It’s a surprisingly intimate thing to focus on in a big summer kids’ film. In the same way, she struggles with her mum at home, each of the women too stubborn to listen to each other between fights. So the pair bond over fishing in the lake. It groans, she shrugs, furniture gets broken. Merida and the sometimes-kind-sometimes-lethal beast try to understand each other. What follows is a study in miscommunication.

Half an hour later, fleeing from a horde of male suitors, she winds up at a witch’s cottage, a decision that introduces another animal to the story: a bear. But three, and most importantly, she doesn’t have a sidekick. What sets Merida apart from most animated heroes, Pixar included? One, she’s a girl. And to top her off? An untrained barnet of bright red hair. She’s closer to Link from The Legend of Zelda than a Disney Princess. In place of a lute, she wields a bow and arrow.

Where most princesses practice cross-stitch, Merida rides through the forest. That’s Queen Elinor (Thompson) speaking to Princess Merida (Macdonald), a wild child who wants to change her fate from one of fancy dresses, formal duties and fake smiles. “A lady does not place her weapon on the table.” Watch Brave online in the UK: Disney Life / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Apple TV (iTunes) / Rakuten TV / Google Play

Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve PurcellĬast: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson

Disney brave stream online