“Brave”: A look at two key characters
In a recent /Film article about the upcoming Pixar movie Brave, they included the studio’s descriptions of two key characters: King Fergus and Queen Elinor, the mother and father of the story’s Protagonist young Merida.
If you read these descriptions carefully, you can get some sense of the work that went into developing the characters. If you care to get into that analysis and speculation what it means, hit the link. If you would prefer to see the movie without this information, off you go then!
King Fergus is a heroic warrior with a majestic bear cape, broad sword and a knobby peg leg — the result of his much-regaled skirmish with the demon bear Mor’du. His vendetta against the beast who took his leg makes Fergus a ferocious and determined bear hunter, evidenced by a home full of mounted trophies of every size. Protector of his kingdom and family, Fergus has a heart as big as his triplet sons are mischievous and boundless love for his wife, Queen Elinor. But his pride for his first-born daughter Merida is unmatched, and he has gifted her his great skill and passion for the sword and the bow.
Key attributes: Warrior, presumably where Merida derived much of her innate skill with a sword and bow; Knobby peg leg, a visual reminder of the lurking presence of the threatening figure of Mor’Du, the “demon bear”; Vendetta, which speaks to Fergus’ own personal goal; Pride in Merida, an affection for her which is “unmatched”; First-born daughter, we can expect the weight of that responsibility to bear down on Merida.
A vision of grace, wisdom and strength of character, Queen Elinor is fiercely dedicated to the well being of her family and kingdom. As the measured, diplomatic counterpoint to her more impulsive husband, King Fergus, Elinor carries the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders in order to maintain the fragile peace between the volatile clans. Elinor strives to instill in Merida the knowledge and manner of a royal, expecting complete commitment to Elinor’s standards. But her vision of her daughter’s future is at odds with Merida’s rebellious spirit and desire to forge her own path, which ultimately causes Elinor to face calamitous consequences.
Key attributes: Grace, wisdom and strength, a counterbalancing personality to King Fergus, the warrior with a “heart as big as his triplet sons”; Fiercely dedicated, equally strong in her own way in protecting what she sees as important for “family and kingdgom”; Fragile peace between volatile clans, presumably by way of marriage, Elinor connected by blood to other clans; Strives to instill in Merida, the responsibility Elinor feels, she is passing along to Merida… whether the princess wants it or not; At odds with Merida’s rebellious spirit, a major source of conflict in the story; Calamitous consequences, suggesting a major Plotline point involving Elinor’s fate.
So if we look at stories as having three fields — External World, Internal World, Psychological World — how about this as a possible layout of those dynamics:
External World: The conflict between the clans, the fractious nature of their tense peace symbolic of the same thing with Merida’s family.
Internal World: The conflict between Merida and Elinor, a battle between monarchical responsibilities and the young girl’s own impulses.
Psychological World: The conflict between Merida and Mor’du, a projection of Merida battling the ‘beast’ that is a future in which responsibilities may preclude her being her authentic Self.
Thus it seems we not only have a story that is at work in multiple fields, we will be immersed in some classic story stuff, everything from father-mother-daughter dynamics, soul struggles, shadow figures, and slaying the ‘dragon’ along with some geopolitical strife for good measure.
And as we often see in Pixar movies, a small story — Merida struggling to find and express her Self — against a substantial saga — the fate of the clans and the threat of a demon bear.
What do your eyes see in the descriptions of these two key characters?
