let's talk Brave [spoilers possible].

Zoey and I went to see Brave today, and it was a production. She was SO EXCITED to go see Merida (she's had the doll for well over a month) and see a movie with Mommy...until we got there. I pre-paid for my ticket on Fandango, and as soon as we stepped foot into the theatre's lobby, she started wailing: "I want to go HOME! I need Shepherd and Daddy!" Non-stop.

I bought popcorn. I bought M&M's. I bought Coke. I had a sippy of milk in my bag. I called Daddy. We went into the theatre, and she kept wailing. We went back into the lobby, had a chat, and [THANK GOD] she snapped out of it. We waltzed right back in, just in time to see the preview for Monster's University and the Pixar short, La Luna. The Pixar nerd in me LOVED them both.

Now. Let's talk about Brave, shall we? I read some reviews with spoilers ahead of time, so I knew about the whole bear-violence-thing ahead of time, and I warned Zoey (she is 2 1/2) ahead of time. But still, my heart jumped into my throat 5 minutes into the movie. It certainly earned its PG rating. Just like Nemo, just like Cars 2, there are things in this movie that will scare kids who are old enough to know that they should be scared. I covered Zoey's eyes, but she was too busy munching her M&M's and realizing the big princess on the screen was the same as her doll to even notice.

As for Merida and the rest of the movie? I loved it. It was beautiful. I expect nothing less from Pixar. The details in Merida, her family, and the scenery were outstanding. The whole premise of  "a princess doesn't do x, y, z," and Merida completely proving her mother wrong--while teaching the Queen to be independent at the same time--was great. But the Bear fight? Unnecessary in my opinion.

photo credit

It was a fun afternoon, and Zoey walked out of the theatre dancing with her Merida doll sing-songing, "I love that movie! I love Merida! That was so fun!" So... I think we both enjoyed ourselves. And we've already downloaded the soundtrack.