'Brave" is the impetuous, irreverent new child to come out of the Pixar kingdom, and it is unlike previous Pixar movies for the following reasons. 1) The main character is a human teenage girl. 2) The whole thing is set in medieval Scotland and not some unspecified U.S. suburbia. 3) It explores the mother-daughter relationship extensively and is in fact a very feminine (and often feminist) story.
The lead is a princess named Merida (voiced by Kelly McDonald, or by AKB48 member Yuko Oshima in the Japanese dub), and she is the first ever female heroine in a Pixar film. The filmmakers (directors Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and codirector Steve Purcell) have fashioned her into a feisty, fearless teen with a mind of her own. Her other distinctive trait is a splendid mane of red hair that's packed around her head and explodes over her shoulders in a mass of unruly curls. Merchandise alert! I foresee endless rows of curly redhead wigs displayed in Disney Stores around the globe.
Set in a medieval Scotland where different clans rule their territories and forge political ties by marrying off their offspring, "Brave" wastes no time in presenting Merida with a giant dilemma: How can a princess be true to herself, honor her parents and keep her kingdom peaceful all at once?