Film

Brave

Name: Brave
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy
Released: 2012
Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane

Pixar swaps princes for archery and puts the mother-daughter fight front and centre. Merida's rebellion against an arranged marriage collides with a spell that turns her mum into a bear, and the film pivots from swashbuckling Highland folklore to something tender about the person your parent was before they became your parent. Gorgeous scenery, real teeth to the argument, laughs mixed with genuine ache.

TMDb rating

7.0

If you liked this

How to Train Your Dragon2010

Same DNA — a headstrong kid defying their clan's rules, a dangerous creature turning into an unlikely ally, and a parent-child rift that actually earns its resolution. The animation has weight and the flying sequences still hold up.

But It's the first of a trilogy, so falling for it means signing up for a bigger commitment.

Mulan1998

Another daughter who breaks tradition to save her family, told with the same mix of comedy, action and unexpected weight. Ancestors bicker like Merida's clan lords, and the mother-daughter tension simmers under a war story.

But The 90s Disney songbook and sidekick humour will feel dated next to Pixar's sleeker rhythm.

Moana2016

A fierce, non-royal princess defies her father's rules to save her people, wrapped in stunning ocean animation and a soundtrack that earns its hype. Same spirit of a girl arguing her way into her own destiny.

But It leans harder into music-driven storytelling — if the songs don't grab you, stretches will drag.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Freaky Friday1976

Both use a literal magic spell to force a mother and daughter to walk in each other's shoes — Brave just swaps a body swap for a bear.

A cranky mother and daughter get magically forced to understand each other from the inside, decades before Brave tried the same trick with a bear. Silly, warm, and surprisingly wise about parental exhaustion.

But It's a broad 70s comedy with dated effects and gags, nothing like Brave's visual scale or drama.

Frozen2013

Swaps archery for ice magic but keeps a sisterly, motherly bond at its emotional core, plus a kingdom thrown into chaos by a family secret nobody handled well. Villain-free tension, all family.

But The songs are everywhere already — the freshness may have worn off before you press play.

Tangled2010

A headstrong girl breaks free of the life mapped out by a mother figure and learns who she is outside those walls, balancing comedy and real feeling as well as Brave does.

But The mother-daughter relationship here is far darker and more manipulative — a different flavour of family drama.

Coco2017

Another Pixar film built around family, tradition, and the tension between what your elders want and what you want, dressed up in gorgeous folklore with a gut-punch finish.

But It's a grief story at heart — expect to cry as much as laugh.

Inside Out2015

Pixar turning inward again, literally, to show how a girl's relationship with her parents gets complicated by emotions she can't control — same tenderness, wildly different scale.

But No swordfights or forests here — it's a much quieter, more internal film.

The Sword in the Stone1963no page yet

Disney's earlier, scrappier trip to British legend, with the same wizardly transformations and irreverent humour Brave clearly borrows from. A charming curiosity if you want the family lineage.

But It's slight and episodic by modern standards, more a string of gags than a story.

The Secret of Kells2009

A gorgeous, underseen animated film steeped in Celtic myth, following a kid defying an overprotective elder to save something precious. Similar mood, wildly different visual style.

But Its flat, illuminated-manuscript art style is a big swing — not everyone loves it instantly.

Wolf Children2012

Both hinge on a parent and child literally transformed by the animal within them, and on a mother learning to let go of who she wanted her child to become.

A mother raises two half-wolf children alone, and the film asks what it costs to give up your own life for someone who might not become who you raised them to be. Same maternal ache, entirely different register.

But It's a slow, melancholy anime with long stretches of quiet domestic life, not an adventure film.

Stories We Tell2012

Brave's real story is Merida learning who her mother was as a person; this documentary is one filmmaker actually doing that work, for real.

Sarah Polley's documentary digs into her own mother's hidden history, using home movies and family testimony to ask who a parent really was before you knew them. Genuinely moving, cleverly assembled.

But It's a true story with no fantasy, no animation and no jokes — a completely different kind of evening.