Disney/Pixar Shows How Brave They Are

With Pixar’s latest film Cars 2 currently out in theatres, the studio promises to release more traditional fairy tale material with Brave. This will be Pixar’s first film with a fairy tale setting, not to mention an original fairy tale story opposed to an adaptation of an existing one.

Is the decision to go back to fairy tales influenced by Disney’s recent 50th animated feature film Tangled, or the box office success of Alice in Wonderland? Currently, many re-imaginings of tales such as Sleeping Beauty and the Wizard of Oz have been going into pre-production and fairytales seem to be back in business ever since Burton’s box office hit.

Director Mark Andrews tells EW:

“What we want to get across [with the teaser] is that this story has some darker elements. Not to frighten off our Pixar fans — we’ll still have all the comedy and the great characters. But we get a little bit more intense here.”

Perhaps the decision to go darker could work out for the family friendly company. In the ever growing and increasingly competitive animation film market, innovation is key and maybe this is the right step for Pixar. What do you think?

Brave is slated to hit theaters on June 22nd, 2012.

“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 (Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts. Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (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 (Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (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.”