This weekend we will see the release of Pixar’s thirteenth (digitally) animated feature film, Brave. This story hardly counts as anything more newsworthy than the release of the fourth, seventh, or tenth Pixar movie. How is this one different? Well,  in the case of Brave, Pixar’s thirteenth project is also its first with a female protagonist. That certainly took long enough, right?

Loosely, Brave tells the story of Merida, a young Scottish-kingdom (fun accents and all!) princess and an excellent archer to boot, on a quest to define her path in life, proving along the way (if the trailer is to be believed) that she doesn’t need a man to be brave, successful, or happy.

More so than any other Pixar movie, Brave seems to be one that aims to fully target (like archery!) the female viewer. Not only does Brave boast a female in the lead role, but also the story itself is about female empowerment. I mean, my sister and I both teared up while watching the full trailer on the big screen. And say what you will about hormones and such, but these years were not of the hormone kind. Nope, instead they were inspired tears of joy at the possibility of seeing a Pixar character that we might actually like to emulate (do I see a Chills Down My Spine column in the making?).

And while it very well might be the case that despite all my hopes, Brave might just end up being Pixar’s stab at a post-feminist text which reiterates what every romantic comedy of late have told us– that is, that female individualism and ambition are all well and good, but who are you kidding? You need a man to be truly happy. But even if that’s the case, I’ll be happy knowing that Pixar tried its hand at something that feels so personal to me and, I’m guessing, other women as well.

And if that still doesn’t intrigue you enough to see this potentially semi-groundbreaking film, then perhaps listening to Craig Ferguson speak in his native tongue of Scottsman will? Or what about eternal-joy-maker Emma Thompson? Both are voicing roles.

So, what say you Banterers: will you check out Brave, out tomorrow?