Following our article with the new international trailer and poster for Disney•Pixar’s newest animated adventure, Brave, earlier this year, we’ve got a closer look at the fiery characters that make up the first Pixar film with a female protagonist. Check out these new posters for the film and comments from co-director Mark Andrews from an interview with EW. Here are Merida, the Scottish princess who bucks tradition, her parents, King Fergus and Queen Elinor, three clan lords, and Merida’s younger triplet brothers.
Merida (Kelly Macdonald)
“Merida just happens to be, by default, in the society of a princess. We don’t really call her Princess often in the movie. And she’s trying to reconcile this difference between how the world wants her to be, and how she sees herself. Ultimately, she’s going to have to look inside herself, and what she finds in the mirror is not exactly what she expected. That’s kind of our definition of ‘brave’ in the movie — looking inside yourself and coming to grips with who exactly you are.”
“[Merida]’s very much a tomboy, and kind of unbridled in contrast to her mom, Queen Elinor. The [character] design of Merida is all about this free-spirit nature. Her curly red hair is all over the place. How are you going to visually tame that, you know?”
King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson)
Merida’s parents seem to be polar opposites. Her father, King Fergus, is the “Bear King” of DunBroch kingdom and a “boisterous monarch who’s full of life. He still has that kind of berserkness about him. He’ll rage, like all good passionate folks, but he cools quickly.”
Queen Elinor “actually runs the kingdom. She’s the smart politico — diplomatic, refined, elegant. Elinor has big plans for Merida, since she’s the next in line.” A mother’s relationship with a rebellious daughter always stem from the elder’s expectations versus the younger’s ambitions. Merida is strongly defiant in being her own woman.
Lords Macintosh (Craig Ferguson), MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), and Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane)
According to tradition, Merida is to marry one of the first-born sons of the Lords of the neighboring clans: Lord Macintosh, Lord MacGuffin, and Lord Dingwall.
“Lord Macintosh, the wild-haired one who looks like a rat and a weasel, is always looking for the conspiracy. He’s not trusting and paranoid about everything.”
“[Lord MacGuffin]’s stoic and loyal. He’s the oldest member of the clans. He’s been in the most battles, as you can see by his fused neck and spine. He’s done it all, seen it all, and he will call it as it is. He’s like the guy in your family you never want around because he’s always going to call people on their s—.”
Lord Dingwall looks to have a singular sense of humor about him judging from the trailer and well, how his hair looks! We never got to see Hagrid that silly!
Triplets Hamish, Hubert, and Harris
Merida’s younger triplet siblings are identical and “they steal the show. They love sweets and are always getting into mischief. And they can do no wrong as far as Fergus and Elinor are concerned.”
Synopsis:
Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.
Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the 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). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.
Brave is slated to hit theaters on June 22nd, 2012.
