Brave isn't quite up there with Up, but it's still a masterfully-animated, ripping yarn with plenty of cross-generational appeal.
- , Film4, August 14, 2012
No less lovely than former films, in many ways lovelier, but Brave is boutique Pixar: less ambitious, more succinct, excellence at a lower ebb.
- Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine, August 13, 2012
Unsatisfying for all ages.
- Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK], August 09, 2012
No, not another Pixar classic, but for full-on family fun it's a brave effort.
- Trevor Johnston, Time Out, August 07, 2012
The story, with its patchwork of plots (involving feuding clans and disastrous spells), holds together enough to thrill intermittently.
- Bruce Diones, New Yorker, July 02, 2012
Brave is as true as an arrow whistling straight towards the centre of its target.
- Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph, June 29, 2012
Brave makes for a passable parable about teenage hubris...but it isn't as pacy or as entertaining as many of Pixar's A-grade hits.
- Jim Schembri, 3AW, June 25, 2012
Eschews the genre's trademark reliance on facile, saccharine moralism in favour of the robust, no-nonsense and heartfelt nonconformity that runs through all the studio's best efforts.
- Ben Child, Guardian [UK], June 25, 2012
Though it falls short of the studio's best in many respects, Brave is ravishing to look at. Merida's carrot corona is alone worth the price of admission.
- Christopher Orr, The Atlantic, June 22, 2012
The tone is uneven and more often morose than joyful. The pacing is slow and at times almost tedious. The end result is something that feels like it was put together from a jumble of Disney clichés tacked onto the skeleton of Beauty and the Beast.
- James Berardinelli, ReelViews, June 22, 2012
Saying that Brave is entertaining but not astonishing is pretty much admitting your straight-A student got a B.
- Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post, June 22, 2012
It's a safe experience; but safe, in this case, is better than sorry.
- Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, June 22, 2012
The Pixar name used to mean something. And it never quite meant pleasantly safe, safely forgettable movies like this.
- Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger, June 22, 2012
What we get would be fine from another studio, but too safe and familiar for Pixar.
- Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail, June 22, 2012
"Brave" isn't a bull's-eye, but it's close enough.
- Tom Long, Detroit News, June 22, 2012
This Celtic-themed story hews so closely to classic fairy-tale tropes, it's the studio's most Disney-fied production yet.
- Sara Stewart, New York Post, June 22, 2012
Youngsters with a taste for adventure will no doubt overlook the movie's workmanlike outlines and applaud its spirited, self-reliant heroine, who proves to be as appealingly unruly as her tumble of Titian curls.
- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, June 22, 2012
It's a lively, psychologically astute tale filled with humanity, wit and charming performances.
- Claudia Puig, USA Today, June 21, 2012
Story isn't Brave's strong suit - it relies too heavily on a rather random-feeling deus ex machina - but its gloss, confidence and sense of fun go a long way to compensate.
- Hannah McGill, The List, June 26, 2012
Cockamamie folklore from a land too distant for Hollywood digimators to strain themselves over authenticity.
- Nigel Andrews, Financial Times, August 09, 2012
