#I don't think people are realising the comedy that can be derived from that

[aimasup]

Business partner doodles

very much business yes

#my post #my art #charlie x vaggie #chaggie #hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie motha #charlie has disney princess powers but in hell #I don't think people are realising the comedy that can be derived from that #also she probably would have an even harder time relating to the suffering of the denizens of hel #why would they be afraid of the beasts? they were just hungry and can be calmed down with belly rubs

[that-ari-blogger]

How Brave Does Character

Brave is my favourite Pixar film, and one of my favourite Disney films. A lot of the reason behind this is how impeccably the film does characters, by which I mean everyone in this film manages to be both a caricature and a very real person at the same time.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

So, let's start with the side characters. The terrible triplets are fun, but I'd like to focus on the clansmen.

These are so interesting. They are, of course, archetypes. They are the overbearing fathers who hate each other and their three sons, but these are remarkably realistic people. They aren't limited to specific actions, and they bring about the nuances in each other through acting as foils for each other.

And, yes, these nuances are used for comedy a ton of the time, but they aren't just that, they develop over time. Their competition between each other actively changes them.

Although, here's something fascinating. The sons show a completely different demeanor when not under the pressure of their parents. Young Macintosh (Right) relaxes and loses his uptight demeanor, Young MacGuffin (Middle) comes completely out of his shell, and Young Dingwall is, well he doesn't change too much, but he is noticeably more aware of his surroundings when not around his father.

The sons befriend each other and develop a rapport. They do this before anybody else in the entire story, proving that harmony between the clans and between individuals is possible.

Fergus and Elinor follow the same line of thinking, but they bring about different sides of each other through understanding. Both characters feel their freest when they are around each other. Elinor is more open to talking out her emotions around her husband, for example. And it is important to realise this, because when she gets turned into a bear, this dynamic gets shifted notably.

Finally, there is Merida, and her relationship with her mother. I keep bringing up these characters in contrast with each other because that is how character gets displayed. If a person is only in the same situation over and over again, you only see one facet of that character.

So, Merida is an aromantic character. This is important to understand because it is part of the driving conflict of the film. Merida has no interest in marriage or love, and her mother cannot accept that. The story explores the search for these characters to understand each other, and while it centres on Merida's confrontation with consequences and fate, Elinor coming to terms with her daughter's identity. Essentially, the story is derived from character conflict.

But these characters also reveal elements of each other through both their conflict and their teamwork. They reveal each other's inability to show accountable through their conflict (Merida insists everything is not her fault, and Elinor is pathologically incapable of directly answering a question), but they also show each other's adaptability and are catalysts for each other's growth.

Brave is a character drama first and foremost, so all conflict is driven by characters butting heads with each other. I say all conflict, and there is one character I am yet to mention.

"Last time I did this was for a prince. He demanded I give him the strength of ten men, and he gave me this for a spell. A spell that would change his fate."

Mor'du features what I like to call the Firelord Ozai school of character writing. He isn't a character, he's a force of nature, an evil thing to overcome. But he is a person, and everything about him can be inferred by the relationships he has. In this case, the thematic relationship between him and Merida. Both wanted to change their fate, both separated themselves from their families in a rage. Merida was able to reconnect with her mother, you can assume by Mor'du's ursine appearance that he was not able to do the same.

Even in the shot above, Mor'du the character is in shadow, because the nuances of his identity don't matter. The important part, and the part that the light highlights, is the axe. His actions are what's important, specifically the actions that mirror Merida's, and we can learn everything we need about him from that narrative symmetry.

At first glance, all the characters in Brave are archetypes. The rebellious teenager, the strict mother, etc. But it is through interactions with each other that these characters become people. And that is reflected in the theme of the film. It is only through each other, that you can express yourself freely and change for the better. Otherwise, you are floundering with the same choices, and you can never, ever, change your own fate.

I might put up another post soon about Brave's use of Scottish mythology and how that works with the theme of fate, so if you're interested in that, stick around.

#rants #character analysis #literary analysis #literature analysis #brave #disney brave #merida