Scotland has known all about Disney-Pixar’s Brave for a long time and now the rest of the world know all about this Hollywood epic too thanks to this superb film being awarded the Best Animated Film at the Oscars in February, 2013.
Think a sort of Shrek with a female lead set in an imagined Scotland, with a flurry of famous Scottish actors doing the voices, and you get the rough idea. What impresses us most about Brave is not the story, fine though that is, of a young princess, Merida, and her painful coming of age, but the depiction of Scotland.
A Gnarly Brooding Landscape
Disney-Pixar could have gone all, well, Disney with Scotland. They could have smoothed the rough edges, brightened things up and created a sense of bucolic calm for their film. Instead we’re glad to report they have gone for the Scotland we know. Brave presents a gnarly brooding landscape of looming castles, threatening mountains and darkly mysterious forests.
Discover the Sites that Inspired the Film
Already a stream of tourists are flocking in search of the film locations, as happened in previous years with the likes of Local Hero and Braveheart. Brave, of course, though, is merely an animation so there are no real locations. Both VisitScotland and Disney-Pixar have been at pains to point out the locations are all composites, but we scrutinised the film, as well as sneaking some insider information, and we reckon the following places definitely inspired the Brave researchers:
Brave Locations – The Seriously Unofficial List
1. Braemar Gathering
Inspired all those Highland sports scenes. Disney definitely attended.
2. Glen Affric
All those trees make it Glen Affric for me over Loch Ness for some pivotal scenes.
3. The Castle
Tricky one this, reckon they’ve gone with Dunbroch for a composite of Dunottar (the closest), but also Urquhart, Kilchurn and Eilean Donan.
4. Edinburgh Castle Great Hall
Reckon the scenes in the Great Hall were inspired by Edinburgh Castle, though Stirling’s revamped Great Hall may have a look in too.
5. Dun Carloway
The broch designs in the film looks more like a rounded and more complete Mousa Broch in the Shetland Isles, but I have been reliably informed it was based on Dun Carloway on the Isle of Lewis where the locations team went.
VisitScotland have now launched a series of itineraries, which guide you through some of the locations you can piece together on a Brave theme (www.visitscotland.com/brave), with loads of other Brave info and goodies on there too. However you follow in the footsteps of Merida just enjoy the ride. Scotland is a gorgeously varied, stunningly beautiful country, which is what Disney-Pixar most dramatically managed to convey. So just do a bit of research then you can put together your own Brave tour with or without you own little Merida in tow.
More Information
For more information on Brave check out the guide we also wrote for Welcome to Scotland – http://www.welcometoscotland.com/articles/brave