How does Brave fit in the Pixar Theory?
What is Brave about and how does it fit in the Pixar Theory?
The Pixar Theory starts way back in around the 14th or 15th century. It
is all about a girl called Merida who wants to carve out her own fate. She
seeks help from an eccentric witch who turns her mother into a bear. Merida
must find a way to make her mother back into a human. To explain this part of
the theory we have to know about the magic of the will-of-the-wisps’. This
magic has been depicted as souls of the dead that lead travelers astray to
swamps or marshes. You were not supposed to follow them because they would lead
you astray. So when Merida follows a line of the wisps to the witch’s cottage,
you know she is in grave danger.
There she meets a ‘wood carver’ who actually is a witch. At this part of the movie we see inanimate objects threaten the witch because Merida has made a good deal: all the wood carvings for a spell that would change Merida’s fate. Here we see the knives threaten the witch because Merida has made a good deal. A common theme in Pixar movies is the intelligence of inanimate objects and animals is really large. However, in Brave only animals that have magic have human like abilities. So Elinor (Merida’s mother) can communicate with Merida, whereas Merida’s horse, Angus doesn’t even try to communicate. An important rule in Pixar movies is that the animals can’t talk to humans but they can understand and relate to humans. |
Were does the magic come from?
Now we know that the magic doesn’t come from the witch, as she just
harnesses its power to cast spells and make potions. Her belongings seem to
have a mind of their own, which is proven when we see the floating knives
threaten the witch because of Merida’s good deal. Another interesting part of the witch’s magic
is how she manipulates doors. After the witch and Merida come to an agreement,
the witch leads them outside. They go back in the cottage and the interior has
completely changed. The wood carvings are all gone and there is now a cauldron
in the room. We also know that this isn’t the same room because the witch says,
“Never conjure where you carve.”
In order to conjure what she needs to the witch does something to the door and leads them into another room and that is not the only time we see strange things involving doors. In this scene we also discover that not every spell costs the same. In order to turn Queen Elinor into a bear the witch needs a lock of Merida’s hair. This is the first of many pieces of evidence to point to an important element to the Pixar Theory: humans are batteries. They aren’t just batteries for energy either. Humans seem to be the energy source for intelligence and biological evolution. In this case Merida’s hair is the source of the magic. |
The Facts/Evidence
- Humans and animals are discovering magic.
- Animals are beginning to act like humans.
- Inanimate objects begin to move from the power of magic.