I've read some of the bad reviews, and they seem focused on a few things: 1) Scary scenes, 2) Nudity, 3) Lack of romance. Well, my three year old is super brave so I do agree that a lot of sensitive littles may have an issue with the movie, but it's not really an issue in our household. Nudity? Well, that's kind of laughable as it's an animated movie. I guess some people would rather hear fart humor and characters calling each other jackass ("Shrek"), and if that's you then skip this one, but it's really just two quick scenes and not in a scandalous way. And about that lack of romance... one of the reasons I love this movie for my daughter is the lack of romance for the main character. In fact, the whole plot is about teenager Merida trying to change her "fate" which is to get married before she's ready. She passionately pleads during one speech to the parents of her suitors to let their children decide when they are ready for marriage and to choose their own spouses. This is beyond refreshing after decades of Disney princess schlock where the all too young princess gets into a scrape and must be rescued by a man and then lives "happily ever after". Also, I found the romantic sparks between Merida's parents to be pretty sweet.

If you're raising an independent daughter you want to think for herself and not think girls are meant to be saved by boyfriends, don't skip this movie. (If she's sensitive and scares easily, wait until she's at least school age, though.)

Bows, bears (cute and scary) and outrageous Scots! What more could you ask for?

OK seriously. The animation is top notch. The stylized and compelling use of shape and color for the characters, the graceful gesture and action, and the gorgeous scenery are all really what you would expect from Disney in top form. A pleasure to look at.

The story is delightful, funny and light-hearted. I love the premise of a princess fiercely defending her independence and the conflict between freedom and duty that arises.

Prior to renting the movie ($1.99 special), I read the reviews to ensure its appropriateness for my 7 year old son. I was also interested in it because a friend had mentioned it touches nicely upon the relationship between a spunky teenager and proper mother - a circumstance in my household.

I must admit the majority of the reviews are spot on and well written. The movie is heart warming, delivers a good message, and is very entertaining. My whole family enjoyed it.

Now, to those who say it was too violent, showed too much skin, and had witchcraft in it, well, too each his own, it didn't bother my 7 year old one bit. Some folks took their toddlers and pre-K aged children to this movie. All I can say is, "What were you thinking?". The movie has a PG rating, not G, so responsible and informed parents shouldn't take pre-K kids, in my opinion, as a general rule.

In closing, a good and enjoyable movie with a heart warming theme, especially for proper mothers with spirited daughters - but leave the toddlers at home unless the rough and tumble Saturday morning cartoons don't bother them.

Tony

This movie is clever, funny, exciting, and of a quality rarely seen overall, let alone in animated releases marketed with youths in mind. The only reason I put 4 stars is because this movie was made by Pixar, and this isn't a 5 star Pixar movie. In any other context, yes, 5 stars, no problem. But this movie fails to reach the (extremely high) standards set by Pixar's greatest.

Should you see this movie? Yes. It's brilliantly paced, extremely funny, and has two shining examples of strong female protagonists with both Merida and her mother. Will it make you cry like Up did? Probabally not. Does it take risks with the format of storytelling like Wall-E did? Nope; in fact, the plot is fairly predictable for an adult, though children might be taken by some of the twists. Still, while this isn't Pixar's greatest film, it's likely better than most of the other movies you'll see from 2012, and one of the best animated ones. If you're like me, this came and went at the theaters without catching it. Now's your chance--it really is worth the rental or purchase.