

Brave came out in theaters today June 22.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: brave, celebrities, green carpet, Movies, Pixar, Red Carpet, stars, world premiere

Disney Pixar Brave Princess Merida Royal Costume, Wig, & Brave Merida Doll Giveaway

June 22, 2012 by Momstart 210 Comments

I rushed home after a long Brave Press Event that included the green carpet premiere to be with my family. I hopped on a plane headed straight for the theater my family was at and made it just in time to see the movie Brave for a third time. I love it and actually want to go see it again. A friend of mine wants to take her daughter to see it with my kids and I’m excited to go with her. Yes I loved Brave so much I would pay to see it again and again. I’m going to get the blu-ray as soon as it comes out.

Brave poster

My friend Connie put together a giveaway of the swag she received from the press event we were just on.

Enter to Win:

In celebration of the movie releasing today, the first BRAVE giveaway prize pack is perfect for the 3-4 year old girl! It includes everything included here:

  • Merida Wig ($19.50) – One size fits most, made of man-made materials, Imported, Part of the Disney Store Brave Merida Costume Collection
  • Toddler Brave Merida Doll — 16” H ($24.50) – The Disney Store re-imagined Merida, the heroine of Disney/Pixar’s Brave, as a young toddler. This sassy little doll exudes the same courageous and fiery attitude as her teenage counterpart.
  • Merida’s Royal Dress – ($19.99) fits ages 3-4, made of polyester with an easy-close fastener.

The retail value of this toddler prize pack is $64.

To Enter:

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My giveaway rules still apply!

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: brave, Disney, giveaway, Movie Giveaway, Pixar Merida

Interview with Pixar Story Artist Louis Gonzales and His Involvement with Brave #BraveCarsLandEvent

June 21, 2012 by Momstart 10 Comments

The Process of the Story Brave with Artist Louis Gonzales

I’ve been with Pixar since 2000 and I joined BRAVE in 2006. I left for a year and came back the last year to work on the story, to help finish it up.

Storyboard scenes are where we start to develop the story and we actually make it look cinematic., so it’s more like a movie. Then the editorial is where it really becomes a movie, that’s where the sound effects, you know, dialogue and all that kind of stuff like that starts to take life. And that is all in service of getting to the progression reel which is our end milestone, that’s what we show, that’s what gets critiqued. That’s what gets us to make the movies and to tell the stories that we tell.

The outline is something that after the director’s idea has initially been thumbed up like that story about the mom and daughter who are having problems.

Once that’s given, they’re like great, we want you to now develop it. Development is very important. We keep building, we keep refining until we give everyone the story that we feel most proud of.

The Outline of Brave Process:

Basically the story’s about a mother and daughter who don’t see eye to eye. The daughter’s really rambunctious and athletic. She likes to be outdoors.Even though she lives in a kingdom, a castle in Scotland. Then we create some art.. This is all art generated to give a sense of the look could be. We don’t want the Cinderella castle, we want a very earthy castle. You know, the forest could be very ancient trees, very overgrown. And feel very old world. A lot of moss growth, you know, something that feels not primitive but, very, very lush. We know we want to have a sense of magic of some sort in this world because it’s, it’s a story, set back in 900 A.D., there’s going to be a little bit of that."BRAVE"

We pitch that and we get the thumbs up from the creative board to keep moving on. Now we go from an outline to a full fleshed story. They give us the budget to start to research. Buy books, buy movies. To talk to people. And sometimes even go on trips. For UP we went to Venezuela. For TOY STORY 3 we got to go to the Oakland dump

We got to go to Scotland because Brave is set in Scotland. And we spent ten days trying to soak up as much as we could of Scotland. Culture, people, places, locations, bugs, animals. clothing. Water, whatever you can thank of. Everything that was there that Scotland had to offer, we took in. And here are some pictures that I took. So we would look at, you know, traditional castles, we’d look at old castles, we looked at scenic landscapes, we looked at landscapes that looked like they were out of, you know, some sort of mythical fairy tale. "BRAVE"

The one above is actually called the Fairy Citadel. You know, people believe that fairies at one point lived in this, earthen castle, it’s actually just not man made, it’s a natural structure. We would look at architectural stuff, Scottish architecture of black houses, because we wanted a sense of how a castle’s made. How houses were made. And so on and so forth, again, we’re soaking up stuff for our story. We’re not sure what we’re going to need yet. But we know that we want it to feel Scottish. "BRAVE"

So we take pictures, of the loch, to get a sense of the feel of the environment, weather, animals and people. We met a group of local folk singing. And they weren’t a band they’re not famous in Scotland. They are just a group of people that like to play folk music. So they met us sang us songs and told us stories and answered all of our questions about everything that we had to ask. They were very gracious. We also got to go to see the Highland Games, we wanted to see how tossing, archery, anything that was Scottish, you know, as far as the games go. We wanted to experience it, We met this farmer who takes care of Clydesdale horses. And we knew that we were going to have horses in our film obviously, right ‘cause the movie is set in 900 A.D."BRAVE"

We want these very, very strong Clydesdale horses, and so we got to this farm and feed them apples and watch them work. We take pictures and draw. We’re really trying to soak up the land. We’re looking at everything that Scotland has to offer and my job is to draw and take pictures. I think as a group total we must have taken at least 10,000 pictures in Scotland.

I had never left the country up until this point. Ok, so I’m born and raised in L.A., yeah, so it was huge for me.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: brave, Louis Gonzales, Movie review, Pixar

Disney Pixar’s Brave Movie Review #BraveCarslandevent

June 18, 2012 by Momstart 24 Comments

I saw Disney Pixar’s Brave and loved it. It took a much different turn than I expected and I still found it amazing. And I have to say that it’s excellent in 3D and not, which surprised me because I usually don’t really enjoy 3D movies very much.

Set in ancient Scotland, Brave is abundantly green and lush and absolutely gorgeous. Pixar left no detail untouched. The land, the mountains, the waterfalls, the people and the hair are all amazing. Merida in particular has the most fiery red curls that are full lush and wild like she is. Yes Princess Merida is wild as any proper teenager should be, she’s not your typical princess. She’s a person that makes mistakes and doesn’t need a prince to come and save her and that’s how Brave differs from most of your princess stories.

 "BRAVE"   (Pictured) MERIDA. ©2012 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Her mother the queen is in charge of the entire kingdom, everyone has her respect and follows her guidance just by the look in her eyes and the way she carries herself and she finds it her duty to teach everything she knows to her daughter. Her daughter doesn’t want to know everything, she doesn’t want to be in charge or accept her responsibilities and that’s the main point of the story. Can the mother and child come to terms, can they learn from each other, can they see eye to eye. BRAVE

Scare factor: So many of the children’s Disney movies have a scary part in it. Brave is no exception, as a parent you need to decide what your child can handle. My children, I feel can handle it. I think it might get intense but they will be fine. They’ve grown and changed a lot over the past year and don’t mention being afraid as often, or they say that was scary but I liked the movie. My kids are 4 and 5 and yes I’m letting them go see the movie on Wednesday night. It’s up to parents, if you need to see the movie beforehand than do so. Some of the bear scenes can be intense.

Spoiler: The mom becomes a bear and her life becomes endangered. You can read the ending in any children’s book and talking to your kids about the ending might help prepare them.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: brave, Movie review, Pixar, Pixar’s Brave Movie Review

Happy Father’s Day from Pixar’s Brave #BraveCarsLandEvent

June 17, 2012 by Momstart 15 Comments

I’m sad that I’m not home for Father’s Day this year, but excited for the reason. I’m going to be at the Red Carpet Premiere of the Pixar Movie Brave, so I thought it fitting to wish all you dads out there Happy Father’s Day from Brave.

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Brave will be in theaters Friday June 22nd.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: brave, Father's Day, movie, Pixar

Pixar’s Brave Fun Movie Facts: The Characters

June 17, 2012 by Momstart 19 Comments

Brave Characters

Merida

"BRAVE"   (Pictured) MERIDA. ©2012 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

OH MOTHER – The story of Merida and her relationship with her mother, Queen Elinor, was inspired by director Brenda Chapman’s own relationship with her young daughter.

COSTUME CHANGE – With five dresses, plus a cloak, quiver, hand wrap and necklace, as well as torn dresses, Merida has a total of 22 different costumes. She also has five different hairstyles. Diva? Never.

GOOD HAIR DAY – Merida has more than 1500 individually sculpted, curly red strands that generate about 111,700 total hairs.

BIG STRETCH — If Merida’s curls were straightened, her hair would be four feet long and reach the middle of her calf.

Queen ElinorBRAVE

UNWRAPPED – If Elinor’s hair were unwrapped, it would be about six feet, six inches long.

King Fergus

COMPLICATED KING — Fergus wears nine different simulated garments at the same time—each has its own movement that must be “simulated” by algorithms in the computer. His head hair and mustache are also simulated, as well as his sporran (pocket-like pouch) and scabbard (sheath for a sword). He has arm hair, chest hair, hair lining in his boot, as well as a full bear pelt on his bear-clawed cloak—all of which are simulated in some way.

LOTSA LAYERS — To achieve the mass of Fergus’s kilt, the drape going across his chest has eight layers of cloth folded over and interacting with each other and other garments. The left, right and back sides of the drape have six layers each.

The Lords"BRAVE"

A LITTLE FUZZY – Pixar artists divied up the Lords’ hairier characteristics in unique ways:

· Lord Dingwall has chest hair, arm hair, back hair and ear hair.

· Lord Macintosh and Fergus are the only characters with fur on their boots.

· Lord Macintosh is the only character with fur on his sporran.

TARTAN TIME — For each clan, artists at Pixar created a new, unique tartan design.

TAKING LIBERTIES — The DunBroch tartan pattern is physically impossible to make with traditional tartan weaving methods.

Tertiary Characters

HAIRY SITUATION — There are more than 100 unique hair/facial hair combinations used in “Brave” for human characters and animals.  Each variant can appear in any of nine different colors, creating more than 900 hairstyle/color variants.

Animals

FOUR-LEGGED FUR – Hair was created for 70 different animals—some living, some living forever as taxidermy—including 11 horses, 13 birds 7 bears, 16 other animals and 23 animal pelts.

THE WORLD IS MY INSPIRATION – The demon-bear Mor’du’s skin textures are based on satellite images of scorched earth.

Brave will be in theaters June 22nd.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: brave, Disney, Elinor, Fergus, Merida, movie, Pixar, The Lords

Pixar’s Brave Fun Movie Facts: The World of Ancient Scotland #BraveCarsLandEvent

June 17, 2012 by Momstart 17 Comments

The World of Ancient Scotland

AMBIANCE — The art department crafted approximately 350 paintings of leaves, brush and moss to create the appropriate atmosphere for the Scottish Highlands during ancient times."BRAVE"

LOCATION SCOUTS — The “Brave” production team took two research trips to Scotland. While the modern-day country does not reflect the ancient time period seen in the film, team members visited landmark locations and attended select events to get a flavor for the current culture, and observe how much of Scotland’s ancient history and tradition is still present. "BRAVE"

ORDER UP – During the Scotland research trips, the production team frequented a restaurant near the Edinburgh Castle and feasted on its homemade haggis—a pudding made with sheep’s heart, liver and lungs.BRAVE concept art by Production Designer Steve Pilcher.

WEE ROOM — On one of the research trips, the group stayed at the Kintail Lodge Hotel, in the western highlands of Scotland. There were eight men on the research team during this trip, and all eight were assigned to lodge in the hotel’s “Wee Bunk House,” a tiny room separate from the main hotel building that had six beds and one bathroom. (The women enjoyed more comfortable accommodations in the main building.) Lodging in these cozy quarters proved a memorable experience: the production team’s key meeting room at Pixar is named in honor of the Wee Bunk House."BRAVE"

MAGIC OR MYTH — In Scotland, there is a natural phenomenon of swamp and bog gasses that seep up through the earth, and are blue in color like the flame of a pilot light. Scottish lore says that some people would follow these lights, thinking they were little fairies. The production team took this myth and created the “will o’ the wisps” in “Brave.” The will o’ the wisps light a path and beckon Merida into the forest, leading her to change her fate."BRAVE"

ROCK AROUND — The Callanish Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis are one of the oldest of Scotland’s mysterious wonders. They provided reference for the mysterious ring of stones Merida discovers in “Brave.”

The Film

DO THE MATH — In creating “Brave,” 111,394 storyboards were drawn, 84,421 of which were delivered to Pixar’s editorial team to create story reels of the work-in-progress film.

ON THE MOVE — There is simulation work (computer simulated movement) in 96 percent of all shots on “Brave.” This is an unusually high amount for a Pixar film – the studio’s simulation team was especially brave taking on such a challenge!

Brave will be in theaters June 22nd.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Ancient Scotland, brave, Disney, Fun facts, movie, Pixar, Scotland

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