Pixar Bravely Releases Teaser for Next Animated Feature
Courtesy Disney/Pixar
Though Cars 2 is only days old, Disney and Pixar are already starting the marketing on their next big animated feature, Brave. A teaser trailer for Brave was attached to Cars 2 prints this weekend in theaters.
Brave, formerly titled The Bear and the Bow, reportedly follows a young Scottish girl named Merida, the rebellious daughter of King Fergus, who unwittingly unleashes a terrible curse on the land after defying a sacred tradition. Kelly Macdonald from HBO’s Boardwalk Empire voices Merida and the rest of the cast is (as usual for Pixar films) rounded out with established actors such as Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Craig Ferguson, and Kevin McKidd.
The teaser (embedded below the jump) shows Merida with her bow, hunting on horseback when a bear attacks her. A voiceover describes legends and being put to the test and states, “It is the one thing we must always be,” before revealing Brave as the name of the film.
Brave was, at one point, set for release in fall of 2012 until Pixar quietly canceled another planned animated film, Newt. Now Brave will launch in the summer of 2012 and the Monsters, Inc. sequel, Monsters University, will premiere in summer 2013 and will be followed up by an announced (but unnamed) nonsequel. Recently, Tom Hanks let slip in an interview with the BBC that Toy Story 4 was in the planning stages, though there is no official word from Disney or Pixar about the existence of the film or when it would bow.
Brave is a full of firsts for Pixar. Merida is the first female lead in a Pixar film, and the movie is being cohelmed by Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews. Chapman is the first female to direct a Pixar feature, (though there is some question as to whether she is still attached to the project), and she also helped script the film. Chapman previously directed the 1998 DreamWorks animated feature, The Prince of Egypt.
Supposedly Brave is meant to be a dark fairy tale in the vein of Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grimm. The emphasis on ancient Scotland is a departure from the usual Pixar films and one that I cannot wait to see.
Brave is scheduled for release on June 22, 2012.
