Watching the first 30 minutes of **Brave **in its unfinished form last month, **Empire **couldn't help spotting a slight shift in tone in Pixar's first foray into the traditional Disney territory of big castles and embattled princesses. Will these beautiful new still of Princess Merida in action shine more light on things?
Humour and heroism were both abundant in the scenes we saw, but there also seemed to be a more earnest tack taken to the growing pains of younglings. It leads us to wonder whether Pixar's lastest heroine won't suffer something even more painful than the claws of a giant bear along the way. In other words: don't be surprised to see her grounded for tossing a caber through a castle window.
Looking at the poor bear, quelled successfully by Merida (Kelly Macdonald), and the sight of the princess swordplaying with dad, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), and then glancing at the disapproving look on Queen Elinor's (Emma Thompson) face, there's a clue of where much of Brave's conflict lies.
Joining Macdonald on Mark Andrews' largely Scottish voicecast are fellow **Trainspotting **alumnus Kevin McKidd, playing not one but two troublesome MacGuffins, Julie Walters, and, of course, John Ratzenberger.
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**Brave **is out in 3D on August 13.