Brave

This surprising animated movie focuses on a mother-daughter relationship.  Like many Disney movies, it features a princess who is trapped, but in this case it is an emotional frame -- she is trapped by a mother who demands perfection and a tradition of arranged marriages in which suitors must compete for the woman's hand.  The princess in Brave must fend off these suitors, and she must find a way to escape her mother's control while also finding her own destiny.  She does this, again like many Disney princesses, through magic. Magic, though, is two-sided, having the potential for good or evil consequences, and Brave does not shy away from these consequences.  The touching scene at the end of the movie involves the potential for loss, but I can't say more than that without giving too much away.  There is a lot of humor in the movie that takes aim at the Scots and men in general, as well as celebrating the Scots' uniqueness.  The story has a woman's touch, but its themes are universal.  The movie also has a great deal of craft in the animation, so that the audience doesn't even notice how the main character's red hair is drawn.  The short at the beginning, La Luna, is great on its own as well.  Well done, Pixar!