Bringing Pixar’s BRAVE to the Big Screen

Last month when we visited Pixar Studios to learn more about the upcoming film Brave, I loved hearing about the fashion, the bagpipes and the archery that would be featured in the film. There is so much that goes into making an amazing film like Brave and the team worked hard to make sure that everything was visually stunning and accurate.

Exploring Scotland

Visiting Scotland is something that has always been on my bucket list. It’s simply gorgeous and I love all of the history of the country. The team behind Brave actually traveled to Scotland twice for inspiration for the movie and found it best in the Scottish highlands, in castle ruins, forests and glens. Over 10,000 pictures were taken and the art department crafted almost 350 paintings of leaves, brush and moss to replicate the Scottish Highlands during ancient times.

Brave Concept Art

“Scotland is just filled with myths and legends – everyone has a story. It’s a magical place – rugged and majestic. The colors there are dark and moody, and at the same time bright and cherry – all thanks to the crazy weather”, says Director Mark Andrews.

From the 30 minutes that we were able to view of Brave the one thing that really struck me was how gorgeous the colors and textures were. There were so many different layers to the film and it had me yearning to visit Scotland even more.

Andrews says, “When you go and watch Brave, you’re not just going to see a movie, you’re going to be in Scotland.”

Dressing the Royal Family of Brave

I’ve always been a fan of layers and apparently they were in medieval Scotland also. Of course, that was out of necessity with it being cold. However, that proved to be a bit of a dilemma for Pixar animators. In all other Pixar films, the characters wear clothing that is very basic and just one layer such as jeans and a shirt. To be authentic though, animators knew that many characters would have to wear several layers to make up their complete look.

To create the looks of the characters in Brave, the team really focused on the details of fabrics, colors and textures. They experimented with different fabrics and ornamentation and even made the tartans the clans wear original.

Because of all the layers, the Pixar team actually had to learn how to use new software and technology to create just the look they were after.

Dressing the Characters

Another challenge was Merida’s signature curly hair. Think back to all of the other Pixar films and there aren’t any characters who have curly hair, are there? Creating the volume on the computer wasn’t easy, but the artists found a way! Merida actually has more than 1,500 individually sculpted, curly red strands that generate about 111,700 total hairs! If her curls were straightened, her hair would be four feet long and reach to the middle of her calf!

From Page to Screen

When bringing a story to the big screen there are several steps to follow from creating an outline, doing your research, writing a script and storyboarding scenes.

To create Brave, 111,394 storyboards were drawn. To compare, Cars 2 had 80,000 storyboards and Toy Story 3 had 92,854 storyboards. Each scene in Brave is anywhere from 200-500 drawings. It’s incredible to think how much work goes into a film!

Merida Concept Art

I’m excited about the story of Brave. I love that it’s the story of a relationship between a Mother and a Daughter and that the character of Merida is such a strong role model.

John Lasseter, the Executive Producer of Brave says it best when he said, “The work we do is always in support of the story. So when you watch the movie, you’re not just thinking about the clothes or the hair, you’re just getting swept away with the story. All the incredible innovation that the artists at Pixar have done for this movie will be invisible to the audience – but you’d notice it if it weren’t there. That’s the hallmark of Pixar. These people work so incredibly hard for long hours and many years to develop the technology and the look to support the story. But when it all comes together, you’re sitting there with your mouth open just watching the beauty of this film.”

Brave will be released into theaters on June 22nd! Make sure to like Brave on Facebook for all of the latest news!

Disney/Pixar is provided me with an all expenses paid trip to San Francisco for an advance screening of Chimpanzee and select footage from Brave. All thoughts and opinions are my own.