It’s nice to have friends in high places. Or rather, creative places! I have two friends who work at Pixar and thanks to them I have been super SUPER lucky to see lots of sneak peek preview movies right at Pixar. Now that Wolfie is a part of our lives, my sweet friend Stephanie has gotten him into several Pixar previews and it’s SO MUCH FUN!

The first movie he saw there was Ratatouille. Hee. Look how little he was! {As an aside, he wan’t that into Ratatouille. Greg and I loved it, but it’s not very “little kid” friendly, compared to some of the other films!}

And last year we saw Cars 2! Wolfie loved the first Cars SO MUCH….it was his very, very first-ever “in the theater” movie, so it will always be a special on for our family!

But this year it was BRAVE! Wolfie was SO excited to see it, since he knew she had a bow and arrow…

The Pixar campus is really cool. Inside the main lobby (which is HUGE) are all these wonderful reminders of past films. A giant Lego Woody & Buzz. A huge Luigi from Cars. Lots of Academy Awards. The bathrooms have “Woody” and “Bo Peep” on them, which always makes me smile…and there is a big game room.

When we got inside the theater, we were SO excited! As the lights dim, the ceiling transforms into a starry sky….with twinkling constellations above. There are two shooting stars that go by and it’s tradition that when they do the whole theater goes, “Oooooh!” “Ahhhh!” Wolfie remembered and did it along with everyone and I thought, “Wow, what a lucky little boy to experience so many cool things in his little life.”

But on to the movie!

MINI REVIEW OF BRAVE!

For starters, the setting is the lush country side of Scotland—and it as usual the animation is STUNNING!! Merida, the lead, is a feisty fabulous princess with a wild and glorious mane of hair. She is not your typical princess at all, in that she wields a bow and arrow better than any fella and rides a giant black horse named Angus (who has huge fluffy white “hooves” that reminded us of Sammy’s paws…). The beginning of the story is how her mother (played by the fabulous Emma Thompson) is preparing her to take over the crown and become Queen someday. Merida’s parents have arranged for a huge competition, the winner of which will win her hand in marriage. Merida isn’t too thrilled with this and has other plans. The movie then takes a completely unexpected turn….and the roller coaster takes off! I won’t divulge what happens, but it’s almost like an entirely new movie begins. I was very transfixed by the lush visuals….we didn’t see it in 3D but I imagine it would be pretty gorgeous. And I loved Merida’s mother. They are two really fabulous female character. I won’t say it’s my favorite Pixar movie (my tops are Wall-E, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles…and the first CARS!) but it’s really splendid. Wolfie loved the film a lot and despite technically having a “princess” as the heroine, I think it’s totally appealing to both boys and girls! OH and there is a totally charming short that starts things off, called La Luna. It’s wonderful.

Some Notes for Parents: I think this transforms into a pretty dark movie and could be potentially scary for those 6 and under. It all depends on how your kiddo handles darker themes and wild action. Wolfie has always been a rather sensitive little guy and I think his 4-6 year old self would really have been affected by some of the darker moments and scarier characters. It’s not a scary movie, per se, but lets just say his 8 year old self jumped out of his seat (literally!) at one moment. He told me he was more startled than scared. Also, there are a lot of potentially emotional moments that occur between Merida and her Mother (I will say that no one dies, but I’d rather caution you to check it out and ask other friends who have seen it than have you take your 3-4 year old and say “Wellll, we had to leave midway because she/he was a little upset.”)

One of the cutest parts about seeing a movie at Pixar is that at the end EVERYONE stays for the entire credits. I love that! We spotted our friend’s name and discussed how her new little baby Rufus didn’t quite make the cut off for the “Pixar Babies” listing (all of their movies list every kiddo born during the production. So cool huh!). After the movie we went back outside and took more photos and checked out the little Celtic Stone Circle that was on the grounds (as a nod to the movie). It was a pretty fabulous night! Are you planning on seeing Brave? Let me know what you (and your kiddos) think!