Even though Brave, Disney*Pixar’s newest animated movie, isn’t in theater’s yet and I haven’t had a chance to screen more than 30 minutes of it it, it´s enough to know it’s a movie I want my daughter to see and love. I am a little biased because I was able to visit the Pixar studios in April and got to meet and interview many of the fascinating people who, in the course of six years, have made this vision of Scotland and a real mother-daughter relationship a reality.

Based on the first 30 minutes of Brave that I did get to watch, and what I learned about the process of making it and the details of  the story, I can honestly say I’m excited that my girl will have a new female role model that is so much like her in so many ways. She’s already watched all the previews and clips and has added a Merida dress to her wish list. She claims she only needs the dress and not the wig because she already has curly hair. Yep. But, before she even gets the dress, she already “won” Merida’s bow and arrow set and is patiently learning how to use it. A girl after her mother’s heart, for sure.

5 Reasons Why I Want My Girl to Watch Brave 

#1 - Merida, Pixar’s first ever female lead, is a fiery, stubborn and spirited girl. Camila, my girl, is a fiery, stubborn and spirited girl. I’m thrilled there’s a strong female character she’ll be able to relate to who isn’t focused on her prince and true-love all the time.

#2 - The mother-daughter relationship isn’t picture perfect. Our mother-daughter relationship isn’t picture perfect, but it’s real. My girl loves to ask tons of questions about everything she watches, so I’m sure this relationship and the fights that ensue will bring up a lot of topics she’ll want us to explore together. I’m looking forward to this part the most because I know it will create the most memorable conversations between us.

#3 - Archery is a sport I’m starting to embrace so much my husband even got me my first bow and arrow for my birthday! My girl has seen this, plus Merida’s gracefulness with the bow and her determination to change her fate with is and is now obsessed with learning about it herself. Any movie that can motivate my girl to learn a sport is a win! Especially if it’s one we can do together.

#4 - The wondrous nature of Scotland and its customs are so beautifully reenacted and portrayed throughout the film. This will allow us to virtually explore more about world themes such as accents and languages, geography, foods, customs and more. I’m sure she’ll be asking me what’s up with the men in skirts, and I’ll explain they’re kilts and that’s how they roll there!

#5 - The music is enchanting. I’ve had a love affair for bag pipes ever since I accidentally ran into a bag pipe festival in a little town of Andalucia while I was exploring that region of Spain. That led me to dig deeper into traditional Celtic music and now I can share that love with my girl when the soundtrack is released both digitally and in a CD format on June 19th. We’ll listen to the Brave score as composed by Patrick Doyle, who traveled back and forth from Scotland to capture as many of the traditional sounds and dance rhythms of Scottish music as he could.

And you, are you and your kids excited for Brave yet?

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